I've tried propane and then MAPP gas to unsolder one half of each of two copper junctions** and it doesn't seem to get hot enough.
I also have a torch that uses 12 inch tanks of propane and of oxygen. Will that get hotter than MAPP gas and is it appropriate to use?
Or what should I do?
The open end of the pipe points down and I had hoped the connector would just fall off when it was hot enough. When that didn't work, I put some needlenose vicegrips on the connector to increase gravity and to pull and twist, but the solder didn't seem to melt. I had no trouble getting it evenly hot when I soldered it together in the first place.
As am aside, when I heated the area, on all sides to the extent I could do that, with MAPP gas, something dripped from the joint. At first I thought it was solder, but it was a clear liquid. Was it water from the combustion? There were 10 or 20 drops a minute.
**Is that the right word, where an inch and a half long outer tube is used to splice two pipes together, end to end.I have a couple 3/4 inch copper water pipe junctions, straight connections, in which there is not much available pipe left on one side, and rather than cut off the part that is soldered, inside the connection pipe (I forget what that is called) I cut the connection in the middle, intending to heat and remove the outer layer next. But I can't seem to get it hot enough for it to come loose.
Thanks