Pro & Prosumer Tools
Professional and prosumer-grade plumbing tools — press tools, drain machines, inspection cameras, threaders and more. A licensed plumber’s buyer guides for serious DIYers and the trade.
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Can You Press a Wet Line? Yes, With One Limit
A press joint has no heating step, so damp pipe is fine – but running water is not. A licensed plumber on the difference and what still has to be right.
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Press Fitting O-Rings: What Each Seal Is Rated For
The fittings look identical; the seal inside decides what they may carry. A licensed plumber on EPDM, HNBR and specialist elastomers, and why a wrong seal passes the test then fails.
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Solder Will Not Flow? The Five Causes, In Order
A licensed plumber on why solder beads up instead of drawing into the joint – water in the line, dirty copper, burned flux – and how to test the joint is ready.
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Torch Keeps Going Out Mid-Joint? Here Is Why
A licensed plumber on the real causes – a chilling cylinder, a tipped bottle, a sooted orifice – and how to tell which one you have before you buy a new torch.
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How to Remove a Press Fitting (You Cut It Out)
A press joint is permanent – the copper under the crimp is deformed for good. A licensed plumber on cutting one out cleanly and what you need to make the repair.
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Best PEX Expansion Tool (and Why It Only Works on PEX-A)
A licensed plumber on PEX-A expansion tools — how shape memory makes the joint, manual vs cordless, and the cold-weather recovery step people rush.
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Best Deburring Tool for Copper Pipe (and Why the Burr Matters)
A licensed plumber on deburring copper: what the burr does to flow and O-rings, the inner/outer reamers worth owning, and how to use one without thinning the wall.
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Best PEX Cutter: Why a Square Cut Decides the Joint
A licensed plumber on PEX cutters — scissor vs ratcheting, why an angled cut causes leaks later, and how to tell when the blade is done.
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Best Solder and Flux for Copper Pipe (What Actually Holds)
A licensed plumber on lead-free solder and water-soluble tinning flux for copper water lines — what to buy, why prep decides the joint, and the sequence that works.
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M12 vs M18 Press Tool: Which Milwaukee Should You Buy?
The decision is pipe size and almost nothing else. What Milwaukee actually publishes for each tool — and what they don’t.