PROBLEM SWEATING COPPER. WHAT AM I DOIN WRONG?

Posted by Steve Barker DLT on October 20, 2008, 8:25 pm

OH? do tell...... and lets not cite that government bullshit about lead
leaching into the water and getting consumed.. doesn't hold up... millions
of us grew up drinking tap water from real solder sweated copper plumbed
houses.

s

> Which is not a good idea at all. There is a good reason for lead free
> solder.

Posted by Voyager on October 20, 2008, 9:02 pm

Steve Barker DLT wrote:

> OH? do tell...... and lets not cite that government bullshit about lead
> leaching into the water and getting consumed.. doesn't hold up... millions
> of us grew up drinking tap water from real solder sweated copper plumbed
> houses.

Yes, and now give faulty advice about solder. Hmmm.... :-)

Posted by PeterD on October 21, 2008, 9:30 am

On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:25:15 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"

>OH? do tell...... and lets not cite that government bullshit about lead
>leaching into the water and getting consumed.. doesn't hold up... millions
>of us grew up drinking tap water from real solder sweated copper plumbed
>houses.

Agreed, I too grew up in houses with lead soldered pipes. I don't

think it caused my Drain Bamage, but can't be sure. <bg>

The issue is that later, when selling the house, if the buyer finds
lead solder in a house where there should not be any, the seller may
(well after the fact, too) be required to set it straight. Selling a
property in today's world is very complex, and leaves the seller
holding the bag, so to speak, for extended periods of time.

>> Which is not a good idea at all. There is a good reason for lead free
>> solder.

Posted by Bobk207 on October 23, 2008, 12:37 am

> On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:25:15 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"

> >OH? =A0do tell...... =A0 and lets not cite that government bullshit abou=

t lead

> >leaching into the water and getting consumed.. =A0doesn't hold up... =A0=

millions

> >of us grew up drinking tap water from real solder sweated copper plumbed
> >houses.

> Agreed, I too grew up in houses with lead soldered pipes. I don't
> The issue is that later, when selling the house, if the buyer finds
> lead solder in a house where there should not be any, the seller may
> (well after the fact, too) be required to set it straight. Selling a
> property in today's world is very complex, and leaves the seller
> holding the bag, so to speak, for extended periods of time.

> >s

> >> Which is not a good idea at all. There is a good reason for lead free
> >> solder.

Since it wasn't until the 1980's that lead free began to be
required .....there are a whole lot of homes in the US with lead based
solder.

Lead paint was phased out in the 70's.

So what % of US homes have some lead paint & lead based solder?

yeah, lead free solder might be a good idea but I'd like to see the
data showing how much personal lead loading is due to residential use
of lead based solder.....

fyi only 50% of ingested lead is absorbed...90% of inhaled lead is
absorbed

cheers
Bob

Posted by PeterD on October 20, 2008, 9:53 am

On Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:54:11 -0700, "T. C. Conde"

>I am a general contractor but it has been years since I sweated copper.
>I cut the pipe with a pipe cutter tool. I clean both the pipe end (male) and
>the fitting (female) thoroughly. It is shiny clean. I coat both with paste
>flux (the brown stuff). I put the two pieces together until the pipe seats
>all the way into the fitting. My torch is one of these where you just push
>the button and the gas comes on and it lights. The flame is not a pin-point,
>it is pretty open. I hold it about an inch from the fitting and heat it up.
>I have to stay on one side of the fitting since I am blocked by things in
>the way. the flame is on it about 8-10 seconds.

8-10 seconds? Not nearly long enough. The pipe must get hot enough to
melt the solder, not the flame. Right now you are melting the solder
with the flame, but the pipes are still down-right cold!

>I apply solder and it melts
>but it doesn't go into the fitting, it just balls up and runs off without
>being sucked into the fitting. What am I doing wrong?
>Thanx

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PROBLEM SWEATING COPPER. WHAT AM I DOIN WRONG? - Page 3