I don't get up to TC often to see my folks. So it generally means that I have to squeeze in the gardening between other outings while I'm there. (I'm the gardener in the family so I plant their gardens.) So came up on Sunday (roughly 3.5 hour drive) for a horse event we were all (my folks, sis, & yours truly) invited to. Then went out to a place called "Moomer's" -- they make their own icecream. After which we all went to see the new Harry Potter -- end of day one Next day sis and I took the parental units canoeing. Beautiful day for it -- not too hot or cold. Got there before the 'hordes' so had a nice quiet journey with large sections of the river to ourselves. Went back to the folks' place relaxed for a bit, then started on some weeding. Bit later headed out to see the 'Beach Bums' (the city's Frontier League baseball team) play so that day was done. Next day ... went out for breakfast, then to a local plant nursery. Spent several hours there (much to my amazement -- for me that would be normal, but for my sis and folks? NOT!). Sis wound up buying plants to take downstate with her and my folks found a number they liked. (Couple of their flowerbeds look simply awful ... result of my not being able to get up here in the spring or fall. Been trying to move plants from one location to another without killing them or damaging them too much. Amazing how long that takes when you're trying to be careful moving bulb plants that are already a foot or more tall. So the 'renovation' has been gradual to put it kindly. I have managed to get a few areas cleared via relocations & have some idea of where to take those plots with new additions -- hence the plants the folks picked out -- to minimize maintenance once all is done.) So got back from the nursery outing and got to work on the weeding -- and there's a lot of that to do. Got one bed completed then the rain came -- and stayed. Now a new day and rain & thunder/lightning is pretty much on going with no real let up. Plan on heading back home tomorrow. Once again, don't know how much I'll be able to complete since the weather is not feeling cooperative. *sigh*

brickeyee is correct. Gonna have to get into it to replace en-toto.

The copper crimp rings are pure annealed copper and it is coded color for easy identification. The rings for PEX tubing are either solid black or copper colored with black "PEX" clearly on the side, while the rings for PB tubing are solid copper colored. The copper crimp rings are usually composed of copper, a soft metal that flexes and bends under ressure. Generally PEX clamps are constructed of stainless steel metal. But both rings require special tools for installation. The copper crimp rings is slightly easier to install than the stainless cinch rings. The stainless cinch rings system is slightly less expensive than the copper crimp ring system.

Well, this is horrible embarrassing. I went and shot my mouth off and all thats left is the nose on my face. And that puppy is stickin right out there. Only once have I ever heard of this Propress thing and totally forgot about it. Ive never learned anything about it. No wonder I read "PEX" into your question, wheredaphuquia. Sorry to get it so wrong. But on to the questions of tool cost. First of all, my father-in-law (a man true to my own heart) used to say, "Hard work never killed anyone." Im not sure what it was, but he isnt with us anymore. And sadly, most of his contemporaries are gone as well. Tools have always been used to make human life more efficient and gain advantage over the difficult, even the impossible. So, no wonder a man and his tools are bound as if married. I dont believe I have any Ridgid Tools. (I used-to, sweetheart.) Thats better than some folks. Theres people that have Snap-On Tools. So, Im better off than I could be. Having said that, it seems I learned, somehow, that Ridgid Tools has been bought by Home Depot. Notice, that they sell them exclusively. (The Big Blue, Lowes, sells a brand call Co-Balled, so it looks like they are in the same business, anyhow. I dont know about this brand name business. Ever see one of them slip joint nut wrenches? Ever see a good one? They cost $10 and they are all junk. Then again, I used to buy machinists tools. I paid the premium price for Browne & Sharp, Lufkin, Last Word. Today, you can buy digital stuff, up-load-able, that is the standard of excellence and the average apprentice cant read a Vernier caliper. In other words, tools get better all the time. Id rather buy new every few years and have the latest than have a blow torch that my great-grandfather passed on thru the generations. Used to be, a plumber was a person who worked with Plumbum. Today that would probably be illegal in California. So whats with the blow torch? It makes my thumbs ache, just thinking about it. Probably, it doesnt matter much how to connect copper. The $2K tool will get cheaper. Next year, you can buy a knock-off at Harbor Freight. It wont necessarily work, but it will weight a lot. The important thing here, is that the price of copper is going thru the ceiling, so the expensive tool is cheaper just by comparison. Its going to get where plumbing is all about, "what size galvanized-cans can you carry on each shoulder?" China will be plumbed with copper, and Americans will be carrying water in buckets. Fortunately the people that gave us that condition were provident in also giving us 1.6 GPF toilets. BTW, FWIW, the crimp tools for PEX can be air-driven. No doubt Paslode with have an internal combustion version one day. I hope so. When it comes to plumbing, I just dont think "Ridgid" is the right word. I mean, doesnt PassLoad have an appropriate ring to it? Then again, one of the great names in water supply is Moen. Now would that be a great name for a toilet or what? Pinoke