Issac. I managed a tube fabrication shop for over twenty years. I set up and brazed copper to copper, copper to stainless, copper to brass for many high tech and some military applications. One suggestion for your "grapes" is to move your torch tip to the top side when soldering flat as shown in the video. Solder will usually run to the heat, in this case up, and pull the solder against gravity. This will reduce the tendency of excess solder running down with gravity and toward your heat source. Of course if you stand the fixture up, this will help as well, but it is not as convenient. I also agree with you about the aesthetic value of the look, and professionalism of the work. Excellent video as always. Thank you for the effort it takes to post your content. B
Very good video on soldering. I, too, loved the generational teaching part. I am 65 and my father taught me how to solder copper pipes when I was 14. I have always done my own home plumbing and now flip houses as a retirement venture. Sure glad my father took the time to teach me this art--long before RU-vid and the Internet existed! Now I am learning all about Copper to PEX from you. Installing a Delta tub/shower fixture tomorrow and your video was a great refresher for me. Thanks!
I've been telling everyone interested in tile about your videos! As a plumber I feel obligated to learn more about your end and you've been great at conveying valuable information in a palatable way. When selecting the rough valve always choose one with stops as its not only required by the UPC, but makes servicing the valve less inconvenient for the owner seeing as you don't have to shut the whole building down for service. That inconvenience is magnified when the repair part is not readily available. After cutting your length of copper be sure to remove the burr to reduce the effect of cavitation (Grady on the practical engineering channel explains this clearly). I prefer to clean my pipe (always type L) until the writing, color mark, or any incidental scratch marks are removed. I've found no need to remove excess flux from the pipe so long as heat is applied correctly. That one may be more difficult for you given your torch tip. I use a B tank with turbo torch and varying sized tips which allow me to size the tip according to pipe diameter, and reduce the risk of burning framing or melting wires. As for heating, both the UPC and Copper Development Association Suggest to start heating the tube first then the fitting, with the flame positioned at the back of the socket and pointed towards the front so as to avoid burning out the flux by directing the flame into the socket. Work the torch in a circular motion with the solder always following the flame. I'm both over complicating this for small pipes like 1/2" and skipping steps for larger diameter pipes and brass fittings, but I've learned for experience how important it is to run the solder all the way around the joint. I find when i follow these steps I can solder any vertical joint without a drip. I also find it helpful when fabricating anything to crimp the fittings to maintain alignment during soldering by making the end of the pipe slightly oval. anyway, thanks for sharing your knowledge, and keep up the stellar work! Instagram: k_l_fogle
Thank you for the added Knowledge of Copper pipe. I love the art of using the Torch as to the Crimping New technique. Reason I'm doing copper as a DIY, not as my profession. Working with Copper Soldering is very SOOTHING to me, like Fishing. WOW , it's been 23 year ago since I have fished. Thanks for the TEACHING & the input given from others. WOW, every one continue to help one another, I like it.
Doing my first bathroom remodel on my own home and stumbled across this. Wasn't what I was looking for but I truly appreciate your positivity and stance on hurtful comments and whatnot. Constructive criticism is necessary, but there are a lot of people who don't realize how much they can hurt people with negative comments. Had the video playing in the background and it was a breath of fresh air to start my day. Keep it up brother!
Great Old-School video. I am from the old generation: autogeen welding, soldering, hammering distributors on an anvil etc. I notice nowadays that the new generation only learns to work with PEX and haven't hardly any knowledge of the old techniques. It's all about working speedily where durability has become too expensive. This vid contributes and should be looked at just by our next younger generations. Therefore it's a pleasure to watch this craftsmanship. Greets from Holland and thanks for this video. Marcel Knippers
My dad was a master plumber, and he always wiped his joints when he was done soldering. He also let the solder draw to the heat which allowed less solder balls to form. great vid thanks for showing us your technique.
@@ibealion1 Nope... believe it or not ounce for ounce tinning flux typically runs about a buck cheaper. Some won't use it "because" tinning flux doesn't easily flush from the system. While hot water can flush tinning flux on the hot side, not so much on the cold water side. Depending on who you talk to non soluble flux can technically leak into your the water supply for years. Am I concerned? No. Oatly No. 95 Tinning flux is 100% lead-free and is NSF-listed for potable water applications. That said, the primary reason people don't use tinning flux is probably due to building codes and where they live. Some codes "require" the flux used be water soluble. Personally I avoid using water soluble flux where I can because it has a greater tendency to cause corrosion issues on the outside of the pipes if not meticulously cleaned of excess flux.
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. -Douglas Adams
Wipe your drip away with a little ball of fiberglass insulation while hot. Insulation doesn’t burn like a rag. Practice make perfect. Keep up the good work.
I'm just a 3rd year apprentice plumber. The master I learn from taught me to use a little Flux on the joint when the fitting is still hot to remove those drips. I'm trying to learn to get better. Some days better than others lol
You should always use a Copper Tubing Reamer. A flat edge inside your connection will become a weak point because of the water flow. Use a reamer and you’ve now beveled the inside of the pipe to allow water flow with no restriction solder joints last longer.
@@Maccongroup It's mainly to get rid of the burr inside the pipe edge, which results from the pipe cutting process. It will also bevel the inside somewhat depending how far you go, but it's not necessary to bevel as long as you get rid of the burr.
Solder from the bottom... heating from the bottom - heat rises - and the solder will follow. Eliminating your "drips;" setting up your station where you can work from both sides of the tubing. Great video, thanks!!!
Solder with a work glove on one hand, as soon as you set the solder wipe of that connection with your gloved hand. It looks great! My buddy showed me that. You won't have any drip looking things
Dad was a Master Plumber ~45 years in the trade. ALWAYS clean and flux both sides of any fitup, and cleanyour joints with a wet cloth wrap wipe after your done.
Thank you for the video. As an HVAC tech my soft solder skills are not as good as with 15% silver solder. I believe I tend to get fitting to hot and use to much solder. This makes me want to practice on some scrap copper before doing an install. Good job.
I guess I use more solder so it drips at least once. I like to see it go all of the way around. The nugget is fine. It means you got enough in the joint to fill the gaps. Don't worry about that drip or nugget.
After I cut the pipe, I use a step drill to ream the burr flush with the inside wall of the pipe. That burr can cause turbulence as the water rushes over it and this can lead to wearing away the pipe from the inside out over time. The pipe cutter also has a reamer blade tucked into the back of the throat of the tool. Nice video
theres a solid argument that theres more friction in a pex-a 90 fitting than a copper 90 fitting due to the interior diameter of the pipe/fitting. which is why its common to use a bend support 90 for pex-a over a 90 fitting.
The best advice I got when soldering, try to heat the "top" and feed from the "bottom". Works really well when you working on horizontal pipes, helps against those " berries". Idea is that the solder flows towards the heat, so in theory you stop feeding when you see the solder hit the top.
So I've tried De-soldering pipes twice. One was a 2" drain from my sink and the other was a 3/4" pressure relief drain on my boiler. Both times, I was never able to get the solder to loosen at all. Both cases, I ended up cutting the pipe and using alternative connections. Any recommendations one what you think I might have been doing wrong. I literally spent as much as 5 mins trying to heat the connections up.
I have been doing maintance man for 35 years on the vale where threads are I take street 90 flare ring and a with a nut tighten down on the vale. I take 2 2" copper pipe on the shower pipe I run 6' flare ring with a nut tighten that down street 90 on top of the pipe solder them down on end of the pipe 4" pipe solder male plug male plug I used plumbers pipe tape. water proof flux medium bàse 1/2" to 1" brush paste on twist pipe 1/2 to 1 Full turn to stop over drip on flux heat street 90, heat for 20 to 30 seconds test to see if it's ready to weld. The reason should not solder the vale gotta replace or rebuild the vale also reduce chance of a fire gotta take valve apart. 2 I use PEX fittings and plumber tape screw tape to stud and wrap the other end to the stud make it tight make sure pipe don't move. All valves do go bad over the years. Every time I gotta replace valve I ask my self what mess this is gotta make sure I don't set a fire witch I have done wet rags do get hot and do catch on fire I have done it. On my coustomer house I caused a fire by trying unsoldered pipe I had soak rags put it on valves PEX pipe was 2" above of the runner stud no room to work. I redid all of it made it much easier to work with and easy cable removal
That means could you use the same solder that is used to copper to solder the brass ? brass and copper can be solder with the same as the copper to copper?
U are right aboit the millenials u gotta understand they had everything handed to them where they couldnt learn my father owned alot of properties and he took me along with him to learn as much as i can... im 42 now and i dont pay anyone to come fix amything for me..thanks pops i appreciate the lessons...
I've just started soldering and am by no means an expert. There were a few spots that would make me nervous (could just be how it looked in the video). Just curious ... did it leak? Richard from This Old House uses a TS4000 torch like yours for everything, but he uses propane instead of MAP.
That's an expansion fitting. Uponor does not explicitly prohibit the use of crimp fittings with their pex-A, but doing so will void the warranty, and such connections are far more likely to leak.
@@dcl97 "voids the warranty"??!!.. pipe failure due to not approved crimp? Wow! Thanks. I need to read up on that. Yikes... At least a shark bite would give some sort of guarantee. Uponor is gutless
@@dcl97 What I read is that using crimp fittings will lower the warranty of the pipe to 10 instead of 25 years and that joint is not covered by them since it is not their fitting. I wish someone made PEX-A to PEX-B adapters instead of having people either crimp Uponor or create a short pex-a to copper and then to PEX-b
I’m not a plumber and I’ve seen a ton of them work, I normally don’t comment on someone’s work but you are heating in only one spot you should heat all sides
I want to see how is it on the wall. I don't see no reason to make a shape turn, the studs are 16" apart I would make a 90 degree turn at the studs so the piped can be fasten to the stubs. Also, I would use the pex rough in valve so i could eliminate all the soldering and the expensive fittings.
I am not an expert but if helps carry a wet rag with you and after you solder lay the rag over and wipe just that drip portion not the whole pipe it does not cool too fast or change anything at all I have never had a single issue good luck sir!
25 years plumbing and that’s not enough solder I’m not saying it’s gonna leak but if you solder enough joints that light you will come a cropper one Day I’m sure lol Also soldering into the brass fittings I’d be cursing you when it’s time to replace the shower and I have to take tiles off to alter pipe work just saying 😂
I thought the amount of solder was light. I watched a video where they bent the solder at a right angle and left ½” beyond the bend for soldering ½” pipe and 3/4” for soldering 3/4” pipe. Once you use the ½” or 3/4” section, the joint is full
Hello i am no professional plumber(homeowner) but i am always worried that my soldered joints may leak how do i know when i have used enough solder? In your video the joints have some pin holes are they sealed?
If you get the drip that he was talking about that means the joint has taken as much solder as it needs. It's okay to have a drip like that but you can also clean it off by wiping it with a dry rag.
Here we are required to add hammer arrestors to all new plumbing being installed . But we use the same setup to adding pex to copper. Some municipalities require us to use the copper pex adaptors which is just them being a pain in the ass.
Hi, Isaac, I would use thicker wall copper pipe. I never use the red strip copper pipe, which thin wall, it may leak due to the pinhole, a piece of very small sand in the copper. When I solder I make sure inch of solder melt to 1/2 pipe and 1 1/2 for 3/4 pipe.
@@cencoast_7.340the answer is not too much solder, is 100 percent perfect if you do it right. you don't just solder outside the connection of the copper , you want the solder melt to the inside edge of the copper connection, about 1/2 to 5/8 deep. I am a professional tig welder and have solder over 30 years, also a industrial mechanic , automotive mechanic too. Quality bathroom remodeling.
Use more solder next time and always have a rag next to You to wipe every Joint clean. You dont use enough Solder. I Love Your Videos though. Keep it Hot so You can wipe off the drip.
I'm with you on trying to achieve a clean result. Not just for looks, at minimum cleaning the excess flux off the pipe makes it nicer to handle. Love your general attitude in all your videos BTW.
David Hollman best way to Keep A Drip From happening after You Clean you Fitting And flux The fitting and the pipe , Just wipe Your Joint Off And removed Excess Flux.. Then solder.
First step in clean results is proper function. Shouldn't flux the fitting, just the pipe, so that the flux is not pushed to the inside right at the get-go. Yet he brushed the pipe end with an almost dry brush, should have dipped it in flux before that, instead of applying some into the fitting after. This looks like the result of learning by doing, without understanding it at all - that's when unfounded fears are born and people overdo things and make them worse, because they aren't sure what does what, other than solder melts, fills gap.
I am electrical contractor of thirty-five yours. I appreciate your tradesman ship and how you talk about your own trade. I am currently working on my daughter's house and doing a full remodel of a 1962 track home. Your instructional videos have given me the confidence to tackle some projects and up my game as a trades person. My Uncle was the professional plumber and would always wear brown cotton gloves when soldering. Just after removing the solder from the joint he would reach out and with a quick flick of a finger wipe the excess solder off the joint and clean the Pipe. He was extremely efficient and Never had to reach for a rag to wipe the pipe as a solder cools quickly and sometimes you don't have that much time before it solidifies. The gloves will also keep you from getting burned as often happens when you work your torch. I am looking forward to your next video.
To keep from getting “drips” I recommend using a smaller flame and the solder doesn’t follow “gravity” it’s drawn to the heat. A smaller flame will draw the solder to the hottest point, your flame surrounded the joint thus causing drips.
I work away from “things” depending on what working on as heats up as go away instead of towards. Now this also depends on if you’re working on a finished “room” or if doing rough in work, as well. Was taught long ago how to “READ” the job & how it’s gonna flow to make the soldering go as quickly & efficiently for you; as each job is different. Also, was taught to use some flux to wipe off joint & somewhat of a “barely moist/damp” rag to wipe up any of the solder/flux & the joints; as you want to leave everything looking “nice & pretty” for the client. Granted, most of the times owner won’t see this, but other ppl will see this & if you have “pride” in your work & yourself....why not take the little extra step & a couple of “seconds” to make it look good; as PEOPLE will notice & take note as to who does what & who does this on a jobsite......someone is always watching & taking note; & if not, knowing that I did my best regardless of if I side a wall etc..., I’m gonna be proud & happy that I did a great job. Just some thoughts. Also have used Copper ProPress fittings to use on some installs with the Milwaukee (or Ridgid) ProPress tools. Pretty different than soldering the connections, gotta say, & do like the “ease” at which everything goes together. Thx Issac for the vids & also found out from this vid that you DO NOT look 42, seriously, I thought you were 29-31😊 15:50 think what ppl mean is that using “wet/very wet” rags will cool the copper pipe too quick & could cause some shrinkage & “crack” the solder joint. Cheers✌🏼
Just wanted to make sure that others don't misunderstand "taught to use some flux to wipe off joint", then wipe with moist rag. I assume you are trying to dissolve dried flux. Technically you should never leave excess flux on the outside of the joint as the acidic flux will cause corrosion leaving a greenish/white layer of corrosion in a short time. Definitely wipe down with a clean wet rag. I do a lot of work for the same customers over my 37 yrs and have been embarrassed to see the ugly corrosion in exposed areas(basements, crawlspaces) where I didn't clean off the flux
I’m a rough in plumber by trade and usually I run my solder down half of each joint to reduce failed joints later on in test faze, and having to solder in awkward areas I may be wrong but I think the amount your using is a little on the light side and as soon as you solder you can take your flux brush to get rid of drips
My experience with copper is linesets for AC systems and it was important not to use too much because it restricts the flow. It really doesn't take much at all to completely fill the connection. Also it doesn't take much before it starts filling the inside and shrinking the ID of the pipe.
Got2Learn has some good soldering videos. As a rule of thumb, he recommends bending the end of the solder 1/2" for 1/2" pipe (3/4" for 3/4" and so on) and once the joint has taken all solder past the bend, then you've got enough in there.
I thought the same thing, it is best to run the solder around the joint 3/4th of the way to insure it fills in the joint completely. Who cares if it has a drop on the bottom, it will never leak.
Always solder the larger mass of brass/copper joint first before moving to the next copper/copper joint that is close by which avoids liquifying the solder in that joint. For the lead free brass/copper joint I try to preheat copper pipe first then move to the brass heating one side then moving torch to the other side then apply the solder to the pre-heated side allowing the torch heat to draw the solder to the opposite side. It doesn't take much solder but you might have been a little stingy with the solder on a couple of joints. As long as you can see a nice smooth filet of solder around the joint your good. A typical rule of thumb is a piece of solder that is same as size of copper. (e.g. 1/2" of solder for 1/2" copper)Personally I had rather see a solder drip at the bottom than not. I try to wipe it off when I can with a barely moist cotton rag if I'm quick enough. Just be gentle when wiping off a liquid solder joint so as not to cause joint to move. At the same time this cleans excess acidic flux which causes green corrosion if left on the joint.
@@garyjeffersii6735 absolutely. best not to touch the wet solder joint. it is easy to turn it into a "cold solder" joint, where the hardening did not happen correctly. it is very common in electrical soldering. If you are very carful the dry rag works well, and a bit later, a wet rag to remove the water soluble flux while it is still hot but the solder is firm. flux is quite acidic, it needs to be removed or risk a pin hole years later.
Regarding the stub out as a cap... I'm always a little tentative about dead ends in my pipes because of legionella risk. Maybe that risk is tiny... I'm not sure. But seems worth avoiding or minimizing dead ends where possible.
I agree with you on longer sections of dead ends but In this case there will still be a small amount of turbulence created by the proximity of the valve even though water is not flowing thru which is enough to keep it clean. No need to make it as long as Isaac did unless you're making a true stub out to cut into and solder for some possible future use for spout or diverter. I never use pre-made stub outs like that except for maybe a vertical air chamber for water hammer but even then I usually don't have one on hand and just use a section of copper and cap it off which is much cheaper
Yea I was guna say the same thing even in my state that kind of stub out is not code anymore because it can potentially leak the code wants us using caps
Looks good, a little light on the flux. I personally like NO #5 flux. There's no need to use extra flux at the end for cleaning. Just let it cool off enough to handle and clean off any flux with a clean rag, then polish it up with a steel wool. Any leftover flux on the pipe or fittings with cause the them to decay. Far as the drips go, they happen. Not gonna get it perfect everytime.
Nice job don't worry about the haters. It takes a lot of effort to make and edit these videos. They're free to watch and they help people, so don't let the snipers bug you. One tip I was given about this task is that most new to soldering tend to over-apply it. The old hand who taught told me this: If you're soldering a half-inch joint, bend an "L" in the solder with the leg of the "L" a half inch long. That's how much solder goes in the joint. Bend a 3/4 inch L if it's a 3/4 inch joint it, etc. When it's done you just need to see the smallest bit of silver all around the joint, and it should be fine. He used one of those little inspection mirrors on every joint to make sure the solder went right around. His solders you could barely see just a tiny continuous ring of solder all around the joint because he filled the joint and not much more. Were mine soler joints as nice as his? No, but they looked pretty good and didn't leak. It's a practised skill and if you did it every day they'd look perfect but the joints I see here are great. If they pressure test fine you've done your job and no one will see solder perfection behind the wall! doing joints on a table in front of you like this is great when you can do it. I find it challenging and stressful to solder inside a joist bay or some other confined space where your torch is surrounded by dry wood.
I'm a oldTimer and I don't mean to be critical but there are some steps that will help you and other guys down the road. 1. Use propane not MAPP gas because it doesn't get the material to hot the idea is to sweat your joint so it pulls the solder into the joint. 2. Use less heat turn the torch down more.so it pulls the solder Into the fittings.Wait a minute then Wash. 3. Why the pipes are still hot wash them off with a little Dawn dish detergent and water so they don't turn green and cause corrosion. With a wet cloth. That's where you see down the road the pipes are green and starting to rot because they weren't washed off. 4. It is okay to submerge the pipes in water afterwards it's called tempering the solder it's something that's required in a lot of big commercial jobs 5. Using steel wool to clean your pipes afterwards because it'll make them shine and look professional Enjoy your videos and I'm learning from your channel thank you
Your in Sacramento. Go to pace or cal steam. Try the water base flux. It’s more easy to clean out with water verse tin flux. It’s a world of difference. Been doing this for way to long lol. But I’ll admit now I wouldn’t use anything else. But some like the older stuff.
