On 04/12/2013 05:21 PM, AMuzi wrote:
> On 4/12/2013 1:59 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
>> On 04/12/2013 02:30 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
>>> Does anyone have a link to any law or standard that allows
>>> or prohibits
>>> their use?
>>>
>>> Was having a discussion with a mechanic yesterday and the
>>> wrench was
>>> saying that it was easier to use a compression fitting
>>> than double
>>> flaring and he didn't have a problem using them; my
>>> position was that if
>>> I needed to replace a hard line where it was easier to cut
>>> and splice in
>>> the middle than rerun the whole thing that I would always
>>> use a double
>>> flare and a union, because of the impossibility of the
>>> fitting blowing
>>> apart under pressure save for a failure of the tubing
>>> itself. the
>>> discussion was prompted because he was looking at a repair
>>> I'd done on a
>>> friend's vehicle when the rear brakes had failed; the hose
>>> to the rear
>>> axle had failed and replacement required replacement of
>>> both the axle
>>> lines and the back half of the rear body line due to rust,
>>> and he'd
>>> noticed that the one splice that I'd done was a double
>>> flare union.
>>>
>>> However when I went to research the issue I see a lot of
>>> opinions that
>>> "it's illegal" to use compression fittings but no links to
>>> actual
>>> references nor could I find anything in the pertinent
>>> safety inspection
>>> standards (NB: I'm not a vehicle inspector nor have I ever
>>> been, so I
>>> don't know if there is an "unwritten rule" that
>>> compression fittings =
>>> failure.) If anyone has any knowledge of this issue I'd
>>> appreciate your
>>> input esp. if it is specific to VA, MD, or DC.
>>>
>>> I also certainly hope that the mechanic was referring to a
>>> good steel
>>> Swagelok fitting (which is at least rated for the
>>> pressures used in an
>>> automotive brake application) and not the brass ones like
>>> you'd use to
>>> hook up an icemaker!
>>>
>>> nate
>>>
>>
>> Proof that anyone can spew advice on the interwebs
>>
>> http://www.ehow.com/how_5499634_spli...ake-lines.html
>>
>>
>> Sadly, ehow doesn't seem to have a "-1" button. I'm
>> guessing most intelligent people take anything posted there
>> with a shaker of salt anyway, but really, this is
>> astonishingly irresponsible.
>>
>> nate
>>
>
> I don't know.
>
> A quick web search shows this discussion in multiple venues with several
> comments such as 'will probably be OK' without direct experience and
> also 'will fail inspection' but no statute cited. Of course it may be
> an administrative policy rather than a statute. Or not.
>
> Frankly I don't see any problem with a normal flared line which
> logically seems matched to a 'high stakes risk when it breaks'
> application. Flares and flaring tools are cheap, well supported,
> ubiquitous and not complex.
>
> If any of my cars had dual-diagonal braking systems and if I were away
> from civilization (new brake line and/or a flaring tool), I _might_
> think about a compression fitting. But they don't and so I don't.
I agree 100% with your position, problem is that I'm advocating your
position but I can't find any official backup to it (at least in MD or
VA; I have found explicit references for other farther away states)
therefore I'll never change the guy's mind as to what is and isn't a
proper repair as I don't really have any backup.
For my own part I will continue to flare...
BTW is it just me or has steel tubing gotten softer over the years? I
had to do three different flares to make the repair, one under the
vehicle (which always scares me, I prefer working on the bench) and they
weren't nearly as much of a PITA as I remembered. I did deburr the
lines and dress with a file before attempting to flare but I was doing
that before as well. Been years since I've had to break out the flaring
tool and I can't say that I really miss it, but it is awful handy to
have (and it just looks more professional when your lines are the exact
right length rather than having loops in them...)
nate
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