Pipe soldering Questions

[Richard]

:-)

[tabbypurr]

Heh, sounds about right.

NT

[Richard]

So harry was right, you're trolling.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , MrCheerful escribió:

Lol!

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , MrCheerful escribió:

OK, and how much would a broken one, usable as a cheapo plumbing heat mat, have cost?

It was only a suggestion, I'm sorry if it doesn't meet with your approval :)

[The Natural Philosopher]

resin will work with clean bright pipework. Are they making the pipes as well?

Flux costs less than 5 meters of copper pipe..

£2.62 for enough to plumb a couple of houses.

On the same site. £2.47 for a meter of copper pipe.

Wirewool and mats are equally cheap. Anything will do for a mat that is an insulator that doesn't burn.

*shrug* if there is water, yes. The point is that civilised plumbing doesn't spring to life in a vacuum. I've lived in Africa. You import huge amounts of basic stuff until local industries can make it. That is how you develop a country.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Let's say that by importing torches mats and fluxes and even solders, the cost will still be WAY less than the cost of the copper pipes and fittings.

In other words, it doesn't matter. Far better to start by making pipes in local factories, and leave the soldering accessories till later.

[The Natural Philosopher]

+10001

[The Natural Philosopher]

couple of years back. Very cheap in 3rd world countries. Not very good with heat though. Tends to split and crack if at all wet

[tabbypurr]

Slate's good if they can take direct fire. Can they?

NT

[The Natural Philosopher]

Copper pipe is an unncessary £25 spend then

Use bamboo.

[The Natural Philosopher]

LOL!

[tabbypurr]

Tallow is 10s of pence for enough to plumb a street IIRC. Gutter grease is cheaper. This is to teach work skills.

of course, the question is what. Tin & cardboard isn't ideal, the torch can dry & burn it.

NT

[tabbypurr]

This is to teach work skills. Nothing is being imported.

NT

[tabbypurr]

ely as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.

I'm sure that where bamboo's available and good enough they do. Again, copper pipe is sold & used over there for some jobs.

NT

[The Natural Philosopher]

where is the pipe made?

[MrCheerful]

Oh, I get you, perhaps some odd bit of slate they could find on the ground as opposed to buy. Sorry.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Tallow isn't flux. It's used on a wiping cloth to prevent the solder sticking to the cloth.

[Nick]

I read kitchen green scourers were actually recommended as wire wool can leave steel crap in the pipe which damages boilers.

FWIW I tried a couple of weeks ago and green scourers do appear to work quite quickly.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I can tell you it jams solder fittings such that they won't budge (without soldering). When I filled a 28mm pipe with dry sand to bend it, I temporarily pushed capiliary endcaps on to stop the sand running out. No way would either one come off afterwards (and they were nowhere near the bend deformation). I had to cut the ends off the pipe and chuck them with the end-caps. (Fortunately, I had allowed spare pipe and not accurately measured the bend from an end.)

BTW, I cleaned the pipe afterwards by sucking a large cotton wool ball through it many times with the vacuum cleaner.

The other way my old 'Working with copper' book gives for bending pipe is to fill the pipe with molten lead and seal the ends. Then bend it and the pressure in the lead will prevent it collapsing. It wouldn't surprise me if that method was still used in the 3rd world.