Simple Easy Trick For Joining Copper And Aluminium 

You can be having a "worst day" of failures with everything going wrong, but then open a video from Rob absolutely ecstatic about a brazing rod, and suddenly the world is full of endless possibilities again. Even if you don't need to join 2 metals. 😊 As they say, success is 90% attitude - thanks for sharing some of your endless surplus!!

I've done some aluminium brazing never thought of using it with copper and Ali. Thank so much for sharing this great post.

Hey Robert, how about putting the exact rod description and where you got them in the description box. A lot of people are trying to replicate this and failing. The rod details would be welcome at this point. Thanks.

Super neat joint in seconds!:) that's the first time I've ever heard myself mentioned!

What an easy solution to a real pain of a problem, thanks for that, you've made my day!

I absolutely love your enthusiasm its contagious 👌🏼👍🏼

Thank you for sharing. I too needed to know that this could be done so easily. I love your enthusiasm Rob! Another great video!

Wow, I considered this “possibility a while ago when I bought some of the brazing rods for aluminium work but it never got tested. Now thanks to You Rob and James - this is a game changer, as a amateur radio operator/ antenna builder - this opens up a whole new realm for metal joining- obviously I’m looking at mainly the electrical bonding as well as mechanical(better than nuts n bolts). A lot of your projects are of real interest to the amateur community, from capacitors to wind generators for portable radio work and we do like to build our own. Job Done very very well done. Barnie M7PBX.👍🏼

Like you said that opens up so many possibilities! Great idea!

Most people think aluminium will not solder, but it solders extremely well. The problem is that aluminium forms a thin layer of aluminium oxide instantaneously (or close enough for our purposes) when exposed to air, and aluminium oxide will not solder. You can use special fluxes and rods etc. but what if you don't have any? If you are looking for an electrical connection only, say an earth connection to an aluminium chassis or joining aluminium and copper wire, you do not need anything except rosin core solder. You can do a submerged joint. Simply tin the copper as normal, then sand off any hard aluminium oxide deposits (as in the video above). Use a normal soldering iron with a sharp-edged bit, in my case a hard copper tip filed to an oblique end (elliptical), you must keep the leading edge sharp. Create a blob of solder that covers the aluminium, then run the sharp edge of the soldering iron down the aluminium. This will scape off any newly formed aluminium oxide, the solder will keep the air out so no oxidization, the aluminium underneath will instantly tin, you can't get it off with anything less than sanding or grinding. Join the two together with a normal solder joint. If you are attaching an earth to an aluminium chassis, you may need to create a thermal break to reduce the heat loss (aluminium is a very good thermal conductor). If joining two wires, twist them together, you will only be electrically connecting them in a relatively small area, but this is usually sufficient. High current joints will require more work! I have used it to join small sections of aluminium using a gas torch and small brush, it works but is a bit of a pain. If you do this, clean away as much of the solder as possible after tinning as it will be contaminated with the aluminium debris. Remember, for all of these joints, two different metals, so electrolysis and corrosion can be problems as it is for aluminium alloys with copper content. Add an electrical potential and the sky is the limit for mysteriously disappearing wire. I learnt this method many years ago (50 or so) when I joined aluminium to copper telephone cables (cheapskates thought they could save money substituting 0.51mm aluminium for 0.40mm copper, but they paid dearly for it in the end), after a few tens of thousands of joints, you get the hang of it. 🤔

I love your enthusiasm and thank you for sharing the content its very educational

That really is F-ing awesome, thanks! I'll have to have a try too now! 😊

Brilliant, really useful find. Thanks for sharing. Good demo to see how its done.

Good job all! extra glad a bunch of these are laying around.

You sure make this look easy! Great Info! Thanks!!

Thank you. I have always been dubious about these ali brazing rods but if it's good enough for you it good enough for everyone else.

Wow, that seems to be some fantastic jointing method

BRAVO , thanks for the tip about clamping with wood shims i never understood why copper pipe would never be hot enough for clean joints, but i will definitely be given this one a whirl when I'm on my feet again

very cool, and thank you Rob & James for telling him...

This is a game changer! Thank you Sir!

I stumbled upon your videos not very long ago, and you are one of my new favorite places to learn interesting stuff. Chemical engineer (no longer in industry) here and trying to get into the DIY lifestyle. Hello from Maine, USA, and keep up the great work!

I used to repair a few refrigerators in my past life . That aluminum to copper joint is found in a lot of frigs and A/C s it was always an area to shun away from. Thank You very much. Those of us who work with materials never like barriers.

Just what I needed - thank you :)

I have some of that rod, it is a little expensive for what you get, I got it for joining aluminum to aluminum. Thanks Rob, I learned something useful if I ever need to do that.

Thanks mate, that really helps.

Thanks Rob! Thanks James! Great find

Thanks for your video. it is really helpful to me .

Thank you, have always wanted to know if this would work. Great video

Very cool...i never thought it will hold,but Mr Workshop show me the opposite. THX for the Video!

Awesome stuff!. Totally agree with that this opens up some fantastic fabrication possibilities!. Been looking for some time to find a better way of joining copper wire/ tabs onto aluminum sheet for a secure and sound electrical connection without having to drill a hole, and this looks to be the total biz!, many thanks :) (y)

I keep seeing these advertised, they looked too good to be true. I'll get some now! Thanks!

Good tip, never thought to try aluminum brazing rod on copper, no flux needed even better

Thanks for sharing that tip! Very useful method.

Choked on my coffee, that laugh 😂. ! . That is wild mate wow, ..

That’s great to know about. Those rods will solve a major problem for me in a future project.

WHAT? you have got to be kidding me! why that is fabulous! WOW I am glad you showed this to us.. what a darn great thing... I am excited now to get my Rods and start playing around... Woof... what a trick.. old dogs learning new things!!

Wow simple as that lol . Thank you so much for sharing. Now to hunt the screwfix catalogue.

very useful Thank you!

I have got some of the stuff , never tried it good to know .Thanks

Just great!... Thanks Robert!

that's f*****g awesome !! :) I'll be sure to remember that one. just a side note, depending on the application, I'm pretty sure joining copper and aluminium together can lead to galvanic corrosion.

I have been bombarded with ads for these rods lately and was sceptical, am about to buy some now! Thanks.

I was just on the phone with my Mom. The moves damaged her refrigerator at a point where the copper tubing joins with aluminum tubing. A few technicians told her that it couldn’t be fix. While speaking to her I looked at my screen and low and behold Robert was doing a video on the exact same thing. Thank you Robert.

I wonder if the electrical conductivity is still good. Also wondering if you bonded a copper and aluminum wire and then heated the end up in a flame, if you would get a measurable voltage like a thermocouple.

Nice…thanks!

Robert, I really like you and your videos. Here are some extra tips: Only use the steel brush for brushing aluminium of the same alloy. If you mix them, you will contaminate the brushed area. Pre heating parts in an oven allows for less heat stress and warping. Allways heat up the metal, not the rode (as a smart guy, you found it out at the end of the video). Check the penetration of the welding, make some test peaces and cut them open. There are quiete some different qualities of welding rodes on the market. And the most important tip: aluminum weldings are working over time :D So what looks good and nice today, can be quite different in 6 months.

Essentially replacing Tin by Aluminium.. that's amazing didn't realize you could do this.

Thanks for sharing the information.

Wow .. another good one!

It would be nice to know the electrical conductivity, resistance, etc. between the two after joining them.

That's pretty slick!

Great video. Would this joint steel and copper?

Another good video!!

this is indeed really cool.

That alumin(i)um rod works well for things like that and it requires less heat than brazing. It's good for repairs on non-ferrous materials and, in a pinch, it'll get you 'home' to make a permanent fix. Have you ever heard of or tried friction stir welding? Works reasonably well to bond dissimilar metals. Then, we have one of my favorites. Explosive bonding. 😎

Respect and gratitude

That's a good looking joint. I like the fillet it made. Copper pipe and aluminum plate are often the best materials but not until now could we join them. HHO might do a good job. It is hot enough to work well. It seems to "wet" both members and looks like a good solder job might look.

Hi Robert, where can I purchase the rod you used in this video please?

Is a great Video Robert. I think you are chasing the spider here! lol I am sure I used to use low temp solder ( < 200'c ) in the lab, would that not do for joining ABS/Graphene ???

A well done sir ! from a geothermal Tech from the states. What a nice even clean weld not easy to do. At all. It helps being able to position and reposition the work piece, sometimes you're not able to do that it's difficulty can go up by order of magnitude. any kind of braze or solder its key the workpiece be sanitary. Aswell majority of the time I like to take a pair of side cuts and mark,bend or nip the side of the solder rod from the end up just the distance diameter of the pipe that helps with flowing the correct amount of material to give a factory looking weld. The more is not more better, just uglier. Depending on how many welds and the size of the work piece I've been known to start with oxy-acetylene or map gas to get the work up to temperature and switch over to butane pen usually allows me to do multiple welds in the tight area without some sort of spray thermal block smew. if need be.

Hey Rob, any chance of a link as to where I could get those rods please... Noel

Great stuff although with all that heat and the different coefficients of expansion some care may be needed with some types of construction.

All Hell I ordered some. LOL Been meaning to have a go at it for some time now.

Nice to know it so simple.

That's brilliant. Never thought of doing that.

I bought some of these soldering sticks, and they were plastered with warnings about toxic fumes. How cautious do I need to be?

Big thumbs up.

Can i use this method om chiller AC cooled

thanks....excellent

What type of rod did you use?

how long will the joint last given galvanic corrosion?

Flipping BRILLIANT Sir. Now I have a means to terminate Copper cable Lugs to a Aluminum Bus Bar.

I have lipo tabs , I can not get to spot weld, the only luck i have had, was using a nickle strip on both sides, then spot weld it, I don't think this will work on the tiny tabs, but spot welding nickle, I don't think it's a true weld, I think it's burning a hole through the aluminum, and welding the nickle strips together, this aluminum brazing rod, is a game changer for aluminum, I don't really know when I'd need to join aluminum and copper, (I'm guessing brass also) except for maybe a heater core, for a boiler project, putting copper/brass connectors on aluminum tubing of a heat exchanger, this truly some cool stuff, cheers!

Thanks! 😊👍🏻

Can anybody advise on these type of Ally Braising rods and where in the uk can i get a good deal. TIA

Alright thank you sir

That Is Good Rob But As You Probably Know When You Heat Copper Too Much It 1st Becomes Weak And Then Just Turns Powdery . I Learned This When My Old Primus Paraffin Stove Pump Failed , Not Sure If You Remember Them They Were Brass But The Pump Cylinder Was Copper . Any Road Up I Bought A Primus Omnifuel Stove That Will Basically Burn ANY Flammable Liquid Under Pressure , A Little Bit Hefty On The Wallet But That Little Beauty Really Is A Masterpiece In Engineering Bless Up Earthling

Robert, do your brazing on a firebrick. They won't catch fire! I'm surprised that worked! I wouldn't have imagined to try that.

A word of cation: such joints are susceptible to galvanic corrosion if they get wet, rapidly so with salt water, because basically you have an electrically shorted galvanic cell at the joint. On a related note, I once melted pure zinc ingot and made zinc dendrite by pouring it into tap water, then drained this through a stainless steel strainer and left it wet for a couple of weeks to air dry in an open stainless steel bowl. When I came back to it, I found that the zinc formed loads of zinc oxide because of this galvanic corrosion having occurred due to the zinc having been touching stainless steel. I should have used a glass or plastic bowl.

I wonder how this handles galvanic reaction?

Interesting and useful video Rob. Question, ive read onling many times that copper and aluminium corrode each other and thus its not recommended to do so. Is this really true or is it the case that if you do x its fine but if you do y it corrodes badly? As always thanks in advance Chris

would solder paste not help create an even better bond by allowing it to flow? I know its used in fitting copper to copper for plumbing and in electronics to solder aluminum components to copper traces?

now thats cool

Rob, could you show how to solder an aluminum electric wire to a copper electric bulb socket?

Usually it is a question of an active enough flux to do that. I seem to recall those rods are zinc based (?) perhsps that is why it works with those two metals.

Do you think this could hold water

Which Ali brazing rods did you use ? I bought some and they were very reluctant to melt using Oxy-Acetaline and the result didnt stick to the piece of cast Ali I was trying to repair. It appears that not all Ali brazing rods are equal.

Have you seen G Bear Off Grid A home Stead in the desert videos on 'free electric from RF' experiments. If so what do you think?

I need to stick a copper sheet at the bottom of an aluminium pan for cooking. This aluminium stick would do the trick, but will it be heat resistant? A bit sceptical about that!

What about electrolysis between copper and aluminum?

How is the thermal conductivity between the materials?

please can you give a link to the rod and also the torch thankyou!!!

I am still trying to figure out exactly what product is being used here. Could someone clarify?

Thankyou for sharing where you got brazing rods! Ive tried ordering them before but kept getting the knock off product, and it wouldn't melt at any temperature!!

Now you tell me..... I just finished 40 joints joining AL tube to Copper sweat fittings like the HVAC guys do with a special rod that included flux (wicked expensive) at very high temperature (950°F) which was very close to the point that the AL became mush. Lot's of scrap until I learned the correct technique. Will play with your suggestion.

Got yourself thermoelectric generator 2 dissimilar metals Add a heat gradient You'll get a current

Thoughts about converting Hot water tank into Sterling generator. Constant heat source and constant cold source...maybe a tesla oscilator(piston) instead of trying to convert 2 stroke engine. Thoughts on making graphene brick size capacitors and using as construction interior brick wall storage. Thoughts on Eddy Currents and harnessing eddy curentd as magnet travels through a graphene copper wire lined pvc pipe or tube. Thoughts on Tritium lined pipe with capcitor and photovoltaic cells and magnet...like those magnetic/battery trains running through copper wire....giving off enough eddy currents to be harnessed or stored.. Thoughts on Tessa valve and compressing air to turn a converted two stroke and flywheel to run the engine

Does this mean no more bolts for connection points on capacitor plates? Surely a polished plate, scored and a multicore cable connection would bind. Can I ask for the resistance and dimentions of a piece of your brazzing rod please Robert.

MAXIMUS AWESOMINUS!!!

Amazing what about steel and aluminum or even aluminum and 316 ss. Copper and steel is easy with laco flux and solder.