I am working on an apartment building built around 1972. At that time the service lines were put in with Type M copper which is now pinholing at an accellerated rate. The manner in which the plumbing was installed is disgaraceful. I am retrofiting with Type L and have a few questions.
First: I had to cut some 1" tubing into 10' lengths to get them into the attic and work them around the trusses (pure hell). When I sweated them back together with a coupling, they weren't exactly straight. There is a
2 - 3 degree, very slight, bend at the coupling. This is the best I could do in those confines. Is this a real problem? Am I hoplessly inept as a plumber? Did I set myself up for premature failure at that joint? Or is this normal and nothing to worry about? Please advise.Second: Due to time constraints, I was unable to go back and clean the execss flux off of the outside of the new pipes. This left a little green oxide in a few places. How big of a problem is this? I also noticed in one spot where I sweated in two "Ts" and an elbow within a foot of one another there did not appear to be any flux residue. Is it possible that the excess burned away?
I am well aware of the hazards of over fluxing but am more concerned with getting a good solid joint. I try to use lots of flux, lots of heat, and lots of solder (95/5).
Thank you in advance for your comments and suggestions.