I personally like safety polarized sun glasses when I braze just keep my vision good for a long time, All my Journeymen and Master techs had reading and seeing glasses for looking at that blue flame for years
Wow! You cut out the most critical part: how you measure for bends (back to back, center to center, inside to outside?) Can you do a vid on the measurements to take and where you put your mark onto the bender to get an exact point to point bend.
Reminds me of contractors i work for. Not worried about duct, just making line sets look pretty and making me add air scrubbers and three inch filters just to make price wayyy higher. It doesnt take much to make it look good if you care about the end result. Not putting down tour work. Love what toure doing. Wish i had the patience and time to do it myslef. Keep kickin ass bud.
Nice job. You should try staybrite #8, no nitro needed only small map gas cylinder and proper torch, throw it in a bucket and great for attics, light and easy.
I love the bender. I lucked up and got one new from the local pawn shop for $99.99!!! And a Field Piece $300 leak detector for $125. And even better yet. A brand new set of Testo digital refrigerant gauges for $125!! The leak detector and gauges. Were brand new!!
Not bad. This process is a challenge to experienced techs. Heat is the enemy of copper and clean connections. I think the industry should give more consideration to the use of staybrite 8.
Good job and keep up the great content. Ive come to always keep a fire extinguisher near me everytime im doing any torch work. Its better to have it nearby, than to need it and not know where it is.
Air acetylene is good, harder to get a neater braise joint, but quick and easy. Lighter and easier to move around on the job. They are noisy AF, need ear muffs for sure. I've used it on everything from supermarket refrigeration, air, and everything else to a small unit. It's not good IMO on TXVs etc. Just like mapp gas, it draws air in from near the tip to keep the flame hot and functioning. Most TXVs are deliberately installed in the hardest spot to get to, so it will draw in its spent oxygen that the flame has burnt and make it dull. You know what I mean. I used to do alot of install work and used it almost daily. I still use it in service, but not as often, and probably wouldn't buy one if that's all I did.
Great video man, I'm in school switching careers, i would love to know your thought process while brazing. Like where you're applying heat, what you're looking for before you apply the solder weld. Maybe pressures on your regulators for oxygen and acetylene. As well as tips you've learned along the way that you personally like. Thanks for the great content.
Just keep ur torch on the copper/fittings till they start to glow, or just tap ur braze rod up to joint every few sec and once it starts to flow, you know u got it hot enough and that's when u can start backing off with torch and just hit it again when it's not flowing like liquid. You'll get the hang of it, becomes 2nd nature after awhile.
PRACTICE. The nice thing about brazing and soldering is you can melt it off, clean up and reattack. Also do some structural brazing because braze joints are quite shock-resistant and being able to make things with the same torch you use for tubing can be quite handy. You can gas weld and braze sheet metal but avoid doing galvanized because the fumes are legit dangerous. Torches are wonderful things ANY mechanic or tech should have. Get some torch cutting practice on scrap too because it comes in handy. For example my bro and I buy used steel for our shop buildings, work benches etc and I bring a small cutting torch along to trim our scores to fit on the car trailer. A small cutting attachment can cut surprising thicknesses of steel effortlessly. All US-made torches have internal soft parts compatible with LP (I rebuilt my own torches and regs per factory literature) so be aware you can use LP cutting tips and run the torch off a BBQ jug by using CGA-510 adapters from your welding supply. You can run little torches off larger cylinders at home. I buy used cylinders off Fecesbook Marketplace because they're filled by exchange so buying new is pointlessly expensive.
I used the bender yesterday. Really easy to use. My helper on the other hand used a 90 and had three leaks. His technique needs some work. I had one leak.
Me encanto su video, fue excelente su video y como explico poco a poco, pero se le escapo varias cosas. me hubiera gustado que diera detalle de las presiones de la antorcha y como ajustarlo para tener una buena flama, y luego cambió de tanque, ese detalle me hubiera gustado, y la seguridad va primero, pero todo estuvo bueno
Always protect your eyes from uv and ir radiation when brazing. You don't realize you are damaging your retinas over time. You will eventually find everything is darker and it's hard to read stuff without a light. It's a gradual injury and it sucks.
@@hgn1832 Shade 3 face shields are more comfortable for me than glasses since I wear prescription glasses. Blue brazing lenses are even better but require either goggles or a welding helmet. tinmantech etc have those.
Even thou you might have done it, I didn’t see you ream your ends, or clean your joints. I know most people say that with good 15% rod, you don’t need to clean the fittings, but to get full penetration it’s best to do. I see that you are melting the rod with the torch. Bend the rod in a short 90 at the end, and heat the fitting enough to melt the shoulder on its own. Feed the shoulder in form the opposite side of the torch, otherwise you’re just capping the joint and won’t get full penetration. If you do it this way, your in and out a lot faster, and don’t have to ad more shoulder and move it around. Same technique for stay brite # 8. Good video.
Can you do a video on how long you measure the pipe to make it land where you want it once you get done bending the 90 degree bend. I have the same bending kit and I try and make my bends where they hit perfect but I always seem to mess up the measurements and have to cut out some of the pipe and braze it together where it will come out correct.
@@ghettocereal just so I understand, let’s say that the line set needs to go up 20” and in 10”, do I cut the pipe 30”, Mark the pipe at 20” and then line the marks up?
Matt Florence honestly I have a hard time visualizing your question lol. The only way I can describe it is if you’re running along your tubing, when you make a bend you use the mark on the same side that you are bending. So if your line is going to the right and you make a bend, you use the right tick mark in the bender because you’re heading right. If you’re going left, you use the left tick mark. And the same concept basically applies for goin upwards or downwards if that makes sense. Just get some practice pieces and try it out
I agree. Bending a 90 is easy. Bending a 90 in the exact spot you need it requires experience. I'd like to learn from his experience as to how and where to measure for a perfect fit
I was taught to make sure the pipe is almost glowing RED then you apply the solder , not sure if you did or not , couldn't really see , but want to ask , I've only brazed couple times, appreciate your input . Loving your video's to , new subscriber , thanks
Yes so you know that the copper is ready for the solder so it can be sucked up in there and you get better coverage, then repeat on the bottom. I myself always have problems with brazing under the copper lol.
I've found it very useful for things like compressors which have a steel roto-lock suction valve. Can't braze mild steel to copper, and the fit is very tight, so a little sanding and staybrite #8 makes a solid connection, and don't risk burning up the valve trying to use 45% very expensive silver solder. That stuff needs even higher temperatures to melt than Sil-Phos and heating mild steel to red hot temps can temper it, or excessively harden it making it brittle.
Great video. However I don’t recommend the victor regulator. You’ll need to purchase a separate regulator to pressure test. My recommendation is the Western Industries Regulator. You can braze, purge, and test all in one.
When using the bending tool you need to explain the marks (line) on the bending tool. So young tech will know where the bend will fall. The marks no the tool are for that purpose.
Subcooled Liquid in the 3/8, superheated vapor in the 7/8. Liquid goes “into” the home (to the evaporator), vapor returns to the condensing unit (outside the home), where work is done to it to condense it back to a liquid to return back into the house. It’s an interesting process.
Nice 👍,,,, can I get the reverse bender for the hilmor separate??? Because I have the same kit less the reverse bender, it didn’t come with that piece just an empty slot in the box! 🙏
You are on the money. His tip had too much acetylene (or not enough O2) flowing as evidenced by the orange flames. When adjusting for an oxy-acetylene torch for brazing copper you want a nice balance of ac and o2 so the flame tip isn't too tight (loud) nor isn't too loose. Once you get the needletip flame, pull back on the O2 so there is a little bit of a feather off of the torch tip, instead of the needlepoint blue flame. Should be a little quieter, a little bit cooler and more manageable.
Been watching your videos. Are most package units on residential homes really all hooked up with flex in the nashville area? Im a duct man from north east alabama and most package units on residential homes have square duct for supply and round duct for return. Depending on the job, but really the only time i run across flex under a house is a crossover on a mobile home, then what i do from there depending on size of unit is run round hard pipe then reduce down again depending on size of unit, then tap into exsisting mobile home duct atleast four times kinda spread out on the trailer to get better air flow to the already crappy trailer duct. I normally will cut in a floor grill for the return and put a slanted filter so as not to make floor grill bigger than needed. Anyway about that, juat wondering how residential homes are hooked with flex..kinda blows my mind. I hope they arent spider web systems...
How do you know if you can use your old copper or not what signs should you look for or should you replace the copper every time you replace both units
Only replace the copper if it is undersized or oversized for the new system. Other wise if it's the proper size flush it with Rx11 and your good to go.
buens noch amigo un gtan saludo desd ecuador excelente video la pasta q le pusiste en los vastagos del condensador para q es imagino q es para q no pase la temperatura a los vastago
Been at it for 30+ yrs. Water and strips of wet rags to wrap around the valves, no issues. I used that heat block stuff once and got it on the braze joint and holy shit. I COULD NOT get the silver solder to take. Ended up having to cut back the copper and make up new joints. Haven't used any heat block since...
Please put a subtitle in Spanish I am a follower of yours greetings from ECUADOR excellent what you do but put a subtitle to be able to understand you and have Latino followers ✌🏻
Question: If you were going to seal the system with the cores, is it better to let nitrogen flow until you get the vacuum on? Just wondering if its faster.
I’ve never used one of those turbo torches. That’s what they’re called right? It seems like the flame is a lot bigger though. It makes it look like you can control the heat application better when you use oxyacetylene.
I thought you werent supposed to put the solder directly into the flame?? I thought you heat the pipe and with the flame on one side you let the solder wick from the opposite side.
Yep! It's first thing I do when I light my torch and get ready to braze. I always heat close to me and place the rod behind the pipe and then work the silver solder towards me.
Goodman's come with one in the condenser, plus he said this video is for just showing brazing with the Oxy/Ace Torch, Air Acetylene Torch, the pipe bender & Solderweld gear.
The heat sink (blocking) ability of Wet Rag around the pipe shown is minimal as it needs significantly more contact to be effective. More importantly, your attempts to get filler rod into the joint is a complete failure. Once the joint reaches dark cherry red, the melted rod will fill the joint in 1 or 2 seconds and will never require you to heat and apply filler in several places around the joint. You're merely capping, not filling.
I always find brazing copper into the service ports to be a little tricky. The rod never seems to want to melt into it properly. Some of the more experienced techs swear by using a little bit of flux to help. I've never tried it but I'm curious to see yours, or anyone else's opinion or advice on that.
use some emery cloth and sand the inside of the fittings well to remove that brass colored crap. They're actually made of copper but that yellow or brass plating gets burned when heating. I roll up a little piece to the right size, and sand it. Also sand your copper, even if it's new. Even new copper has a light coating of oxide on it, and also the small scratches in the copper give some imperfections for the brazing filler material to 'bite' into.
