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Posted by Robert11 on January 27, 2007, 6:29 pm
Hello:
Have done a fair amount of home plumbing type of work, but, surprisingly,
have never had need to use a "union".
Have to run a line from a washing machine water outlet to the machine, and
for various reasons, before I get to the hose itself, I could use a Union in
the rigid section to provide some angularity adjustment, as well as the
removable advantage they provide.
Have looked at them at HD, and frankly they make me very nervous.
What's your experience with these things.
e.g.,
Once you snug them up, do they tend to stay that way ?
Reason i'm asking is that there is no elasticity in the union coupling
itself, so it seems to me that if the threads back off, even a very small
amount, there will be leakage thru the ground and polished seat where the
two pieces actually come together.
Any thoughts on this ?
Safe to use ? Proven in practice pretty well ?
Are there any other types, or brands, besides the HD ones that are perhaps
of better quality ?
Thanks,
Bob
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Posted by Colbyt on January 27, 2007, 6:48 pm
> Hello:
>
> Have done a fair amount of home plumbing type of work, but, surprisingly,
> have never had need to use a "union".
>
> Have to run a line from a washing machine water outlet to the machine, and
> for various reasons, before I get to the hose itself, I could use a Union
> in the rigid section to provide some angularity adjustment, as well as the
> removable advantage they provide.
>
> Have looked at them at HD, and frankly they make me very nervous.
>
> What's your experience with these things.
> e.g.,
>
> Once you snug them up, do they tend to stay that way ?
>
> Reason i'm asking is that there is no elasticity in the union coupling
> itself, so it seems to me that if the threads back off, even a very small
> amount, there will be leakage thru the ground and polished seat where the
> two pieces actually come together.
>
> Any thoughts on this ?
> Safe to use ? Proven in practice pretty well ?
>
> Are there any other types, or brands, besides the HD ones that are perhaps
> of better quality ?
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>
They work. Never had a problem when installing a new one. Minor problems
when re-using an elderly one. Even then in most cases nothing a little pipe
dope would not solve.
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Posted by Speedy Jim on January 27, 2007, 6:53 pm
Robert11 wrote:
> Hello:
>
> Have done a fair amount of home plumbing type of work, but, surprisingly,
> have never had need to use a "union".
>
> Have to run a line from a washing machine water outlet to the machine, and
> for various reasons, before I get to the hose itself, I could use a Union in
> the rigid section to provide some angularity adjustment, as well as the
> removable advantage they provide.
>
> Have looked at them at HD, and frankly they make me very nervous.
>
> What's your experience with these things.
> e.g.,
>
> Once you snug them up, do they tend to stay that way ?
>
> Reason i'm asking is that there is no elasticity in the union coupling
> itself, so it seems to me that if the threads back off, even a very small
> amount, there will be leakage thru the ground and polished seat where the
> two pieces actually come together.
>
> Any thoughts on this ?
> Safe to use ? Proven in practice pretty well ?
>
> Are there any other types, or brands, besides the HD ones that are perhaps
> of better quality ?
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>
>
A union won't give you any angle adjustment.
And the threads won't simply loosen on their own;
the nuts get tightened with 2 big pipe wrenches.
Why don't you go into more detail with exactly
what you're trying to do.
Does "washing machine water outlet" mean a threaded
hose connector?
Would some form of hose quick-connect suit your needs?
Jim
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Posted by Doug Miller on January 27, 2007, 6:55 pm
>Hello:
>
>Have done a fair amount of home plumbing type of work, but, surprisingly,
>have never had need to use a "union".
[...]
>Any thoughts on this ?
>Safe to use ? Proven in practice pretty well ?
Unions are absolutely standard equipment in hooking up natural gas appliances
(have a look at the line to a NG water heater, for example). Typical
arrangement is
supply pipe -- shutoff valve -- union -- short pipe -- appliance.
That good enough for ya?
>
>Are there any other types, or brands, besides the HD ones that are perhaps
>of better quality ?
Undoubtedly. The fittings sold at HD are IMO pretty much the bottom of the
barrel, and you'll almost certainly find higher quality at a plumbing supply
shop.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
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Posted by zxcvbob on January 27, 2007, 8:15 pm
Robert11 wrote:
> Hello:
>
> Have done a fair amount of home plumbing type of work, but, surprisingly,
> have never had need to use a "union".
>
> Have to run a line from a washing machine water outlet to the machine, and
> for various reasons, before I get to the hose itself, I could use a Union in
> the rigid section to provide some angularity adjustment, as well as the
> removable advantage they provide.
>
> Have looked at them at HD, and frankly they make me very nervous.
>
> What's your experience with these things.
> e.g.,
>
> Once you snug them up, do they tend to stay that way ?
>
> Reason i'm asking is that there is no elasticity in the union coupling
> itself, so it seems to me that if the threads back off, even a very small
> amount, there will be leakage thru the ground and polished seat where the
> two pieces actually come together.
>
> Any thoughts on this ?
> Safe to use ? Proven in practice pretty well ?
>
> Are there any other types, or brands, besides the HD ones that are perhaps
> of better quality ?
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>
>
Union provides no more angular adjustment than a coupling. If you want
adjustability, use several back-to-back 45 or 22 degree ells.
Best regards,
Bob
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