"Joe S" wrote in message
news:wEg0e.8313$191.1480@trnddc02...
Doug Kanter wrote:
"SteveB" wrote in message
news:LNf0e.1054$AN1.206@fed1read03...

"HeatMan" wrote


I'll admit, back when I was starting out, I cooked a couple of copper
solder
joints. No amount of sanding and fluxing would bring one of those
back,
so
I had to add a coupling


Soldering copper pipe is SOOOOOOO easy once you get the hang of it. But
I
would say the most common mistakes are too much heat, poor cleaning, and
no flux.

It is a breeze with good cleaning, a little flux, and the right amount
of
heat. What a lot of people do is put the heat in the wrong place. Heat
a
little away from the joint so that you heat up the pipe, and let the
solder flow and be "sucked into" the joint.

Not rocket surgery, but a little tricky.

Steve



Sounds exactly the same as soldering wires & circuit boards properly.




Except ALOT easier and more forgiving than circuit boards. After you do
5 right, you'll know how easy it is.

I also recommend the wipe with a damp rag while the solder is still
molten....it gets rid of globs and looks SO professional.


I wear a pair of inexpensive cotton jersey gloves and wipe with them. As
long as I pay attention to the condition of the glove, I don't get burned
and the joints look good.