Big Boss

The Big Boss

In the manual I touched briefly on the wonder of “bosses” - no not that annoying dip-stick that keeps on giving you hassle even while he’s paying your salary but the fitting used to connect pipes of different sizes to each other which, in order to encourage confusion, is also called ‘a boss’.

The most common sort of ‘boss’ that you’ll come across is the ‘strap-on-boss’ - which sounds like a sex toy but isn’t. The main problems with these are that the hole you need to cut rarely seems to conform to the standard sizes in most hole cutting kits, the strap itself is awkward to fit at the best of times and nigh on impossible to fit on every other occasion and if everything is less than perfect they have a habit of leaking.

The only reason they have a strap is to draw the boss onto the main pipe whilst the glue dries. So when you think about it there have got to be alternative approaches, yes? Well there are but most use some sort of rubber bung that you expand and they tend to be more expensive and rarely as good.

Fortunately there is now a better alternative, the “Big Boss”.

At first sight this just looks like a strap-on-boss that they’ve forgotten to put the strap on, then you notice the little flexible teeth on the inside. It’s these teeth that perform the job of the now passé ‘strap’.

To fit them just follow these simple steps:

• Cut the hole, the size of which they have conveniently set to match the holes cut by most hole-cutting kits.
• Get rid of any swarf and give the hole a little chamfer using either a round file or a utility knife.
• Add your glue to the boss and the pipe.
• Push the boss into place. The teeth put up a bit of resistance at first then they slide into the hole and snap open again, holding the boss firmly in place whilst the glue sets.

Not only do they seem easier to fit but they’re less prone to damage when stored in your van and are actually a little cheaper! The only downside I can see is that you might struggle to apply sufficient pressure whilst teetering on a ladder but, so far at least, I haven’t heard a bad word said about them.

You can buy them on EBay or just pop to your local plumbing merchants – PTS definitely sells them. The manufacturer, Rodetal, seems to shun the internet but they do have a blog to keep us all updated on developments as more and more sizes and colours become available.