Basic Soldering of copper pipe

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Thank you for the post Nestor, very informative. I definitely appreciate knowing why certain steps need to be taken and the science behind it.
 
Steve: (and all the non-solderers in here)

Buy the torch, propane, solder, flux, sandcloth, fitting brush and a heat shield and practice soldering. You already know how from reading my post. Until you do that, you're going to be limited to using compression fittings for all your plumbing, and soldering is a much more reliable way to do things.

Maybe get one of those Black & Decker "Workmate" work benches so that you can learn to solder in your garage where you have a concrete floor and there's no chance of burning or scorching anything besides the Workmate. The sooner you start soldering, the fewer compression fittings you'll be wanting to replace later on.
 
louwatters, did you get tired of being told to quit leading members to your site on other DIY sites? Advetising it here, even though your disquise it, will get you banned.
 
Nestor,
thank you very much for your informative posts. I recently undertook some soldering projects at my house and planning to do more. I got a good head start by watching some howto videos on YouTube but I still wasn't completely confident since I didn't have a complete understanding of the processes behind soldering pipe. Your excellent posts made everything really clear to me. In fact I registered at this forum only to let you know that. You should right a book on a subject or at least post it somewhere more permanent than a forum.

Also I would like to say this to a member who thought this stuff is too elaborate for a newbie plumber. That couldn't be further from the truth. I'm actually pretty sure most professional plumbers don't know how soldering works. They surely do know how to solder and they probably learned their skill and some tricks from another professional as an apprentice. Thats something a do-it-yourselfer learning from media lacks. That's why understanding the chemistry behind the whole process is important. I really wish I found this post before - it would save me some frustration. Thanks again!!!
 
Kilativv:

I couldn't agree more that newbie DIY'ers want to know WHY things work the way they do. I know I always did. I can imagine a DIY'er saying: I just wanna know what to do, not why. But that would only be in a situation where they figure it's gonna be difficult to understand, and they're not gonna understand or even remember it anyway. Every DIY'er I've ever met online wanted to know why things work the way they do if there was a simple and easy to understand explanation that would lay everything out clearly for them to see.

Thanks for the fan mail too.
 
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That's right, Kilatiff.

You don't wanna be boosting my ego cuz there's no telling what can happen.

I COULD decide to take over the world, and that wouldn't be pretty.


Best just to leave things be.
 
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Nestor, with nothing else to do on a rainy afternoon I have just finished your post and I can't say enough good about it. I have done everything there is to do with plumbing accept solder copper pipe. Just seamed like something to leave to the pro.

I have 2 outside faucets that need replacing and now understand better about how to go about this. I will practice and see if I can do this with confidence.

Thank you Sir.
 
Thanks for taking the time to read it, Rodland.
 
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Nestor, back when I was in school I did HVAC. My boss taught me how to sweat pipe but never why we did what we did.

Over a year later and your post is still informing DIYers like me.

Thanks.
 
Nestor_Kelebay has not only informed us about the chemical properties of copper and Mapp gas but has given someone with a grain of sense, ME, an enjoyable read regarding how to solder a ball valve to copper pipe. Thanks Nestor.:)
 
You could of went to home depot and got the plumbing 1,2,3 book. .
Clean fitting and copper
Flex the pipe and fitting
Heat up the fitting
Solder the joint
 
This is amazing! I've always hated soldering copper pipes because most of the time they don't leak, so when they do I have no idea what I did wrong (I probably do one job a year, very occasional). But now I get it. I'm a bit of an info nerd, so too much information is just right for me. Telling someone how to do something is usually enough, but for thick heads like mine, explaining all the chemistry, techniques, etc, is a huge help. I especially like the vaseline experiment. Now I wanna try other stuff... shampoo or conditioner?, dark beer?, hand lotion? sometimes I have a runny nose....
Thanks,
ThomBoz
 
good grief, it would take longer to read this than to solder the joint, clean, flux, heat, apply solder, wipe , and you're done. Now sit back and read the past nonsense but have a beer nearby
 
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