On Jul 22, 5:50 pm, dpb wrote:
wrote:
I'm a total newbie at this stuff, but it shouldn't be this freaking
hard. All I'm trying to do is a simple repair on a 1" brass pipe. ...

Read this and several replies and your responses --

First question I have is "brass"??? You sure or you mean copper which
would be far more normal ordinary plumbing fittings.


I'm sure you're right. It's got to be copper.

After you get past that, what are you using for flux and solder?


I'm using Oatey silver lead-free solder and Oatey H-20 water soluble
flux.

And, finally, heat source? A 1" pipe takes a pretty decent-sized flame
to heat adequately quickly.


Just a simple propane torch.

As for technique, heat the fittings, not the pipe and definitely not the
solder. Hot enough is when the solder melts on touch to the joint. If
it doesn't flow easily you've either got incompatible solder for the
material, flux, or both.

If you are new at this, I'd also suggest buying a couple feet of regular
1/2" Cu and a few fittings and practice on a few of them to get the hang
of it rather than continuing to practice on your end project.

--

I definitely need the practice. Unfortunately, at this rate I'm pretty
sure I'm not saving any money by doing it myself. I should have just
paid for a real plumber to do this from the beginning. But now I've
spent nearly $80 in supplies. I might as well try to finish the job.

If I did it wrong and I have an unfinished solder joint, can I pick up
again to finish it, or do you think I'll just need to cut away that
section and start over with a new coupling?

Thanks!