Automated radial welding for pipes seems to be slowly reaching small, plumbing-sized pipes.[1] This has been around for years for larger pipes, but the equipment is now down to home plumbing diameters. Still too expensive, though, at around US$10,000.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Jr1TZW8dKCw

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giardini 15 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That's very nice but I doubt it will replace pipe clamps in ease of installation and cost in a real-world repair environment. Many leaks in say steel galvanized water pipes are the result of corrosion. Pinhole leaks form, then more and then enough water leaks to be noticed on either exterior or interior wall. Jose the Plumber will leave his radial welder in the shop (b/c power is out anyway in the affected area and he doesn't carry a generator on his truck) and reach for his box of pipe clamps. Problem solved and on to the next job.

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quickthrowman 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Propress compression fittings which use a hydraulic press are effective enough for domestic water pipes, along with traditional solder joints.

Electrical compression fittings are excellent too, but some engineers still specify exothermic welds (cadwelding) for grounding conductors in particular.

I did a project a couple years back with a mechanical contractor that used a similar machine to the one in the video you shared, except theirs was a bit larger ;) They were welding 18” HPDE pipes together for a geothermal district energy project, we were laying some puny 2” schedule 80 conduit that was glued together with primer and cement for future fiber cables that will connect to the meters of the customers of the district energy system.

	▲	giardini 8 hours ago \| parent [-]
		ProPress are a (high-quality) solution but IIRC for copper piping. PEX water piping expands and fails less(than galvanized) in freezing temperatures. This is the current accepted replacement for galvanized water piping. PVC piping is also used but doesn't develop the pinhole leaks that galvanized steel pipe does. However it can fatigue and develop leaks. AFAIK all can be patched with, ta-da, pipe clamps! But most water leaks, especially in winter freezing, arise in old rusting galvanized steel piping. I'm not a plumber but I was a condominium association officer and president and so got to choose, watch and pay for repairs. We had only copper, PVC and galvanized water lines. The copper was well underground and so failed only once in 20 years due to age and a nearby tree shifting the pipes. The PVC never failed but we had almost none. The galvanized pipe was a guaranteed failure every winter unless we took serious precautions when temperatures dropped.