I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?
What size can a mini torch do?
What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?
How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?
What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?
What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?
Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?

thanks,
NT

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 01:40:34 UTC, wrote:
I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?
What do you mean by a standard blow torch. (Meaningless term)

What size can a mini torch do?
Another meaningless term

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?
Add more flux and solder and reheat.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?
Not relevant to household plumbing.
Used more on car braking systems.


What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?
What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?
You buy the proper stuff if you want to be successful.

Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?
It could with a lot more effort

Are you trolling?

thanks,
NT

"harry" wrote in message
...

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 01:40:34 UTC, wrote:
I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?
What do you mean by a standard blow torch. (Meaningless term)

What size can a mini torch do?
Another meaningless term

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?
Add more flux and solder and reheat.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?
Not relevant to household plumbing.
Used more on car braking systems.


What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?
What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?
You buy the proper stuff if you want to be successful.

Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?
It could with a lot more effort

Are you trolling?

Competition?

In article ,
writes:
I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?

I've done 28mm without any difficulty, providing cylinder isn't
getting close to empty (in which case power output noticably drops,
but it will still do 22mm and 15mm).

What size can a mini torch do?

No idea - I never tried to use one for plumbing, and how
small is *mini*? I suspect my Aldi one might do 8mm if I
tried.

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?

Depends on the situation, and why it failed.
Fortunately, it's not something that happens to me often.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?

I have a flaring tool. I wouldn't try without one (and I
rarely use it anyway, and ISTR it's not allowed for gas
use).

What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?
What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?

If that's all you've got, you won't be able to afford any
proper tools/fittings, so forget about plumbing.

Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?

Jeeze - how much is a ball of steel wool? Even a kitchen
scourer would probably work.

Dry sand can be used to pack pipes before bending - I've used
it to bend 28mm pipe for which I don't have a proper pipe
bender. You do need to get it all out though, and you really
don't want it contaminating any fittings during assembly, or
any appliances after assembly.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

harry wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 01:40:34 UTC, wrote:
I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?
What do you mean by a standard blow torch. (Meaningless term)

What size can a mini torch do?
Another meaningless term

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?
Add more flux and solder and reheat.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?
Not relevant to household plumbing.
Used more on car braking systems.
And any hydraulics and refrigeration and air conditioning and gas
connections


What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?
What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?
You buy the proper stuff if you want to be successful.

Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?
It could with a lot more effort

Are you trolling?

thanks,
NT

In article ,
wrote:
I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?

Mine can do 28mm. Just.

What size can a mini torch do?

No idea.

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?

If you make them properly, they won't. But take apart, clean properly and
do it again. Using a decent flux.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?

I have a tool for that. But not many bother these days.

What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?

No idea. A decent flux is critical to good soldering. And a tiny part of
the budget, so really not worth skimping.

What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?

Old or spare ceramic tiles can be used for some things.

Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?

I'd not want sand rattling around inside pipes. Wire wool or proper
cleaning strips.

thanks,
NT

--
*(on a baby-size shirt) "Party -- my crib -- two a.m

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:04:08 UTC, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
tabbypurr writes:

I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?

I've done 28mm without any difficulty, providing cylinder isn't
getting close to empty (in which case power output noticably drops,
but it will still do 22mm and 15mm).

What size can a mini torch do?

No idea - I never tried to use one for plumbing, and how
small is *mini*? I suspect my Aldi one might do 8mm if I
tried.

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?

Depends on the situation, and why it failed.
Fortunately, it's not something that happens to me often.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?

I have a flaring tool. I wouldn't try without one (and I
rarely use it anyway, and ISTR it's not allowed for gas
use).

What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?
What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?

If that's all you've got, you won't be able to afford any
proper tools/fittings, so forget about plumbing.

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world. Nothing is spent that doesn't have to be. Buying a tin of branded flux is out of the question.

Flux possibilities include tallow, soap, ZnCl, rosin, and who kows what else. But I've not tried them with plumbing.
A heat mat of wet cardboard sandwiched between opened flat food tins works, someone might have a better idea.


Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?

Jeeze - how much is a ball of steel wool? Even a kitchen
scourer would probably work.

If sand for nothing works, anything else is too expensive. Money is not wasted like that in the developing world.

Dry sand can be used to pack pipes before bending - I've used
it to bend 28mm pipe for which I don't have a proper pipe
bender. You do need to get it all out though, and you really
don't want it contaminating any fittings during assembly, or
any appliances after assembly.

thanks

NT

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 09:00:57 UTC, harry wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 01:40:34 UTC, tabby wrote:

I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?
What do you mean by a standard blow torch. (Meaningless term)

What size can a mini torch do?
Another meaningless term

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?
Add more flux and solder and reheat.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?
Not relevant to household plumbing.
Used more on car braking systems.

Flaring avoids buying a fitting, at the price of time & work. I've seen it done on domestic piping.

What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?
What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?
You buy the proper stuff if you want to be successful.

I do. The question is how could it be done for much less.

Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?
It could with a lot more effort

Are you trolling?

No, I want to know how to solder pipes at minimum cost for developing world use. I'll try sand cleaning a pipe, see if it works, I suspect the sand will leave too much contamination.


NT

wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

On 04/12/2016 11:33, wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 09:00:57 UTC, harry wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 01:40:34 UTC, tabby wrote:

I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?
What do you mean by a standard blow torch. (Meaningless term)

What size can a mini torch do?
Another meaningless term

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?
Add more flux and solder and reheat.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?
Not relevant to household plumbing.
Used more on car braking systems.

Flaring avoids buying a fitting, at the price of time & work. I've seen it done on domestic piping.

Ah, you mean socket forming. I do it all the time, no fitting and only
one solder joint. it might be feasible to make a hard wood version of
the tool that makes the socket and harden it with fire. But if money is
so tight then how will copper pipe be availablle? also the pipe will be
stolen in short order.

My father encountered a similar problem in Egypt just after WW2, every
time a power cable was put up, it was cut down for the copper cable. So
he installed barbed wire instead, still carried the current and had
little value as scrap.

On 04/12/2016 01:40, wrote:
I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?

Pretty much any domestic size - although you may not be able to flow the
whole joint in one hit and may need to work round on larger pipes.

What size can a mini torch do?

As in pocket blowtorch type thing?

8mm perhaps.

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?

Take them apart, clean carefully, reflux and resolder.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hand...Formers/p48296

Its of dubious value these days... manipulative compression fittings in
domestic use are almost unheard of now, and straight end feed capillary
fittings cost pennies, so its hardly worth the time unless you have a
particular need for the smallest and slimmest joint possible.

What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?

Depends on what you are soldering.

What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?

Bit of rockwool perhaps...

Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?

Can't say I have tried, but a pipe brush or some wire wool works well...


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In article om,
F Murtz writes:
harry wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 01:40:34 UTC, wrote:
How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?
Not relevant to household plumbing.
Used more on car braking systems.
And any hydraulics and refrigeration and air conditioning and gas
connections

That's because it's used when you want to braze.
Can be used for soldering too, but takes longer than just soldering
a coupler instead.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

En el artículo , MrCheerful
escribió:

So
he installed barbed wire instead, still carried the current and had
little value as scrap.

I like it

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

En el artículo ,
escribió:

What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?

A piece of slate?

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

On 04/12/2016 12:05, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artículo ,
escribió:

What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?

A piece of slate?


when did you last buy any slate?

En el artículo , MrCheerful
escribió:

when did you last buy any slate?

Old roof tile.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

Copper pipe plumbing is used in the developing world, albeit not as widely as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.


NT

wrote in message
...

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

Copper pipe plumbing is used in the developing world, albeit not as widely
as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.


NT

Which third world country is this?

On 04/12/2016 14:21, Richard wrote:
wrote in message
...

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

Copper pipe plumbing is used in the developing world, albeit not as
widely as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.


NT

Which third world country is this?


Bradford

On 04/12/2016 13:27, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artículo , MrCheerful
escribió:

when did you last buy any slate?

Old roof tile.


I bought some used slates in the dead right size for my roof (IIRC they
are called princess size) came to nigh on a pound each delivered (100 of em)

"MrCheerful" wrote in message ...

On 04/12/2016 14:21, Richard wrote:
wrote in message
...

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

Copper pipe plumbing is used in the developing world, albeit not as
widely as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.


NT

Which third world country is this?


Bradford

:-)

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 14:45:53 UTC, MrCheerful wrote:
On 04/12/2016 14:21, Richard wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

Which third world country is this?


Bradford

Heh, sounds about right.


NT

wrote in message
...

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 14:45:53 UTC, MrCheerful wrote:
On 04/12/2016 14:21, Richard wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

Which third world country is this?


Bradford

Heh, sounds about right.

So harry was right, you're trolling.

En el artículo , MrCheerful
escribió:

Bradford

Lol!

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

En el artículo , MrCheerful
escribió:

I bought some used slates in the dead right size for my roof (IIRC they
are called princess size) came to nigh on a pound each delivered (100 of em)

OK, and how much would a broken one, usable as a cheapo plumbing heat
mat, have cost?

It was only a suggestion, I'm sorry if it doesn't meet with your
approval

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

On 04/12/16 11:25, wrote:
These questions are for plumbing in the developing world. Nothing is
spent that doesn't have to be. Buying a tin of branded flux is out of
the question.
resin will work with clean bright pipework. Are they making the pipes as
well?

Flux costs less than 5 meters of copper pipe..

http://www.jtmplumbing.co.uk/tools-s...x-paste-pp1087

£2.62 for enough to plumb a couple of houses.

On the same site. £2.47 for a meter of copper pipe.

Wirewool and mats are equally cheap. Anything will do for a mat that is
an insulator that doesn't burn.



Flux possibilities include tallow, soap, ZnCl, rosin, and who kows
what else. But I've not tried them with plumbing. A heat mat of wet
cardboard sandwiched between opened flat food tins works, someone
might have a better idea.

*shrug* if there is water, yes.
The point is that civilised plumbing doesn't spring to life in a vacuum.
I've lived in Africa. You import huge amounts of basic stuff until local
industries can make it. That is how you develop a country.



--
Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have
guns, why should we let them have ideas?

Josef Stalin

On 04/12/16 11:33, wrote:


No, I want to know how to solder pipes at minimum cost for developing
world use. I'll try sand cleaning a pipe, see if it works, I suspect
the sand will leave too much contamination.


Let's say that by importing torches mats and fluxes and even solders,
the cost will still be WAY less than the cost of the copper pipes and
fittings.

In other words, it doesn't matter. Far better to start by making pipes
in local factories, and leave the soldering accessories till later.




NT



--
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's
too dark to read.

Groucho Marx

On 04/12/16 11:36, Andy Burns wrote:
wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?


+10001

--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

On 04/12/16 12:11, MrCheerful wrote:
On 04/12/2016 12:05, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artÃ*culo ,
escribió:

What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?

A piece of slate?


when did you last buy any slate?
couple of years back. Very cheap in 3rd world countries.
Not very good with heat though. Tends to split and crack if at all wet


--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:27:40 UTC, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artÃ*culo , MrCheerful
escribió:

I bought some used slates in the dead right size for my roof (IIRC they
are called princess size) came to nigh on a pound each delivered (100 of em)

OK, and how much would a broken one, usable as a cheapo plumbing heat
mat, have cost?

It was only a suggestion, I'm sorry if it doesn't meet with your
approval

Slate's good if they can take direct fire. Can they?


NT

On 04/12/16 13:49, wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

Copper pipe plumbing is used in the developing world, albeit not as widely as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.



Copper pipe is an unncessary £25 spend then

Use bamboo.

NT



--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

On 04/12/16 14:45, MrCheerful wrote:
On 04/12/2016 14:21, Richard wrote:
wrote in message
...

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

Copper pipe plumbing is used in the developing world, albeit not as
widely as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.


NT

Which third world country is this?


Bradford
LOL!

--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:35:43 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 04/12/16 11:25, tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world. Nothing is
spent that doesn't have to be. Buying a tin of branded flux is out of
the question.
resin will work with clean bright pipework. Are they making the pipes as
well?

Flux costs less than 5 meters of copper pipe..

http://www.jtmplumbing.co.uk/tools-s...x-paste-pp1087

£2.62 for enough to plumb a couple of houses.

Tallow is 10s of pence for enough to plumb a street IIRC. Gutter grease is cheaper. This is to teach work skills.

On the same site. £2.47 for a meter of copper pipe.

Wirewool and mats are equally cheap. Anything will do for a mat that is
an insulator that doesn't burn.

of course, the question is what. Tin & cardboard isn't ideal, the torch can dry & burn it.

Flux possibilities include tallow, soap, ZnCl, rosin, and who kows
what else. But I've not tried them with plumbing. A heat mat of wet
cardboard sandwiched between opened flat food tins works, someone
might have a better idea.

*shrug* if there is water, yes.
The point is that civilised plumbing doesn't spring to life in a vacuum.
I've lived in Africa. You import huge amounts of basic stuff until local
industries can make it. That is how you develop a country.


NT

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:38:02 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 04/12/16 11:33, tabbypurr wrote:


No, I want to know how to solder pipes at minimum cost for developing
world use. I'll try sand cleaning a pipe, see if it works, I suspect
the sand will leave too much contamination.


Let's say that by importing torches mats and fluxes and even solders,
the cost will still be WAY less than the cost of the copper pipes and
fittings.

In other words, it doesn't matter. Far better to start by making pipes
in local factories, and leave the soldering accessories till later.

This is to teach work skills. Nothing is being imported.


NT

On Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:40:48 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 04/12/16 13:49, tabbypurr wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

Copper pipe plumbing is used in the developing world, albeit not as widely as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.



Copper pipe is an unncessary £25 spend then

Use bamboo.

I'm sure that where bamboo's available and good enough they do.
Again, copper pipe is sold & used over there for some jobs.


NT

On 04/12/16 17:50, wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:40:48 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 04/12/16 13:49, tabbypurr wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:36:26 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world

So they can afford 28mm copper tube at £20/length but not £5 for a tub
of flux that will do hundreds of joints?

Copper pipe plumbing is used in the developing world, albeit not as widely as here. An unnecessary £5 spend is out of the question.



Copper pipe is an unncessary £25 spend then

Use bamboo.

I'm sure that where bamboo's available and good enough they do.
Again, copper pipe is sold & used over there for some jobs.


Then they will also sell flux, solder and mats wont they?


NT



--
How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.

Adolf Hitler

On 04/12/16 17:47, wrote:
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:38:02 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 04/12/16 11:33, tabbypurr wrote:


No, I want to know how to solder pipes at minimum cost for developing
world use. I'll try sand cleaning a pipe, see if it works, I suspect
the sand will leave too much contamination.


Let's say that by importing torches mats and fluxes and even solders,
the cost will still be WAY less than the cost of the copper pipes and
fittings.

In other words, it doesn't matter. Far better to start by making pipes
in local factories, and leave the soldering accessories till later.

This is to teach work skills. Nothing is being imported.

where is the pipe made?


NT



--
Those who want slavery should have the grace to name it by its proper
name. They must face the full meaning of that which they are advocating
or condoning; the full, exact, specific meaning of collectivism, of its
logical implications, of the principles upon which it is based, and of
the ultimate consequences to which these principles will lead. They must
face it, then decide whether this is what they want or not.

Ayn Rand.

On 04/12/2016 17:27, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artículo , MrCheerful
escribió:

I bought some used slates in the dead right size for my roof (IIRC they
are called princess size) came to nigh on a pound each delivered (100 of em)

OK, and how much would a broken one, usable as a cheapo plumbing heat
mat, have cost?

It was only a suggestion, I'm sorry if it doesn't meet with your
approval


Oh, I get you, perhaps some odd bit of slate they could find on the
ground as opposed to buy. Sorry.

wrote in message
...
On Sunday, 4 December 2016 11:04:08 UTC, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
tabbypurr writes:

I'm not going to do these myself, it's for people learning how to.

What size pipe can a standard blowtorch do?

I've done 28mm without any difficulty, providing cylinder isn't
getting close to empty (in which case power output noticably drops,
but it will still do 22mm and 15mm).

What size can a mini torch do?

No idea - I never tried to use one for plumbing, and how
small is *mini*? I suspect my Aldi one might do 8mm if I
tried.

What do you do with joints that fail to seal first time?

Depends on the situation, and why it failed.
Fortunately, it's not something that happens to me often.

How would you flare a pipe end with minimal budget?

I have a flaring tool. I wouldn't try without one (and I
rarely use it anyway, and ISTR it's not allowed for gas
use).

What could be used as flux if you have a flux budget of 50p?
What could be used as a heat protecting mat on a budget of 10p?

If that's all you've got, you won't be able to afford any
proper tools/fittings, so forget about plumbing.

These questions are for plumbing in the developing world.

You should have said that.

Nothing is spent that doesn't have to be. Buying
a tin of branded flux is out of the question.

Bull**** it is.

Flux possibilities include tallow, soap, ZnCl, rosin, and
who kows what else. But I've not tried them with plumbing.

They are useless for plumbing.

A heat mat of wet cardboard sandwiched between opened
flat food tins works, someone might have a better idea.

I use offcuts of what we call fibro. Works fine.

Can loose sand be used to clean pipes before soldering?

Jeeze - how much is a ball of steel wool? Even a kitchen
scourer would probably work.

If sand for nothing works, anything else is too expensive.
Money is not wasted like that in the developing world.

Bull****. Plenty use petrol in motorbikes etc instead of walking
or using a push bike. And almost all of them that do anything
much have mobile phones too, and use them too.

Dry sand can be used to pack pipes before bending - I've used
it to bend 28mm pipe for which I don't have a proper pipe
bender. You do need to get it all out though, and you really
don't want it contaminating any fittings during assembly, or
any appliances after assembly.

thanks

In article ,
wrote:
£2.62 for enough to plumb a couple of houses.

Tallow is 10s of pence for enough to plumb a street IIRC. Gutter grease
is cheaper. This is to teach work skills.

Tallow isn't flux. It's used on a wiping cloth to prevent the solder
sticking to the cloth.

--
*If you lived in your car, you'd be home by now *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.