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Posted by Stormin Mormon on May 5, 2008, 9:55 am
Sometimes, you can wire brush it good, dab on some flux. Very low heat, and
sneak in some more solder. It's never pretty after all that rework.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
He's right. I had a dribbler but in an easy to access location. I tried
reheating, fluxing from the outside and using way more solder than necessary
and it still took 5-6 tries to close the hole. In hindsight, it would have
been easier to cut the tee out and put a new one in complete with three
straight unions to make up for the shortened pipes. The finished joint
looks like crap too but I can't clean it up or it might leak again. Who
cares, it passed inspection.
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Posted by Stormin Mormon on May 5, 2008, 9:53 am
Old copper is miserable, to resolder. I know, done enough. The last time I
worked on old copper, was 3/8 soft copper, water line. I used stick brazing,
and 15% silver. Not for the faint of heart.
You're right, they need to be cleaned and redone.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
>are gully washers... just drip, drip, drip... but I know I will not be able
>to
>live with them. What is the best way to fix the leaks? I'm talking about
>1/2"
>copper lines and fittings.
The best and surest fix is the one you are dreading. The leaking
joints need to be separated, carefully cleaned, fluxed, and
resoldered.
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Posted by ransley on May 1, 2008, 2:06 pm
On May 1, 10:11=A0am, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN" <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com>
wrote:
> I spent a good while yesterday after noon with the spiders and snakes unde=
r my
> house replacing some valves that the last plumber had installed in the wro=
ng
> sequence so that it was impossible to blow the lines clear before the firs=
t
> freeze of the season. =A0The new valves are now in place and seem to be fi=
ne but I
> found that some very awkward places as I worked towards the outside faucet=
leak
> at the unions.... maybe three out of more than a dozen that I did. =A0So w=
hat do I
> do now?
>
> I can easily blow the lines clear now but I'm reluctant to negate any more=
work
> than I absolutely have to in order to correct the problem. =A0None of thes=
e leaks
> are gully washers... just drip, drip, drip... but I know I will not be abl=
e to
> live with them. =A0What is the best way to fix the leaks? =A0I'm talking a=
bout 1/2"
> copper lines and fittings.
>
> --
> Mortimer Schnerd, RN
> mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com
Use Map gas and try to add flux and resolder first, I had an idiot use
propane on big pipe and all I had was leaks, a pro came in with Mapp,
flux, and solder and no more leaks on a commercial water heater with
1.5" pipe 10 years ago, maybe it just never got hot enough the first
time to flow the metal.
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Posted by Tony Hwang on May 1, 2008, 8:07 pm
Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:
> I spent a good while yesterday after noon with the spiders and snakes under my
> house replacing some valves that the last plumber had installed in the wrong
> sequence so that it was impossible to blow the lines clear before the first
> freeze of the season. The new valves are now in place and seem to be fine but
I
> found that some very awkward places as I worked towards the outside faucet
leak
> at the unions.... maybe three out of more than a dozen that I did. So what do
I
> do now?
>
> I can easily blow the lines clear now but I'm reluctant to negate any more
work
> than I absolutely have to in order to correct the problem. None of these
leaks
> are gully washers... just drip, drip, drip... but I know I will not be able to
> live with them. What is the best way to fix the leaks? I'm talking about
1/2"
> copper lines and fittings.
>
>
>
Hi,
Quickest way is redo them after cutting the joint. Sorry to say it but
poor workmanship! Clean, flux, heat properly and flow the solder. If
water drops are present near the joint stuff a piece of bread to soak it
up. When your water starts to flow break will dissolve and come out of
faucet/taps.
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Posted by Mortimer Schnerd, RN on May 1, 2008, 11:17 pm
Tony Hwang wrote:
> Quickest way is redo them after cutting the joint. Sorry to say it but
> poor workmanship! Clean, flux, heat properly and flow the solder. If
> water drops are present near the joint stuff a piece of bread to soak it
> up. When your water starts to flow break will dissolve and come out of
> faucet/taps.
I know it was poor workmanship. I'm a rookie when it comes to soldering joints
and these were in the crawl space under the house. Not enough headroom to kneel
and my arms weren't quite long enough to lay supine and still reach comfortably.
I consider myself fortunate I didn't catch anything on fire.
--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com
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