When sweating copper...

[wareagle]

Is it a good idea to have a wet rag on hand to immediately clean up excessive "solder" before it hardens. Have run into a few spots when I had to take a file and grind off the excess.

[juan]

You don't need a 'wet' rag. John--Las Vegas

[wareagle]

Originally Posted by juan

You don't need a 'wet' rag. John--Las Vegas

This is my first journey into the sweating relm... Making lots of messes on the pipe...

And, little known fact, the solder when molten is right at 900 degrees. I have a left hand for proof...

[mikemstang66]

FIRST few wont' be pretty , make sure copper is shiny,dry and clean wipe off sanding resido with clean paper towel .

[mymachone]

The best way to avoid sloppy joints is to use very little flux , flux only the depth of the joint on the pipe and then only a little solider. then use a cotton cloth to wipe joint. Not paper but a cotton cloth. If you are really good , you don't even need to wipe the joint but that's not possible for most .

[beechkid]

Originally Posted by wareagle

Is it a good idea to have a wet rag on hand to immediately clean up excessive "solder" before it hardens. Have run into a few spots when I had to take a file and grind off the excess.

One of the best products I have ever used (when I worked in construction) is a product called Black Swan.....it is a soldering paste that is a one step solder/tin/resin product. You simply clean the pipe/fitting as you normally would, apply with a small brush the Black Swan to both the pipe end & fitting, assemble heat and you're done. I cannot recal ever having a leak either using this product.

I'm not promoting this website, but I did a quik search and this was the 1st hit.

Amazon

Amazon

[mymachone]

Originally Posted by beechkid

One of the best products I have ever used (when I worked in construction) is a product called Black Swan.....it is a soldering paste that is a one step solder/tin/resin product. You simply clean the pipe/fitting as you normally would, apply with a small brush the Black Swan to both the pipe end & fitting, assemble heat and you're done. I cannot recal ever having a leak either using this product.

I'm not promoting this website, but I did a quik search and this was the 1st hit.
Amazon.com: 95/5 Solder-n-Flux (1/2lb): Home Improvement

It may be ok but it has a Hugh draw back , it's very messy and very dirty. The joints are not very good either, lots of unsolidered spots in the joints , especially on the larger stuff. . Michigan no longer allows this stuff. Besides all of that , it dries out if not used with in a short time.

[Txasflood]

I would definitely have a wet cloth on hand, not soaking but wet. Mentioned above to go easy on flux...I agree just coat the area you want the solder to adhere to. Cleaning the mating surfaces with a pipe cleaner wire brush (inner) and emory cloth (outer) is the most important step.

A good tip an old plumber gave me was to also have a squirt bottle of water on hand if you are up in the floor joists or in somewhere tight against wood where you might potentially set your house on fire. Sometimes you get so focused on what you are soldering you lose track of where you are with the torch!

[bartl]

Also, don't use too MUCH solder as it will bubble into the pipe and end up breaking off and finding its way into one of your valves somewhere down the road. I had a heating contractor put in a hot water zone and tank in place of my boiler's integral tank and a few years later I found I couldn't shut off the faucet in my tub and also found some in my shower valve.

[wareagle]

Yeah, think I have just been too liberal with my flux then.

capped off the end last night (will eventually put my inline descent dryer for outdoor spraying there). Turned on the air and had a few small leaks in the joints. Corrected all but one and called it a night.

[mymachone]

Originally Posted by wareagle

Yeah, think I have just been too liberal with my flux then.

capped off the end last night (will eventually put my inline descent dryer for outdoor spraying there). Turned on the air and had a few small leaks in the joints. Corrected all but one and called it a night.

When it come to flux , all you need is a very thin coat , very thin. As far as the solider , here's the rule and what long time plumbers live by. for every inch of pipe, you use an inch of solider , so if your joints are 1/2 0r 3/4 then you use 1/2 or 3/4 solider. . as soon as the solider runs around the joint you have enough , Stop. after that it's wasted.
By the way , I am a professional Plumber have been doing this for 40 yrs. I have never used a wet rag , and never will . All it does is flash cool the joint and that's not what you want to happen. like I said earlier use cotton rag and nothing else. Believe it or not a good strong joint will hold and the pipe will burst first. Soldiering is more of an art than anything else. A well trained plumber can solider hundreds of joints and not have any leaks. I know on many of our jobs my men proved it . One job they had 300 joints of all sizes and not one joint leak.

[wareagle]

Question. When sweating, should you go all around the joint, or will the solder get sucked in from the top of the joint and make its way around the entire joint?

[Caper50]

Personally I heat the lower area of the joint and tap my solder on top when I figure its hot enough. When the top melts I remove the heat and give the solder a run around the pipe and wipe any excess. Never had a leak.

[mikemstang66]

heat will "pull " the solder , i heat all around add solder when it melts move heat around to bottom solder follows

[wareagle]

Originally Posted by mikemstang66

heat will "pull " the solder , i heat all around add solder when it melts move heat around to bottom solder follows

Thanks Mike... I was wondering how the heck people can solder the pipe on the side not easily visible...