how sweat copper pipe

Shut the water main off and leave all the faucets in your house open. Copper is both a good conductor and container of heat and theres a lot of metal in copper pipe -- a lot more than an ordinary copper wire anyway.

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Heat the Fitting to Sweat the Copper Pipe When youve prepped yourself and your workspace its time to turn up the heat.

. Steps to Sweat Solder and Attach Copper Pipe 1. In this video the DIY Guy shows you how to sweat copper pipeHere are a few other plumbing videos you might likeW. Shut off the water and ensure that the pipe you will be soldering is absolutely dry. Make sure the pipe is drained of any remaining water.

Hold the solder opposite the flame the coolest point to make sure all parts of the joint are hot enough. This is critical to ensure that the solder will adhere. Plumbing doesnt have to be intimidating. Next you must clean the pipe and fittings as any debris could hamper the quality of their bond.

If the copper pipe you intend to sweat is a water pipe you must drain the line and ensure that it is completely free of water before soldering. To make repairs it is sometimes necessary to take the joint apart. Ignite the propane torch and play. Plumbers join copper pipe with a torch and soldering paste in a process called sweating pipe.

Like any soldering process you will first have to heat the metal -- both the pipe and the fitting -- up to a temperature sufficient to melt the solder. Soldering also known as sweating is a method of joining two pieces of copper together usually water lines. Using high heat a plumber joins the pipes with filler metal called solder which is a flexible metal wire and a paste called flux which draws the melted solder into the joint helping to properly seal the connection or joint. The plumber applies the solder to the juncture of the pipe and fitting making it watertight and permanent.

You need to CLEAN the inside of all fittings and the tips of the pipes that will be going into the fittings with an emory cloth or coarse sandpaper for folks who arent plumbers and the net result should be that the metal will appear shiny as opposed to the dull oxidized copper look that pipes get once theyve been installed for some time but you do not want to actually POLISH. Video of the Day Step 1. When the temperature of the copper reaches the solder melting point the solder wire youre holding against the copper will suddenly liquefy and flow into the joint. Even a rookie can learn to solder leak-proof joints in 30 minutes.

As a mechanical contractor I sweat a lot of copper pipe yet people dont believe me when I say the preparation is more important than the torch work. This process is known as unsweating pipe. The process of joining copper pipe and fitting is called soldering or sweating which is a critical step in the copper installation process. The most common way of joining copper pipe is by soldering its called sweating mostly in the US probably because the pipe sweats as it heats up.

Soldering copper water supply lines is not a difficult skill. Plumbers also use this term to refer to. To dry the copper pipe do the following after shutting off the water. Flux is used to prevent oxidation in the copper when the heat is applied and to wet the metal allowing the liquid solder to flow more easily into the joint.

Disassemble a Soldered Joint. Soldering produces fumes so be ready with safety equipment. Drain the line you will be working on by opening the faucet. Pipe sweating is a term that is used to mean a couple of different things.

Solder is a metal or metallic alloy that historically consisted of lead known as lead-based solder and tin in various proportions. How to Sweat Copper Pipes at the Joint 1. Even the experienced tend to rush the job. Thoroughly burnish polish by rubbing the fitting inside and out with a wire brush or emery cloth.

The process is simpleif yo. Cool pipes attract the humidity in the air and cause condensation to form on the exterior for example causing sweat.

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