Copper Pipe Sweating

Series Summary

Sweating copper pipes is rumored to be easy, but ease is relative to the experience and ability of the plumber or DIYer. Nevertheless, it is easy to learn how to sweat copper pipes if you have an expert teach you how. Although not everyone has a copper soldering expert living down the street, an expert's tutelage is available for here at Expert Village. If you would like to learn how to sweat copper pipes (join and solder copper pipes) you can learn for free and online from one of our experts.

In this free DIY how to video series, learn from home remodeling expert Don Golden as he teaches how to sweat copper pipes. Don will tell you what tools and materials you will need to sweat copper pipes and he will demonstrate how to cut copper pipes, how to clean copper pipes before joining, how to smooth the copper lip after cutting, how to dry fit copper pipes before soldering, how to apply flux to copper pipes, how to ignite a MAPP torch for sweating copper, how to fit copper pipes, how to sweat copper pipes, how to remove extra solder after sweating, how to repair an incorrect solder on copper pipes, and how to use various types of copper piping. Additionally, our expert will tell you a new technique for sweating copper pipes that makes the job much much easier.

Video Transcript

"Hey everybody, Don Golden here for Expert Village and have I got a topic for you. Okay, this is all about copper. No, not stuff you want to wear, the jewelry on your hands or wrists. It's about copper piping. Why do you care about copper piping? It is the stuff that runs through your house and holds all of your water. This is really important. But it is also stuff that you can use if you are an artists. There's a lot you can do with copper. Why do I know about copper? I've had to move pipes, I've had to set up a new sink, I've had to set up new toilets and sometimes you have to go through the walls and you have to sweat the pipes. What does that mean? That means that you have to take a piece of copper, take a piece of solder, heat them up, expand it and make that perfect seal. That is what sweating means. Okay. When we come back, I am going to show you all the tools that you are going to need to do it. But first, here is a piece of pipe if you have never seen one before. Okay. This has been lying around my garage. It doesn't look like the copper you normally see but just go like this and clean it off a little and that looks like copper. Right? Okay it's just a dirty pipe but you can still work with it. When we come back, I am going to show you the tools you need and how to do this. It is a lot of fun and stay tuned. "