I tried brass quick connect hose fittings but the ball bearings kept denting the brass and the fit got worse and worse.
I replaced them with some stainless steel quick connect fittings I found on ebay from a power washer supply place. They have held up much better. The main drawbacks are cost and the seal is non standard so you would need to stock up spares/ hope they keep selling them.
This an assembly specifically designed to spread out heat, applying heat to the pipes will just make the whole thing hot. If you did take a giant blowtorch to it and got it hot enough to soften the pipes, you'd probably dry out the pipes (potentially explosively).
Heat pipes are cold worked in the factory. The metals chosen are ductile. Adding lots of heat will only add to the problems.