# HVAC Copper fittings...



## HVAC-GURU (Jul 17, 2009)

What is the best source of supply for copper fittings? What company or companies would you recommend? If you buy them online what websites?

Appreciate your help!


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## airon (Jun 27, 2009)

Support you local HVACR wholesalers and they will support you.


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## jvegas (Jun 17, 2009)

*copper fittings*

Like airon said support your locals and you could have some good people behind you when you need them the more you deal with them the more they go out of there way to help you


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## mechanicalDvr (Jun 25, 2009)

I buy my refrigeration pipe and fittings at United Referigeration. They have much better prices than the other supply houses in my area. Johnstone is a rip off on copper and tools, they really rape you.


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## jvegas (Jun 17, 2009)

*copper fittings*

Same here but johnstone has a lot of things the others dont have or take longer to get


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## hvaclover (May 15, 2009)

I had a Saturday job and they wanted to charge me 20 bucks for a four foot whip. Good thing there was another supply house up the road.

Got bent over for $4 for a six inch elbow and $3 for a damper..

Then the guy tells me after I pitch a bitch that I'll get better pricing if I spend $2000 in a month I'll get better pricing. Cha...spend two grand at Johnstone gets youa a standing pilot furnace (sarcasm people) and a foot of one inch acr.


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## henny (Jul 6, 2009)

hvaclover said:


> *Got bent over* for $4 for a six inch elbow and $3 for a damper..


POE comes in handy for those situations.


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## hvaclover (May 15, 2009)

:thumbsup:


henny said:


> POE comes in handy for those situations.


naw i got this in my tool bag for when it's my turn to bend them over :001_tongue::yes:
\\


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## DuMass (Jul 7, 2009)

You could always take $150.00 from your fittings allowance and get a Rems/YJ ratchet bender. That and a couple of swaging tools and you'll probably rarely need to buy most of those expensive wrought fittings, except for maybe things like changing out motorized 3-way valves of concealed, in-the-ceiling fan coil units like you see in some hotel rooms, where you often have what seems like 1-inch of clearance to work with. Using fittings there seems almost mandatory.


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## mechanicalDvr (Jun 25, 2009)

DuMass said:


> You could always take $150.00 from your fittings allowance and get a Rems/YJ ratchet bender. That and a couple of swaging tools and you'll probably rarely need to buy most of those expensive wrought fittings, except for maybe things like changing out motorized 3-way valves of concealed, in-the-ceiling fan coil units like you see in some hotel rooms, where you often have what seems like 1-inch of clearance to work with. Using fittings there seems almost mandatory.


On new jobs I use a ratchet bender all the time. But I find it harder to bend old pipe if it isn't heated before bending and I rather just use a long radius fitting than waste time heating and bending. 

As for water piping, I use standard plumbing copper fittings and not refrigeration grade, I find the Depot pretty cheap on that stuff.


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## DuMass (Jul 7, 2009)

mechanicalDvr said:


> As for water piping, I use standard plumbing copper fittings and not refrigeration grade, I find the Depot pretty cheap on that stuff.


Yeah, I'll do the same for standard Type L sizes, but I can remember that some of the older Whalen fan coils we had to replace valves on had small ACR coil lines, like maybe 3/8” OD [1/4” ID] sweat directly to the valves with reducers. We had to use ACR fittings since there was no room to bend or swage tubes to do fit-ups for the replacement valves. 
This was years ago, so I couldn’t say for sure, but it looked like maybe the coils had been originally designed for refrigerant, but were instead being used for water. :001_unsure: Get 'Er done!


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