On 29 Apr 2005 21:08:55 GMT, Ignoramus1723
wrote:

On 29 Apr 2005 13:45:28 -0700, jim rozen wrote:
In article , Proctologically Violated©® says...

Am I bein a wus??

IMO yes. I was buying 1/2 inch ball valves by the box for a while
after we bought our house. I sweated them all in without taking
them apart and removing the teflon seal, and they all work quite
well.

I also sweated them without removing the ball, everything worked
well. My approach was to use solder as soon as it becomes possible,
rather than wait until the valve overheats.

i
Something that really helps is having enough heat. A small flame will
overheat the valve. I use an air-acetylene torch for doing copper
pipe. It is more of a hassle lugging the little cylinder around, but
it makes the job way faster because the joint heats so fast.
ERS