6 inch copper bypass on main line circulation pump

[Project 2501]

Finished this job up today..

Two 6" copper mains. One feeding the suction side of the pump and the other running the discharge side and supplying the building. I wanted to put the gate valve on the bypass horizontally with the tee on the top line going down and then 90 over to the lower line with the gate valve in the middle. But since the fittings are over 350 bucks each, my boss asked me to come up with a way to minimize the amount of fittings..

And... heres what I came up with.

 

[The Cobbler]

nice joints!

 

[Rc_Guy]

That does not look like six inch pipe

 

[The Cobbler]

That does not look like six in pipe

what about when you scale it to the b tank in the background?

 

[rlitman]

That does not look like six in pipe

LOL, I know what you mean. Last year, I decided to tap into the 1/4" OD line I have running from my under counter water filter to my ice maker to supply filtered water to a second fridge. I had a compression tee in there, but not trusting it never to leak after I was closing up that part of the basement ceiling, I decided to sweat a tee in. It turns out that YES, you can buy sweat tees for 1/4" OD copper (they're not not stocked in many places, but they do exist). It's 1/8" type L FYI, and each tee and coupler looks so damned adorable sitting on top of George Washington's face on a dollar bill. But if you look at a cropped picture of my sweat joints, they hardly look different than these. Of course, that's not a testament to my work, which could have been done with a Bic lighter.

 

[The Cobbler]

^^^ I just bought some 3/8 OD sweat fittings for a project I am going to work on .

 

[Project 2501]

That does not look like six in pipe

But it totally is

 

[Project 2501]

nice joints!

Thank you sir

 

[toplessHO]

nice job,no goobers dripping off.
I would put a support under the 45* elbow and the gate valve going at an angle.

 

[Project 2501]

nice job,no goobers dripping off.
I would put a support under the 45* elbow and the gate valve going at an angle.

I definitely agree with supporting the valve. My boss on the otherhand couldnt care less..
It's out of my hands now.

 

[rlitman]

But it totally is

Yeah yeah, nice try buddy with that tape measure marked in millimeters and the doll house calculator.

 

[Project 2501]

yeah yeah, nice try buddy with that tape measure marked in millimeters and the doll house calculator.

 

[duc916]

Why copper?

 

[BD1]

Nice job. I dislike ''clothes lining '' . That's what that was called in the old days to save a fitting. Copper is big $$$ so it's pretty common.
I've worked in plants where that would not be acceptable to customer.
Nice job for sure by a fellow UNION MEMBER !!!

 

[Rc_Guy]

Maybe the picture makes it look smaller, here is the six inch I put in.

 

[bimmer1980]

Nice work on the fittings!! What do you use to prep the joints?

How many torches do you use to consistently warm the joints for solder?

I just finished a project with 1" copper..... I thought that was big compared to the 1/2" or 3/4" in normal residential projects.....

 

[Project 2501]

Nice work on the fittings!! What do you use to prep the joints?

How many torches do you use to consistently warm the joints for solder?

I just finished a project with 1" copper..... I thought that was big compared to the 1/2" or 3/4" in normal residential projects.....

Preparation is extremely important the bigger you go in pipe size. I use a 6 inch wire wheel on my drill to clean the inside of the fitting. Mesh sand cloth on the pipe ends and nokorode flux. Sweating is done with a B-tank turbo torch set up with an A-32 large bore tip.

 

[gofastwclass]

Very nice work.

 

[Mr onetwo]

Why in heavens name would you use 6" copper.Sch10 stainless or plain steel is much cheaper and Victaulic grooved is so much easier to deal with.The pipes around the pump set are not copper.Butterfly valves would have been more compact, cheaper,show position and are lockable.I'm sure it was a job spec...I'm just curious is all.Is this a domestic water booster station? Around here this might have been spec'd out in ductile iron.Your copper work is first rate!

 

[kbs2244]

I worked for contractor that a Navy base job that called for 6 inch copper.
Somehow we got a 6 inch cap extra shipped.
Not on the paperwork but on the truck.
It became the most expensive ash tray in the shop's history.

 

[Project 2501]

i worked for contractor that a navy base job that called for 6 inch copper.
Somehow we got a 6 inch cap extra shipped.
Not on the paperwork but on the truck.
It became the most expensive ash tray in the shop's history.

 

[Farmall450]

Why copper?

This ^^^

 

[Git]

A couple of places selling a 6" Copper Tee for around $500

 

[Mr onetwo]

Get a load of these prices. I threw in the 8 x 6 tee for dramatic effect.