On new mid-rise VRF installs, we’re burning hours on fire watch and nitrogen purge with staggered torch crews, so I’m tempted to go RLS-style press on ACR and headers to keep zones turning over; but the fitting cost, clearance in tight soffits, and fear of a weep at startup have me hesitating. For those coordinating two or three crews, did press actually pull your finish forward a day or two without QA headaches, or does a tight brazing workflow still win when the dust settles?
On a 6‑story VRF we saved about a day and a half by pressing 7/8 and under and brazing only the headers; an M12 Force Logic with the compact 90° head fit the soffits, and a 550 psi nitrogen hold for 24 hours caught the only weep we had (missed a depth mark). The fitting spend was mostly offset by no fire watch and trimming the torch crew, but make someone own burr/depth-mark QC or you’ll chase pinholes at startup.
On an 8‑story VRF we pressed 7/8" and down, brazed headers/risers, and it pulled turnover forward about a day since we ditched fire watch and purge juggling. The win was boring prep — deburr, Sharpie depth marks, quick alcohol wipe — and a compact 90° head so we could Tetris the gun into soffits; kinda felt like cheating. For weep anxiety, we run 600 psi nitrogen for 12 hours and soap everything before wrap, and the one leak we had was a shallow insert we re‑pressed and moved.
Press started paying off for us once we re‑rounded every cut and Sharpie‑marked insertion depth. After one weep on an ovalled stub, we added a quick 550 psi same‑day zone test before ceiling close and haven’t had issues — still pencils out in tight soffits, @miller33.
We’ve kept schedules by pressing only at branch stubs and in congested soffits, brazing trunks/risers, and using a small mirror and headlamp to confirm the reference line is fully seated before the squeeze — measure twice, squeeze once. We also keep a “no press behind drywall” policy unless it clears an overnight high‑static hold and a quick helium sniff at start‑up; cost‑wise, anything wide‑open still gets brazed.