{"id":799,"date":"2012-03-25T08:24:19","date_gmt":"2012-03-25T13:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/?p=799"},"modified":"2012-04-11T20:04:38","modified_gmt":"2012-04-12T01:04:38","slug":"sweat-copper-pipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/plumbing-2\/sweat-copper-pipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweat Copper Pipe"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the advent of Pex tubing and \u201cShark Bite\u201d type fittings, sweating (soldering) copper tubing is becoming a lost art.\u00a0 With a little patience and a lot of practice you still have time to master this art form.
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Step 1:\u00a0 Using a tubing cutter<\/a>\"\" to make a smooth square cut at the end of the pipe.\u00a0 Never use a hack saw to cut copper tubing.<\/p>\n

Step 2:\u00a0 Ream the end of the tubing and remove any burrs left from the tubing cutter<\/a>\"\".<\/p>\n

Step 3:\u00a0 Use emery cloth to polish the outside and inside of the copper tubing as well as the fitting ends.\u00a0 Clean all surfaces until they are as shiny as a new copper penny.\u00a0 Do not touch the cleaned area with your fingers.<\/p>\n

Step 4:\u00a0 Use an acid brush to apply a thin coat of plumber\u2019s flux to both the outside of the copper tubing and the inside of the pipe fitting. Flux removes any remaining impurities and etches the copper surface to ensure proper adhesion. \u00a0Do not over apply the flux.\u00a0 Excess flux will eventually weaken the solder joint and corrode the tubing.<\/p>\n

Step 5:\u00a0 Assemble the copper fittings and tubing.\u00a0 Make sure the tubing seats fully inside the fittings to assure a water tight bond.<\/p>\n

\"Propane<\/a>
Propane torch being used solder copper pipes for residential water mains. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Step 6:\u00a0 Use the blue flame of a propane torch to heat the fitting as quickly as possible.\u00a0 Direct the flame to the middle of the fitting moving the torch in a slight arc around the fitting.\u00a0 On a horizontal application, heat from the bottom of the joint rather than the top.\u00a0 The heat will naturally travel to the highest point of the tubing.<\/p>\n

Step 7:\u00a0 When the flux begins to melt and the fitting glows with a slight iridescent color, touch the solder to the joint.\u00a0 If the joint is hot enough the solder will be pulled into the fitting and create a seal around the circumference of the joint.\u00a0 If the solder is not pulled into the joint, continue heating the copper for a few more seconds before trying again.\u00a0 When working with tubing less than one inch in diameter, it is not necessary to physically move the solder around the joint.\u00a0 Simply touch the solder to the top of the fitting and it should flow into and around the joint.
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Step 8:\u00a0 Before the joint has a chance to cool completely, run a rag over the edge to remove excess flux and solder, creating a smooth and even finish any professional would be proud of.<\/p>\n

When soldering copper tubing,<\/a>\"\" do not overheat the copper. Fifteen to twenty seconds should be more than enough time to heat the joint effectively.<\/p>\n

Email us at info@you-can-fix-it.com<\/a> to request new fix-it ideas. We also encourage you to add comments or suggestions below each article.<\/font>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\"tools\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the advent of Pex tubing and \u201cShark Bite\u201d type fittings, sweating (soldering) copper tubing is becoming a lost art.\u00a0 With a little patience and […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[284,281,282,283,297],"class_list":["post-799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plumbing-2","tag-copper-pipe","tag-copper-tubing","tag-flux","tag-solder","tag-sweat-copper-pipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":942,"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions\/942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.you-can-fix-it.com\/fix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}