Things You'll Need:
- Patience,Desire.
- Check the first step for a detailed list.
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Step 1
Safety glasses, Fire extinguisher, bottle of gas (mapp , acetylene and propane gas are popular choices), torch to fit the bottle of gas, Copper tubing, copper fittings, striker, roll of solder (lead free solder must be used on all piping to be installed in the domestic water system), soldering flux, sand cloth, fitting brush (match to size of tube), tubing cutter, deburring tool, cotton gloves, cotton rags, dust mask.
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Step 2
Check the area where you are going to be soldering and remove any materials that are flammable. Make sure the fire extinguisher is close by in case a fire starts. You don’t want to be looking for the fire extinguisher in a panic should something accidently catch fire. Be sure to wear your safety glasses; you only get two eyes so don’t take any chances with them.
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Step 3
Check the end of the tube to see if it is round. Many times you will find the results of rough handling with the end of the tube dented or oval, occasionally the damaged end is not useable and will have to be cut out. Don’t try to force using the piece of tubing it is better to use a round end. Even if you do manage to get the fitting on it, you still may wind up with a leak. Use the tubing cutter to cut the pipe to the desired length. Now with the deburring tool ream the inside edge of the tube to remove the small burr that formed when you cut the pipe. Take the sand cloth and shine the outside of the tube, about 1inch will be sufficient. Check the surface of the tube and make sure that you didn’t miss any spots. If you did then go over it again; anything left on the surface of the tube will be a potential leak. Sometimes you’ll find the sticky residue from tape on the pipe right where you want to make a solder joint. Don’t cut it out. You can use the torch to burn the residue and then clean the tube with the sand cloth. Use the fitting brush to clean the inside of the fitting. Make sure that the fitting is clean and shiny. Starting with clean tube and fittings is extremely important so take the time to be sure.
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Step 4
With a pencil, make a mark on the tube so that you will know when the tube is all the way into the fitting. Apply the soldering flux to the ends of the tube and to the inside of the fitting. This flux is what allows the solder to adhere to the copper so it needs to be applied evenly. With the flux on the copper insert the end of the tube into the fitting and give the two pieces a back and forth twisting motion. This will insure that the flux covers all of the surfaces.
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Step 5
Turn on the gas and adjust the flow of the gas on the torch handle. You don’t want the torch fully open. Give the torch just enough flow so when it lights you will have a mild flame. Now use the striker to ignite the gas. Be sure to point the torch away from yourself and away from others. You certainly don’t want to set anyone on fire. Now with the torch lit, adjust the flame so that you have a clearly defined flame. The flame will need to be large enough to heat the joint but not so large that it continues past the fitting excessively. The flame should not extend beyond the fitting for more than two inches. This is good practice; it will keep you from setting objects nearby on fire.
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Step 6
Bring the torch up to the joint that you are going to solder. Apply the flame to the tube just before the fitting. Slowly move the flame around the surface of the tube. The hottest point of the flame is at the tip of the blue cone inside the flame and this is where the flame should be touching the copper. Once you have heated the tube outside of the fitting, you will need to heat the fitting as well. The idea is to heat the entire joint evenly, so don’t just park the torch in one place and expect to get a perfect solder joint. The heat is what draws the solder into the gap between the tube and the fitting, so if you don’t heat the joint evenly, the solder will pool where the heat is applied.
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Step 7
With the tube and the fitting heated evenly, you will next feed the solder into the gap between the tube and the fitting. This part of soldering is something that has to be practiced in order to get the proper feel for it. The right amount of solder to feed into the joint is the amount of solder that will give you a solid joint. The manufacturer will tell you to use “x” number of inches per solder joint but anyone who solders for a living will tell you that you will need to get a feel for what the right amount is. Practice is the only way to acquire the skill to know that you have filled the joint.
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Step 8
Although heat is necessary to melt the solder, too much heat is not a good thing. Overheating the solder joint is a common mistake made by people just starting to learn how to solder. When too much heat is applied to the joint, the flux gets “burned” and takes on a black appearance. When this happens you are better off stopping and starting over. Trying to solder a joint once it has burned is very difficult; even professionals who solder every day have leaks when trying to do this.
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Step 9
When you feel that you have filled the solder joint completely, use the cotton gloves to wipe the joint smooth. This step makes the joint look good but it also serves a purpose. Wiping the joint cleans off the excess flux that remains on the surface of the copper after you finish soldering. If you don’t remove this flux, then the flux will continue to act on the copper and will cause a green residue to form on the surface of the copper. This is the acid in the flux reacting with the copper.
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Step 10
After wiping the joint, shut off the torch. Take a mirror and a flashlight and inspect the solder joint thoroughly. Make sure that there are no gaps left in the joint; these gaps could be a leak. After visually inspecting the joint, it is always a good idea to test. If this soldering was done in an existing system, you may have to test the joint by turning on the water. If this is the way you are going to test, make sure that you can turn the water off quickly to avoid a flood. If possible, it is always a good idea to test using compressed air. It is much easier to repair a leak with air in the pipe instead of water.
