A threaded joint and a pressed joint do the same thing by different economics. Threading costs time and skill per joint and almost nothing to start; pressing costs a tool up front and very little per joint after that. Which one wins is arithmetic on the number of joints, not a matter of one being modern and the other old.
A threaded joint means cutting the pipe, cutting the thread, cleaning it, applying sealant or PTFE and tightening to a feel that depends on the fitter. It needs a threading machine, power, space to swing a wrench and a tradesman who knows when a thread is right. The material is cheap and available everywhere, and any competent plumber in the region can work with it.
A pressed joint means cutting the pipe square, deburring it, marking insertion depth, seating the fitting and closing a jaw for a few seconds. There is no flame, no swarf, no cutting oil and no thread sealant, and the joint is either pressed or it is not - the leak-before-press behaviour of the O-ring makes an unpressed joint obvious at test rather than after handover.
Occupied buildings and refurbishment. No hot work permit, no flame, and far less disruption in a hospital corridor, a hotel floor or a working plant room where a threading machine and its noise are unwelcome.
High joint counts in tight programmes. The per-joint time difference is large, and it compounds: a riser with hundreds of joints finishes measurably sooner, which on a late project is worth more than the fitting price difference.
Work in confined spaces and overhead, where swinging a wrench is slow and awkward and a press jaw is not.
Small jobs and maintenance. If the job is twenty joints spread over three visits, the press tool never pays for itself and the threaded fitting is simply cheaper.
Anything that must be broken and remade repeatedly - plant connections, instruments, equipment that comes out for service. A union in a threaded line is designed to be undone; a pressed joint is not.
Where the site has no tool and no plan to buy one, or where a remote location makes tool support and jaw servicing a real risk. Threaded fittings can be worked anywhere with equipment the crew already owns.
Press-fit carries a fixed cost - the tool, the jaws in the sizes being installed, and their servicing - and a low variable cost per joint. Threading is the reverse. There is a joint count where the two lines cross, and it moves with local labour rates, programme pressure and how many jobs the tool will be used on after this one.
The honest way to decide is to count the joints on the actual drawing and price both. Anyone who tells you press always wins is selling tools, and anyone who says it never wins has not costed a riser.
TUPY makes the threaded range - BSP to EN 10242 and ISO 49, NPT to ANSI B16.3 Class 150 and 300, 1/4in to 6in, galvanised and black - and the TUPYPRES press system, which carries FM Approval, UL Listing and DVGW approval. That means a project can press the risers and thread the plant room without changing manufacturer, certification or supplier.
Neither is inherently stronger in normal service. They fail differently: a bad thread leaks slowly, an unpressed joint shows itself at test. Both systems are rated for the services they are approved for.
Yes, and it is common - press the long runs and risers, thread the plant connections and anything that must come apart. TUPYPRES includes figures with one threaded end for exactly this transition.
The system carries FM Approval and UL Listing, which is what NFPA-written specifications call for, along with DVGW approval for gas. Check the specific figures against the specification.
It is a project decision rather than a list price answer - it depends on the sizes being installed and how many jaws are needed. Send the drawing and both routes can be costed against the actual joint count.
No. A pressed joint is permanent; if a connection has to be broken for service, put a union or a threaded fitting there by design.
Send the figures, sizes and quantities and it will be quoted from stock in Dubai or direct from Brazil, whichever lands cheaper.
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