hi,
i have been doing a bit of diy plumbing... sinks, rads etc
i had a terrible time recently trying to fix a leaking 15mm water pipe. i was using gas burner and solder/flux and just could not solder the 15mm T-joint. the water was off at mains but i could not dry this pipe.. drips kept coming..
is soldering a wet pipe a non-starter? if so i think i learned the hard way :-(
On 08/23/04 "NDS Ltd" snipped-for-privacy@networkXXXdata.co.uk writes in part
If you thought about it for a bit, you would come to the obvious conclusion that for at least 3 different reasons (all easily understood) the above statement is CORRECT.
Although there are several ways to stop the water from leaking into the area where you are trying to solder.
Doug
Water can only reach 100 degrees centigrade (212 Fahrenheit) before it turns to steam. Solder melts at much higher temp than that. When something changes state from liquid to vapor it absorbs a great amount of heat. If you have even a little bit of water near the joint, the temp will never rise much above 100 because all the heat will go into converting the water to steam.
MM
NDS - what you do is shut off the valve, put a coupling on then a stubb and a new valve & solder it up fast. Then you have a shut off that works.
Well, I've had luck with the MAPP gas Turbo torch. Not all the time. I seen some gaget that you melt later in the pipe. Anyone know of what I seen ? Solder melts at 800 degrees ? Hell, at Irrs they now have a tool that squeezes on fittings, the tool would break your back if you used it all day. Costs like hell too.
They sell a jet sweat tool that does pretty well. I don't know about you other guy, but if I have a leak problem, plain old white bread stuffed into the pipe works fine.
You find frequently that city shutoff don't completely SHUT OFF. I made a little gadget with a 1-1/4 fernco on one side that adapts to
3/8" tubing on the other side. In a pinch, I simply pull one of the supply tubes and hook the fernco side onto my shop vac. It does a great job combatting those water problems but creating suction and keeping the water away from my work area. It's a work around. But it does work.Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
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