Used a new type of copper joints this week and would like to know if anyone has heard good or bad about it. At Home Depot they have copper elbows and other joints that come with the solder already in place. It worked great and I wanted to keep using them because my solder skills are not so great. What is down side of these products?

 

I have not used these but more Members keep bringing them up. Guess its more a cost issue than anything else. Even this I have no idea of but bet they are a lot more expensive than standard fittings. It really doesn't take a whole lot of practice to do a "regular" sweat job. Clean the fitting and pipe, use a good quality flux, heat the joint where you want the solder to flow to, feed the solder and wipe off the joint with a soft cloth or gloved finger.
I would worry that if you overheat the joint on a pre-soldered fitting, it would burn or run out and cause a leak due to not enough solder in the joint. I have seen a product that used a "solder ring". You placed the solder ring in the joint under the pipe and heated it til it melted. Improper heating resulted in partially melted solder and a bad joint. The idea for this new product came from "tinning" larger fittings before soldering. Melting the solder and wiping it in the joint so you knew you had full coverage of the solder. If it works for you....use it. It's your money. Good luck.