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Posted by Doug Miller on October 23, 2007, 7:44 pm
eselk@surfbest.net wrote:
>> >> Gee it sounds like what you are doing is right, and the responses have
>> >> been good. One more dumb question: while you are soldering, one end
>> >> of the pipe is open to the air, right? (So pressure doesn't build up
>> >> inside) -- H- Hide quoted text -
>
>Anyone else think this could be a trapped air problem?
Nope. Trapped *air* is never a problem when soldering pipes; it just doesn't
expand enough to cause any trouble, and the pressure isn't high enough to
force it past melted solder. Trapped *water* is a problem, though: when it
turns to steam, it occupies a thousand times the volume it did as water, and
the pressure can be enough to blow a joint completely apart.
>The more I
>think about it, just because I had some other nearby faucets open, I
>don't think that would release the air, and I really think I may just
>need to open the shower faucet (the one I'm installing, and this last
>elbow is on the supply side of that faucet). The more I think about
>it, it sure seems like it could be air, because the solder often looks
>like lava rock, instead of a nice smooth finish.
That's not from air coming out -- that's from steam.
>I probably should
>have mentioned that earlier, but it doesn't always look that way, just
>on some of my attempts, but now I'm thinking even on the attempts
>where I got the visible part smooth, there could still be rough parts
>that I can't see (i.e.-lines/bubbles where the air
steam
>is trying to pass).
is passing
>My wife just told me she "heard air" everytime I turned on the water.
>Not sure exactly what to make of that.
Doubtless you have air in the lines. But that's not relevant here: it's the
water, flashing to steam, that's causing your problem.
>
>I'll open the shower faucet on my first attempt tonight, AND also I'll
>be the one standing by the pipes while she turns on the water. Most
>of the time the leak was slow enough that I left the water on and
>looked for myself, and the leaks were coming from the joint, usually
>on one side of the elbow or the other, not something silly like them
>coming from the threaded joint (at the shower valve) and running along
>the pipe down to that spot.
Let the joints cool off longer, too, before you run water into them.
>> The trick? Get a slice of white bread -- the doughier the better. Wad it up
>> so that you can shove a bunch of it far down the pipe; a pencil makes a good
>> ramrod. Make sure it fills the entire diameter of the pipe. Pack it in both
>> directions if necessary. While you're soldering, the bread will absorb the
>> water. When you turn the water on, the water will dissolve the bread and
>> flush the pipe clean.
>
>Good to know.... although we rarely have plain white bread in the
>house, but I'm sure I could borrow a slice from a neighbor (wouldn't
>taste very good when I returned it though).
It doesn't have to be white bread. Whole wheat works just fine.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
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