How to Solder Copper Pipe The CORRECT Way | GOT2LEARN

Hi in this video I'll be thoroughly explaining how to solder copper pipes they get a nice leak free joint. If you're unfamiliar with soldering, you'll be able to solder any diameter pipe after this video with ease and peace of mind. There are 3 steps to solder a copper joint. Step 1 is preparation. preparation is the secret to getting a leak-free joint. If you skip or half do it, it will most probably leak and cause damage to your property, so this step needs to be followed very closely. Step 2 is the actual soldering process which I'll get into details in just a moment. And step 3, which is finalizing the joint. With that said let's get started. All right, so the first thing I want to go through are the tools and materials you'll be needing to complete the task. So tool number one is a torch. You'll find a good torch at your local hardware store that should cost you between 20 to 50 Canadian dollars yes there are better models out there for commercial plumbers, but if you're a do-it-yourself doing minor work these will 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 your camping aisle which should look like this or in the plumbing section at the store or map gas which should look like this. The difference between both of these is that map gas burns hotter than propane which in turn heats up your joint quicker so it's up to you to choose which 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 dedicated igniter which can be somewhat costly or use a $1 BIC lighter like I do. Your pipe and fitting will need to be cleaned from any surface corrosion or dirt that could compromise the joint while soldering. To do this, you'll be needing some sandpaper or emery cloth for the pipe and wire brushes for the fitting. Something else you'll need is some soldering flux or paste. The primary purpose of flux is to prevent oxidation of the base and filler material, without it soldering is literally impossible. Here's what trying to solder with and without flux looks like. And the last thing you'll be needing is solder. There are many filler materials that can be used for soldering copper, but the most two common ones are lead-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 with anyone. So as I mentioned earlier the video, preparation is key to having a good leak-free joint. The first step to accomplish this is to clean both parts that will be joined together. To clean the pipe take your sandpaper and sand the portion that will penetrate the fitting till it resembles this, as you can see there's no more surface spottings and that's exactly what we're looking for. Next is the fitting, you want to use a dedicated size brush where you're fitting to get it clean. They most often arrive clean from the manufacturer but it's important to get the surface roughed up a bit just so the solder can adhere better. If you're a commercial plumber and are cleaning a large amount of fittings in a day, a cool trick that I learned is to cut off the tip of these and use them in a drill as such making the process much quicker and less tiring. With both of your surfaces now prepped let's assemble them, but before you'll need to apply some flux. Applying flux is pretty self-explanatory, all that's needed is enough of it to cover both surfaces that touch just like this. With your flux now applied it's time for the actual soldering process which is step 2. Now the goal here is to heat the portion you want your filler material to be pulled into. There's a scientific term for this and it's called capillary action. Capillary action is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of external forces meaning it will flow upwards which is pretty cool. It's imperative to start heating your joint at the bottom first for two reasons. Reason one being is if you start heating the top first, your solder will want to flow down due to gravity but won't have anywhere to go since the bottom of the joint is too cool to melt the solder, so always start from the bottom and work your way up. And reason two is as you heat the bottom the heat rises and heats up the top of your joint 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 if it gets sucked in. Eventually your joint will be hot enough to accept your solder so 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 for itself meaning that if you haven't correctly heated the joint, you should get something that looks like this. If this happens, all you have to do is reapply a bit of flux, heat up the joint and solder the affected area. As a final step, when you're sure that your joint is soldered correctly wait a couple of minutes for it to cool down. Some plumbers will use flux to clean up the joint while it's still very hot but doing this could cause a big drop in temperature in very small amount of time and can fracture the joint causing a leak. Once your solder solidifies, use a rag to wipe off any excess flux that could potentially eat up your pipe in the long run and you're done. If you guys enjoyed this back to basics video, let me know in the comments down below so I could add to this series and also what type of topics you'd like to see as always don't forget to follow me on Instagram I post content regularly so go check it out and also follow me on Facebook and I invite you to subscribe to the channel for more cool upcoming videos thanks again for watching

Channel: Got2Learn

Views: 5,901,302

Keywords: DIY, plumbing trick, do it yourself, pex plumbing installation, plumbing hacks, plumbing, fix it yourself, plumbing videos, plumbing tools, plumbing basics, plumbing repair, plumbing diy, plumbing how to, plumbing video, how to do plumbing, how to repair plumbing, how to fix plumbing, rough in plumbing, how to solder, soldering copper pipe, how to solder copper pipe, how to sweat copper pipe, how to sweat copper fittings, got2learn, How to Solder Copper Pipe The CORRECT Way

Id: JyVbjDsric4

Length: 5min 4sec (304 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 12 2017