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Posted by JB on October 25, 2007, 10:21 am
On Oct 24, 11:26 am, es...@surfbest.net wrote:
>
>
>
> > > I'm redoing my shower, all 1/2" copper pipes. I've done two couplers,
> > > 1 elbow, and 3 threaded connectors... and they all went fine. Just
> > > one other elbow had a small leak. I tried at least 10 times last
> > > night and continue to have leaks. Maybe I just need to try again
> > > tonight with a fresh mind, but...
>
> .. snip...
>
>
>
> > If the fit-up is too tight, solder can not flow properly into the joint.
> > This can be a problem is the pipe is slightly oval or has a bent place.
>
> Thanks to all who replied. I got it last night! Yeah!
>
> I wish I could say for sure what the problem was, but I ended up doing
> pretty much everything that was recommended in one shot, so not sure
> what really helped the most. I think part of the problem, and why I
> had to try so many times, was that after it was leaking the first
> time, I was probably trying to hard on all of the next attempts
> assuming that something was wrong. In the end, I just said to myself,
> "The other fittings went on fine, so stop trying so hard and just give
> it one more shot, just pretend it is the first time your doing this
> one, and that it was never leaking."... I just went back to basics,
> and didn't try too hard, and it worked. Plus I opened the faucet,
> used sand paper, bread, and several other tips as well, so was
> probably a combination of everything.
>
> Thanks again!
>
> p.s.-Could have been the fishing gods helping me out as well, because
> of the 1 day delay, it could time out that I'll be waiting for
> waterproofer to dry on Saturday instead of Friday, so maybe I'll get
> to go fishing after all =]
I haven't checked this Group in a few days so I'm coming at this
late.
I had a similar problem with repairing 1 small horizontal section of
pipe. I just couldn't get the solder to flow. I ended up with gobs
of solder dripping on the floor. Cleaning and fluxing over and over
didn't help. It was frustrating as hell. The problem was that water
was still slowly dripping through the system and collecting in this
perfectly horizontal piece of pipe. The torch was heating the water,
not the pipe! The solution was to cut vertically at the nearest
elbow (letting the water drip into a bucket), repair the horizontal
piece with a new elbow, THEN solder that to the vertical piece.
Bottom line lesson for me...water is a great insulator and you can't
solder with even a small amout of water sitting in the pipe.
--Jeff
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