The recipe for soldering success calls for two parts prep work and one part craftsmanship. If you do the critical preparation steps well -- joint cleaning and heating -- the solder itself will finish the job.
The basic soldering tool is a propane or MAPP-gas torch, which consists of a regulator and tip that you screw onto a small tank. To operate it, open the fuel valve and light the tip with a handheld striker or built-in igniter. Adjust the flame so the blue cone in the center is about 1-1/4 in. (3 cm) long. The longer the cone, the hotter the flame. The hottest point is at the tip of the cone, so hold the flame so the cone tip just touches the fitting. When the joint is heated properly, molten solder quickly flows into and surrounds the joint, hardening as it cools.
Be sure to drain water lines in the area being soldered and open a faucet at one end of the line so any pressure that builds up in the pipe during soldering can escape.
Cutting Copper Pipe
Copper is soft and relatively easy to cut with a tube cutter. In addition to a larger cutter, a small tight-area cutter will quickly pay for itself in time saved during remodeling work in confined areas.
1. Lightly pinch pipe between the cutting wheel and guide wheel. Rotate the cutter, scoring all the way around the pipe. When cutting resistance eases, tighten cutter knob a quarter turn and rotate again. Repeat until the pipe snaps off.
2. Remove
inside burr by inserting the reaming attachment squarely and twisting
a full revolution.
Cleaning Copper Pipe
Even if you're working with new pipe and fittings, all mating surfaces must be smooth and oil free. Clean outside surfaces with emery cloth and the insides of fittings with wire brushes sized to fit.
1. Clean dirt and corrosion off the outside of a pipe end using emery cloth until the pipe shines evenly. Don't touch the cleaned surface with your bare hands. Skin oils can disrupt solder flow and negatively affect the joint.(continue ...)
Recommended Reading
Plumbing: Tips, Data, and Rules of Thumb
The single most complete source of information available to plumbers
Here's an on-the-job field handbook you’ll want to store in your
truck, office, toolbox.--anyplace close at hand when you need a plumbing
solution FAST! Plumbing: Tips, Data, and Rules of Thumb serves up the
vast skill and expertise of R. Dodge Woodson, a master plumber with
more than 20 years experience in the field. Writing with the clarity,
completeness, and confidence of a hands-on expert, Mr. Woodson provides
an invaluable one-stop resource for everyone involved in the plumbing
trade. He tackles just about every plumbing topic imaginable, from
clogged drains to electric motors. You get useful data on current code
considerations, money-saving remodeling pointers, and troubleshooting
techniques. Whether you need to tone up your estimating skills, could
use a hand with sizing plumbing systems, or need some special insights
into private well and septic systems -- you’ll find it all in this
guide. Hundreds of graphics and tables help provide quick, easy answers
to just about any on-the-job plumbing problem you’ll ever come across.
From the Back Cover
THE SINGLE MOST COMPLETE SOURCE OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO PLUMBERS!
Here's an on-the-job field handbook plumbers and contractors will be sure to store in their truck, office, toolbox...anyplace they can reach into when they need an answer FAST!
PLUMBING: TIPS, DATA, AND RULES OF THUMB includes handy "rules of thumb" and "did you know" text boxes covering everything from sizing piping to code issues to insights gained by the author's field experience. Hundreds of other graphics and tables provide quick, easy answers to just about any on-the-job problem a plumber would have.
Writing with the clarity, completeness, and surety of a hnds-on expert with over 20 years professional experience, Mr. Woodson provides an invaluable one-stop dynamically designed resource for anyone involved in the plumbing trade.
BY AN AUTHOR WITH THE EXPERIENCE TO KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS YOU WOULD ASK!
Author R. Dodge Woodson, a master plumber with more than 20 years experience in the field tackles just about every plumbing topic imaginable, ranging from clogged drains to electric motors. He also includes useful data such as:
* Current Code Considerations
* Troubleshooting Techniques
* Sizing Plumbing Systems
* Remodeling Pointers
* Mathematics for the People
* Private Well and Septic Systems
About the Author
R. Dodge Woodson (Fort Fairfield, ME) has over 20 years' experience as a home
builder, contractor, master plumber, and real estate broker. He is the author
of many McGraw-Hill books, including Be A Successful Building Contractor 2/e, and National Plumbing Codes Handbook 2/e.
Reviews:
The author, whom has written a number of other titles on this same subject, has a wealth of knowledge about all facets of Plumbing. What is also notable as well as commendable is when reading his books, you get the feeling that he really likes this field. If Plumbing is your business, then it would be to your advantage to have this as well as some of Woodson's other titles in your collection. This book doesn't pretend to be any more than a vast, comprehensive reference tool--and in my opinion, succeeds. This is the book that you have in your truck if you are a plumber or on the shelf beside your desk if you are a designer. My only criticism (a minor one) is the lack of explanation of pumps and their sizing. Some charts and diagrams are offered but no explanation is given as a follow through. Overall though, I recommend the text as great reference resource every plumber should have.
Plumbing Technology: Design and Installation
Thoroughly updated with the assistance of seventeen master plumbers,
the third edition of Plumbing Technology: Design and Installation
introduces readers to all aspects of the commercial and residential
plumbing trade, including home building. An excellent study guide
for plumbers preparing to pass the "master plumber" exam, this edition
features updated coverage of all current plumbing codes. Each unit
of Plumbing Technology, 3rd Edition also contains new and improved
summaries, plus "Test Your Understanding" quizzes (with answers
in an appendix), to clarify and reinforce more difficult concepts.
In addition, projects located throughout the book provide opportunities
for hands-on plumbing practice and actual application of concepts.
As such, readers gain an understanding of both the "why" and the "how" of
plumbing design and installation.
Book Info
(Thomson Learning) Introduces readers to all aspects of the commercial and residential
plumbing trade, including home building. An excellent study tool for plumbers
preparing for the Master Plumber exam. Text features updated coverage of all
plumbing codes. Previous edition not cited. DLC: Plumbing.
Topics include:
main house sewer, lug elbow, branch waste pipe, eared elbow, patent overflow, main house trap, plastic pipe materials, main house drain, fitting allowance, curb cock, combination wye, indirect heater, vertical drainpipe, immersion coil, eighth bend, cellar drainers, highest fixture, sanitary tee, rain leaders, flood rim, connected waste, lift check valves, furnace head, backwater valves, circulating pipes
Mathematics for Plumbers and Pipefitters
Book Description
This edition of Mathematics for Plumbers and Pipefitters continues to teach the essential math concepts that
have made the book the outstanding reference in its field. A collection
of modern fitting materials demonstrates the various math concepts, and the book emphasizes a problem-solving methodology that can be
applied to both current and future materials and job situations
in plumbing and pipefitting. Enhancements to the text include simplified
explanations, new drawings, a new unit on calculating partial volumes
in odd-shaped tanks, and a reworked unit on heat-loss calculations
that has been revised to keep pace with modern heat-loss methods.
Book Info
Text teaches essential math concepts needed on the job by plumbers and pipefitters. Includes simplified explanations, new drawings, a new unit on calculating partial volumes in odd-shaped tanks, and a revised unit on heat-loss calculations reflecting modern heat-losing methods. Previous edition: c1996. Softcover. DLC: Plumbing--Mathematics.
Topics covered include:
fitting allowance, threaded ell, bending wheel, roof flange, fitting angle, pipe diagram, standard weight pipe, true offset, tee wye, dimensioned sketch, combination offsets, radiator size, laying length, parallel offsets, weld penetration, miter angle, pulley diameter, pipe assemblies, threaded pipe, spool piece, pipe size, test plug, shower pan, threaded fittings, cubic measure.
Review:
First found out about this guide while I was studying for my Journeyman Plumbers license exam.Found it at the library and was so impressed I ordered it from the publisher. Contains very much usefull information.Explains all about simple and compound offsets. Contains all the formulas you will need for performing plumbing tradework. I have the fourth addition and still consider it one of my best resources. I recommend it to anyone who is studying for their Journeyman or Master Plumbers exams or for anyone who would like to learn the professional way of performing tradework.
Plumber's Licensing Study Guide
Ace the journeyman and master plumbing exams with help from a top pro
Now, R. Dodge Woodson, a Master Plumber with 25 years of field and classroom experience, focuses his expertise to help you succeed on the Journeyman and Master plumbing exams. He’s packed Plumber’s Licensing Study Guide with everything you need to know in order to pass the first time, including coverage of both the Uniform and International Plumbing Codes, over 300 visual references to show you how to use the illustrations found in your local codebook to solve exam questions, and much, much more. A necessity for apprentices wishing to become journeyman plumbers and journeyman plumbers who wish to become master plumbers, this powerful, one-of-a-kind study tool builds your confidence, skills, and knowledge, helping you:
- Develop skill with material most likely to appear on your exam
- Practice with hundreds of exam-style multiple-choice and true/false questions and answers
Study guide for both the journeyman and master plumbing exams; covers both the Uniform and International Plumbing Codes.
From the Back Cover
INCLUDES THE NEW INTERNATIONAL PLUMBING CODE!
HERE'S YOUR MOST DYNAMIC WEAPON FOR ACING THE JOURNEYMAN AND MASTER PLUMBING EXAMS!
Let a Master Plumber with 25 years of field and classroom experience help you succeed on the Journeyman and Master plumbing exams. This powerful study tool asks the right questions so you¿ll know the right answers. Open it, and start learning what you need to know in order to pass the first time!
This one-of-a-kind study guide helps you:
* Get to know material likely to appear on your exam
* Practice with hundreds of exam-style questions with answers at the end
of each section
* Familiarize yourself with both multiple-choice and true/false questions
* Build confidence, skills, and knowledge
* Focus your study on what you really need to know
Open this guide for:
* Over 300 visual references to assist you in learning how to use the illustrations
found in your local codebook to solve exam questions
* Coverage of both the Uniform and International Plumbing Codes
* Hands-on exam prep from a recognized expert in the field
HERE'S THE ONE PLUMBER'S STUDY GUIDE THAT PUTS WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW
INTO THE STUDY TIME YOU HAVE.
About the Author
R. Dodge Woodson (Fort Fairfield, ME) has over 20 years' experience as a home
builder, contractor, master plumber, and real estate broker. He is the author
of many McGraw-Hill books, including Be A Successful Building Contractor 2/e, and National Plumbing Codes Handbook 2/e.
Topics covered include:
fixture water supply pipe, health care plumbing, several graphs about friction loss, heater sizing table, section lists standards, add one fixture, indirect waste pipe, many fixture units, inch drainage pipe, local code book, fixture being vented, heater setup, faucet seats, plumbing code, existing plumbing system, plumbing permit, following fixtures, food waste grinder, gray water system, waste receptors, water service pipe, trap for the fixture, bedpan washers, determine friction loss, code enforcement office; Plumber's Licensing Study Guide, International Plumbing Code, Courtesy of International Code Council, Uniform Plumbing Code, Vinyl Chloride, Standard Referenced, Size of Flow, Plastic Drain, Double Check Detector Assembly Using, Double Check Valve Assembly Using, Inches Maximum Rainfall, National Weather Service, Dodge Woodson, Green Bay, Home Plumbing Illustrated, Symptoms Faucet, Various Rainfall Rates Inches.
Recommended Products
Wheeler Rex Shut-off Tools:copper pipe: combination of models 86 and 70
- Shut-off Tools:copper pipe: combination of models 86 and 70
- Shut-off tools are invaluable for maintenance and installation of soft copper service lines
- They can shut-off, hold, and restore flow quickly and easily.
- They are handy for quick repairs with their swing-out design.
- Complete with socket, ratchet, holding clamp, and tool box.
Shut-off Tools for soft copper pipe: combination of models 86 and 70, includes: ratchet, carrying case and clamps. Our shut-off tools are invaluable for maintenance and installation of soft copper service lines where they can shut-off, hold, and restore flow quickly and easily. They are handy for quick repairs with their swing-out design. Complete with socket, ratchet, holding clamp, and tool box.
Package of 10 1 inch Nibco # 606 Copper 45 degree Elbow
- Nibco fittings are made from the highest quality raw materials available
- Nibco fittings are produced to meet requirements of applicable standards wherever practicable
- For residential and commercial systems such as potable water and fire sprinkler applications
- Pure copper products per ASTM B75 Alloy C12200. Design Standard - ANSI B16.22 -MSS SP-147
- Manufactured in an ISO 9001 certified facility.
More 
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2. Clean inside of fittings with a wire brush sized to fit the pipe diameter.
You can also wrap emery cloth around your finger to clean inside.
Soldering a Joint
Flux is an acidic paste that etches the copper and helps carry the solder into the joint. When the temperature of the copper reaches the solder melting point, the solder liquifies and flows into the joint -- even if the joint is upside down.
1. Brush an even layer of flux over surfaces to be joined -- pipe ends and the inside of fittings. Push the joint together until pipe and fittings seat fully. You can prepare multiple joints at the same time.
2. Heat joint with a propane or MAPP-gas torch, moving its blue cone back and forth to heat fitting evenly. Hold lead-free solder against the joint on the flame's opposite side until it flows into joint and appears full on all sides.
