toller wrote:
I installed a water softener with all sweat soldered fittings.
Apparently I didn't seat one of the fittings all the way, or maybe it
was a cold solder joint. The joint never leaked, but it let go one
night and fortunately I was home to hear the water gushing out into
the garage. Had we been away on vacation, it would have flooded our
home.
What is a cold solder joint?
If the solder melts on the pipe and flows in, it must be hot
soldered; no?

If the solder melts and flows it is hot, the problem is the pipe may not
be hot and it may not be properly bonded to the cold pipe. Watch what
happens when a drip of solder lands on a cold pipe sometime. It just forms
a ball and rolls off. That is why you heat the pipe not the solder and wick
the solder into the joint. It will not melt or wick if the pipe\fitting is
not hot.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math