Reuse plumbing parts? (copper)

[Richard]

I'm going to rip out some 1/2 copper and install 3/4. I'm then going to run two additional lines out to garage so I'll have hot/cold at my outdoor spigot.

I need a handful of parts (and live 18 miles from town)

the parts I need are couplings (as in 1/2" couplings for connecting 2 sticks of pipe)

Can I disassemble that which I have and REUSE those fittings or is it better to drive 18 miles one way to buy $2.64 worth of parts?

I've never reused "used" fittings after unsoldering them. Part of my brain says "Theyr'e already tinned and that's GOOD" Whereas another part of my brain says "The tolerances are going to be buggered up by the OLD solder and you will NEVER get them 100% cleaned out and "back to new" so you are going to create a monster for yourself"

Ok, so which voice in my head ought I listen to?

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[kenmac]

Shouldn't be a problem, us plumbers do it all the time when there isn't a new fitting around.Heat the old fitting up -clean it up -reflux & solder onto the other piece. It will work just fine as long as they have been kept clean.(no sewage water in them,etc.)

 

[Richard]

You say no sewage water, how about water for my faucets? I have the 1/2" going into the bathroom we're working on next. Since we're going to put in a shower with all those body sprayers, I need to upgrade to 3/4.

These pipes are unused from standpoint of no shower/other, but they DO have water in them & are simply capped.

I infer I could consider that clean enough, after I heat them enough to seperate?

And thanks for the help

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[kenmac]

They will work fine.You just don't won't to use fittings for drinking water/bath water etc, that has had tainted water in them.

 

[Moon]

Way back when ....I installed water softners. We reused fittings all the time. No problem at all. Just clean and flux like you would a new fitting.