Alex Koper’s DONE WITH THAT™ – Quick Tips

Copper pipe and tubing can be joined in three different ways: with solder (sweating); with compression nuts; by flaring. The steps for each system are detailed below:

SOLDER (SWEAT) JOINED.

Measure and mark the length of pipe needed. Measure twice, cut once.

STEP 1: With a tube cutter, cut the pipe to length. You can also use a hacksaw and miter box to cut the material, but a tube cutter is recommended because it cuts the pipe perfectly square so it fits tightly against a tiny “shoulder” inside the pipe fittings. A hacksaw in a miter box also produces true cuts, but the metal residue on the pipe after the cut has been made must be removed with a cone or triangular reamer. The tube cutter has a built-in reamer for this job, although the tube cutter usually leaves a clean cut.

STEP 2: If necessary, remove the burrs left by the cutting operation.

STEP 3: “Dry fit” the fitting onto the pipe. Does the end of the pipe fit squarely against the shoulder in the fitting? If not, recut the pipe.

STEP 4: Make all necessary cuts in the complete pipe run and assemble the run “dry.” Make any adjustments at this time.

STEP 5: With steel wool, shine the end of each pipe where it will go into the fitting so the copper is as bright as a new penny coin. Do not touch the shined metal with your fingers. Your fingers leave grease on the pipe and any grease tends to prevent the solder from sticking properly.

STEP 6: Coat the shiny ends of the pipe with paste soldering flux. Use a flux brush for this and make sure that the pipe at the end where it goes into the fitting is completely covered with a thin layer of paste flux.

NOTE: Rigid copper pipe is assembled with sweat-soldered fittings using “soft” solder. Solder

STEP 7: Slip the fittings onto the pipe and make sure that the pipe is tightly set against the shoulder in the fittings. If the fittings do not have shoulders, the pipe should go into the fitting about 1/2 in.

STEP 8: With a propane torch, heat the fitting–not the pipe. Touch the solder to the joint between the fitting and pipe from time-to-time while heating the fitting. When the fitting is hot enough the solder, touched to the joint, will by capillary action be pulled back into the joint. If you look closely you can see this action. When the joint is full of solder, the solder will automatically form a tiny bead around the joint. At this point the joint is soldered or sweated.

You do not have to run the wire solder around the joint. Just hold the solder at one point and let the capillary action do the work.

STEP 9: Let the joint cool by itself; don’t dip it in water, since sudden cold sometimes causes the joint to crack. It takes only a few minutes for the metal to become cool enough to move, if it has to be moved.

STEP 10: Complete each joint as detailed

Potential Bottlenecks: Copper pipe can not be properly sweated with water in the pipe. The water from any installed pipe should be drained. If there is still moisture in the pipe when you start to sweat the joint, use this trick: Stuff a wad of fresh bread into the pipe. The bread will absorb the water. Then sweat the joint. The heat will turn the bread into “burnt toast,” which will flush out of the pipe when the water is turned back on.

If, when the water is turned on you have leaky joints, turn off the water and drain the pipe as best as you can. Then heat the leaking joint at the fitting and pull it apart after the solder has melted