Hi in this video I'll be thoroughlyexplaining how to solder copper pipes they get a nice leak free joint.
Ifyou're unfamiliar with soldering, you'll be able to solder any diameter pipeafter this video with ease and peace of mind.
There are 3 steps to solder acopper joint.
Step 1 is preparation.
preparation is the secret to getting aleak-free joint.
If you skip or half do it, it will most probably leak andcause damage to your property, so this step needs to be followed veryclosely.
Step 2 is the actual soldering process which I'll get into details injust a moment.
And step 3, which is finalizing the joint.
With that saidlet's get started.
All right, so the first thing I want to go through are the toolsand materials you'll be needing to complete the task.
So tool number one isa torch.
You'll find a good torch at your local hardware store that should costyou between 20 to 50 Canadian dollars yes there are better models out therefor commercial plumbers, but if you're a do-it-yourself doing minor work thesewill do just fine.
To be able to use your new torch you'll be needing some fuel.
There are two varieties of fuels for you to choose from.
You've got your ordinary propane gas which you can either find in yourcamping aisle which should look like this or in the plumbing section at thestore or map gas which should look like this.
The difference between both of these is that map gas burns hotter than propanewhich in turn heats up your joint quicker so it's up to you to choosewhich one you want to use.
Next up is a lighter for your torch.
If your torch doesn't have one built-in like this, you can either use a dedicatedigniter which can be somewhat costly or use a $1 BIC lighter like I do.
Your pipeand fitting will need to be cleaned from any surface corrosion or dirt that couldcompromise the joint while soldering.
To do this, you'll be needing some sandpaperor emery cloth for the pipe and wire brushes for the fitting.
Something elseyou'll need is some soldering flux or paste.
The primary purpose of flux is toprevent oxidation of the base and filler material, without it soldering isliterally impossible.
Here's what trying to solder with and without flux lookslike.
And the last thing you'll be needing is solder.
There are many fillermaterials that can be used for soldering copper, but the most two common ones arelead-solder and lead-free solder.
Lead- free solder, which is also known as 95/5, is what's used for potable water line.
When doing copper drains, lead-solder, which is also known as 50/50, can be used seeing it won't come in contact withanyone.
So as I mentioned earlier the video, preparation is key to having agood leak-free joint.
The first step to accomplish this is to clean both partsthat will be joined together.
To clean the pipe take your sandpaper and sandthe portion that will penetrate the fitting till it resembles this, as youcan see there's no more surface spottings and that's exactly what we'relooking for.
Next is the fitting, you want to use adedicated size brush where you're fitting to get it clean.
They most oftenarrive clean from the manufacturer but it's important to get the surfaceroughed up a bit just so the solder can adhere better.
If you're a commercialplumber and are cleaning a large amount of fittings in a day, a cool trick that Ilearned is to cut off the tip of these and use them in a drill as such makingthe process much quicker and less tiring.
With both of your surfaces now preppedlet's assemble them, but before you'll need to apply some flux.
Applying flux ispretty self-explanatory, all that's needed is enough of it to cover bothsurfaces that touch just like this.
With your flux now applied it's time for theactual soldering process which is step 2.
Now the goal here is to heat the portionyou want your filler material to be pulled into.
There's a scientific termfor this and it's called capillary action.
Capillary action is the abilityof a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of externalforces meaning it will flow upwards which is pretty cool.
It's imperative tostart heating your joint at the bottom first for two reasons.
Reason one beingis if you start heating the top first, your solder will want to flow down dueto gravity but won't have anywhere to go since the bottom of the joint is toocool to melt the solder, so always start from the bottom and work your way up.
Andreason two is as you heat the bottom the heat rises and heats up the top of yourjoint as opposed to starting on top which takes longer for the heat to go down.
So keep on heating it up while testing your solder every now and then to see ifit gets sucked in.
Eventually your joint will be hot enough to accept your solderso go ahead and run a nice bead all around the joint to ensure full coverage.
A good tip here is always inspect your joint after soldering it it'll speak foritself meaning that if you haven't correctly heated the joint, you should getsomething that looks like this.
If this happens, all you have to do is reapply abit of flux, heat up the joint and solder the affected area.
As a final step, whenyou're sure that your joint is soldered correctly wait a couple of minutes forit to cool down.
Some plumbers will use flux to clean up the joint while it's still very hotbut doing this could cause a big drop in temperature in very small amount oftime and can fracture the joint causing a leak.
Once your solder solidifies, use a rag to wipe off any excess flux that couldpotentially eat up your pipe in the long run and you're done.
If you guys enjoyedthis back to basics video, let me know in the comments down below so I couldadd to this series and also what type of topics you'd like to see as always don'tforget to follow me on Instagram I post content regularly so go check it out andalso follow me on Facebook and I invite you to subscribe to the channel for morecool upcoming videos thanks again for watching.
