Like it or not, Speed Fit is the pipework of the future because of: a/ the ever increasing rise in the price of copper; b/ the ease of fitting - which requires less skill; and c/, the time saved over the use of copper: being three factors that make it a cheaper option.
Seems to me (and this thread is a good example) that Speed Fit has got a bad name in some quarters because it's sometimes used by people who really don't know what they are doing. The fact that it's easy to use makes it readily available to misuse and abuse by people who shouldn't be doing the job in the first place. Apparently, the misuse of pipe without a barrier got the product off to a bad start in the first place. The grab washers used in Speed Fit have been used for many, many years in other areas of engineering, and they are an absolute swine to get off when it's not possible to use a release tool.
As far as I can see, the true test of Speed Fit will be the longevity of the O rings - the biggest risk being that market competition will lead to lowering the quality of them in some brands, which will be an absolute nightmare for the technology generally.
Like so many things over the past 30 years, advances in technology lead to de-skilling and horrific cases of incorrect application, but it's not always the fault of the product itself.
The term apprenticeship has become meaningless in the UK, and can refer to a few weeks training in twiddling your thumbs and shelf-stacking as a form of cheap labour. The risks associated with working with gas, and electricty plus water, have probably served to hold back the changes in the related industries more than others, some of which have seen massive de-skilling through advanced specialisation, for example in the motor trade, where things like brake pads/shoes, exhausts, tyres, various accessories, and servicing, are now more likely to be done by fitters with limited skills, than by fully trained mechanics. Even things like engine tuning and diagnostics have become so technical and specialised that some conventionally trained mechanics struggle to understand it.
More and more products made using cheap labour abroad, and the increasing search for cheap labour at home, is the way of the future, unfortunately.
But fear not folks, we now have Dave Cameron and his trusty friend Lord Coe to show us the way forward!!!
Your kids may not know the difference between a nut, a bolt, and a screw, but as long as they can throw a javelin, they'll never starve!
Time to put the kettle on me thinks!
LOL.
