copper plumbing

Lead free solder is widely available... or are you asking about some other mechanical means to join the pipes? Jim

At least three.

Lead free solder Compression fittings with olives Push-fit fittings

It can be silver soldered, but isn't necessary under normal circumstances.

Harold

yes, you use lead free solder.. i have been using it for years.... to be in code you need to use lead free solder...looks like the samething but label on the pack says (LEAD FREE).....

I've used copper-bond epoxy on some of my copper plumbing. It's been 18 years so far with no problems.

Mike H

On 21 Jul 2004 05:08:24 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.comNoEmails (Dave Baker) calmly ranted:

Freely available.

With or without pimientos? I like these with brass olives.

? 'Sprain, preese.

--------------------------------------------------- I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol. ---------------------------------------------------

Refreshing Graphic Design

Several. The easiest is the commercial lead-free plumbing solder available at almost any home center, and a propane, MAPP or air-acetylene Prestolite plumber's torch. They have all the bugs already worked out, if the joint is clean and you don't disturb it as the solder cools and sets (fractured joint) it's quite permanent.

The option nobody else has mentioned is silver brazing, normally used on air conditioning refrigerant lines. You will need a hotter air-acetylene or oxygen-acetylene torch, the right brazing filler (there are several different formulas to pick for copper-to-brass, copper-to-copper or copper-to-X and loose or tight fitting joints) and a different flux than used for soft solder.

Silver braze is overkill for water plumbing, but some people like swatting flies with a sledgehammer. Go figure. ;-)

Go learn more -

is one place to start.

-->--

I recall hearing that LocTite has a product which can be used for joining fittings. Whether it's true or not I do not know, but I've been told that one of their facilities is plumbed that way. I'm not a fan of using LocTite in place of skill, but it certainly has a place in our world. Could be that plumbing a house is one of them.

Harold

TIG?

Aside from the lead-free variety solder you have to use these days, I saw a gizmo on one of the home improvement shows that basically swaged the fitting and tube together. Supposed to be leak-free. Was pretty costly, too, but it was fast and since no heat or flame was involved, it was safe for the unskilled.

Soldering is a basic skill, once you learn how to do it, it's easy. Just make sure the mating parts are clean. The lead-free solder isn't quite as easy to use as the old stuff, but it's not that hard, particularly if you get the matching flux. I've got a ring burner(more like a mostly closed-"C") for the Little Torch that makes doing plumbing fittings dead simple.

Stan

In this case, you were damn lucky!

My I assume that you realize that if the completed joint leaks, there is no way of repairing it?

By contrast, if a soldered copper joint leaks, you can always re-heat it and pull it apart, clean it up, and simply resolder it.

Seriously, I cannot imagine anyone who would use anything but solder to connect sweat type copper plumbing fittings. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

With respect to compression fittings, you have to be extremely careful not to put scratches into the pipe when using these things, otherwise they will drip. I only use them when I have to, and then my leak-free success rate is around 75%, roughly par for the course as I'm told by my plumber friends.

Actually the only time that I now use compression fitting on 1/2" or

3/4" copper is where I need to install a cut-off valve up close to a finished wall, where due to the proximiity of a finished or combustable surface, the use of a torched sweated fitting is impossible or impractical. Even then the use of a compression fitting involves some degree of risk and luck...which I prefer to avoid.

Harry C.

Heh. Then you're not a real plumber. A *real* plumber takes a claw hammer, bashes out the drywall or peels away the moulding, runs the joint, and then says 'you better get a carpenter in here to fix that up. I don't do carpentry - I'm a plumber.'

Either that or they just torch the joint anyhow, and keep a bucket of water handing if the smoldering wood happens to burst into flames. Does that look ugly when he's done? Sure, but 'ya can't see it from his house....'

Jim

================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ==================================================

Don't you westpondians have push-fit fittings yet then ? They've been around for yonks over here. You just push both ends of the two tubes you're joining into a push-fit fitting and it seals with an internal O ring and little gripper claws that grip the copper tube. There's a special tool to unlock them if you want to remake the joint. They're a bit more spensive but you can slap a heating system together in minutes rather than hours and when the labour charge is added in they work out cheaper.

Probably an evolutionary thing. You'll get round to discovering them eventually along with the metric system, fire, not eating and talking at the same time, election systems that don't rely on your brother to fudge the results, not feeling the need to invade every other country in the world...:)

...Loss of prized posessions (e.g. guns)....

Tim (yeah, well, someone's going to say it some time)

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

What is different about refrigerant lines that requires the silver?

D.

On 21 Jul 2004 23:41:33 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.comNoEmails (Dave Baker) calmly ranted:

Oh, I think I have seen on progs like This Old House. Yes, the reason I disregarded them is that they cost 4x that of nicer available fittings.

I made a comment about the east pond countries being 3rd world. Now I see the results of my joke: having to put up with 3rd-worlder "humor". ;) Blimey, I'm sorry for having said it after listening to the Canuckistani (and now Brit) whining. Oi!

P.S: We've had fire over here for quite a while, some of us eat quietly, and invasive brothering should be solved in November, but only Wakan Tanka/God/Buddha/Allah knows what we'll end up with to replace him...I only hope he's not another Imperialist. You guys have had enough of those, too, wot?

--------------------------------------------------- I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol. ---------------------------------------------------

Refreshing Graphic Design

Yeah, we gave it to you almost 200 years ago down there at your officious residence. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

I believe it's the heat tolerance of the silver. 1100* vs 450* for solder. Might also be due to stronger joint due to the pressures.

Chuckle!

Harold