hi in this video I'll be thoroughly
explaining how to solder copper pipe
they get a nice leak free joint if
you're unfamiliar with soldering you'll
be able to solder any diameter pipe
after this video with ease and peace of
mind there are three steps to solder
copper join step 1 is preparation
preparation is the secret to getting a
leak-free joint if you skip or have to
it it will most probably leak and cause
damage to your property so this step
needs to be followed very closely
step 2 is the actual soldering process
which I'll get into details in just a
moment and step three which is
finalizing the joint with that said
let's get started alright so the first
thing I want to go through are the tools
and materials you'll be needing to
complete the task
so tool number one is a torch you'll
find a good torch at your local hardware
store that should cost you between 20 to
50 Canadian dollars yes there are batter
models out there for commercial plumbers
but if you're a do-it-yourself doing
minor work these will do just fine to be
able to use your new torch you'll be
needing some fuel there are two
varieties of fuels for you to choose
from
you've got your ordinary propane gas
which you can either find in your
camping aisle which should look like
this or in the plumbing section at the
store or map gas which should look like
this the difference between both of
these is that map gas burns hotter than
propane which in turn heats up your
joint quicker so it's up to you to
choose which one you want to use next up
is a lighter for your torch if your
torch doesn't have one built-in like
this you can either use a dedicated
igniter which can be somewhat costly or
use a $1 bit lighter like I do your pipe
in fitting will need to be cleaned from
any surface corrosion or dirt that could
compromise the joint while soldering to
do this you'll be needing some sandpaper
or Emery cloth for the pipe and water
brushes for the fitting something else
you'll need is some soldering flux or
paste the primary purpose of flux is to
prevent oxidation of the base and filler
material without it soldering is
literally impossible here's what trying
to solder with and without flux looks
like and the last thing you'll be
needing is solder there are many filler
materials that can be used for soldering
copper but the most two common ones are
LED solder and lead free solder
lead-free solder which is also known as
95/5 is what's used for potable water
lines when doing copper drains
solder which is also known as 50/50 can
be used seeing it won't come in contact
with anyone so as I mentioned earlier in
the video preparation is key to having a
good leak free joint the first step to
accomplish this is to clean both parts
that will be joined together to clean
the pipe take your sandpaper and sand
the portion that will penetrate the
fitting till it resembles this as you
can see there's no more surface
spottings and that's exactly what we're
looking for
next is the fitting you want to use a
dedicated size brush where you're
fitting to get it clean they most often
arrive clean from the manufacturer but
it's important to get the surface
roughed up a bit just so the solder can
adhere better if you're a commercial
plumber and are cleaning a large amount
of fittings in a day a cool trick that I
learned is to cut off the tip of these
and use them in a drill as such making
the process much quicker and less tiring
with both of your surfaces now prepped
let's assemble them but before you'll
need to apply some flux applying flux is
pretty self-explanatory all that's
needed is enough of it to cover both
surfaces that touch just like this which
your flux now applied it's time for the
actual soldering process which is step 2
now the goal here is to heat the portion
you want your filler material to be
pulled into there's a scientific term
for this and it's called capillary
action capillary action is the ability
of a liquid to flow in marrow spaces
without the assistance of external
forces meaning it'll flow upwards which
is pretty cool it's imperative to start
heating your joint at the bottom first
for two reasons
reason one being is if you start eating
the top first your solder will want to
flow down due to gravity but won't have
anywhere to go since the bottom of the
joint is too cool to melt the solder so
always start from the bottom and work
your way up and reason too is as you
heat the bottom the heat rises and heats
up the top of your joint as opposed to
starting on top which takes longer for
the heat to go down so keep on heating
it up while testing your solder every
now and then to see if it gets sucked in
eventually your joint will be hot enough
to accept your solder so go ahead and
run a nice bead all around the joint to
ensure full coverage a good tip here is
to always inspect your joint after
soldering it it'll speak for itself
meaning that if you haven't correctly
eated the joint you should get something
that looks like this if this happens all
you have to do is reapply a bit of flux
heat up the joint and solder the
affected area as the final step when
you're sure that your joint is soldered
correctly wait a couple of minutes for
it to cool down some plumbers will use
flux to clean up the joint while it's
still very hot but doing this could
cause a big drop in temperature and a
very small amount of time and can
fracture the joint causing a leak
once your solder solidified use a rag to
wipe off any excess flux that could
potentially eat up your pipe in the long
run and you're done if you guys enjoyed
this back to basics video let me know in
the comments down below so I could add
to the series and also what type of
topics you'd like to see as always don't
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cool upcoming videos thanks again for
watching