practising soldering, technique for 90° solder ring fittings could be better?

[MeldrewsMate]

I'm impressed with Dan's endfeed soldering, just a single dangler on the horizontal join, though I would be inclined to bend the pipe with my 25year-old Record pipebender rather than use so many fittings.

OP, generally you've done well with your first tries, I'd repeat what others have said about switching to propane to avoid overheating. Personally, I use propane and endfeed fittings, and keep a piece of wire wool handy to wipe away the danglers at the end. BEWARE though, wire wool is flammable, so don't wipe while the flame is on the joint!
IMO the flux will be active for about 10 seconds after the joint gets up totemperature, so have everything to hand, and heat evenly. Remember that a fitting with pipe inside is twice as thick as the pipe either side of it,so needs more flame time to reach temperature.

 

[slippyr4]

I think end feed are easier than Yorkshire, particularly with 22 and bigger.

If you overheat Yorkshire all the solder will run out and it may leak. With endfeed you've got a bit of time to even things out and you can test the temp by touching the solder on.

If you're doing a bunch of joints all in one (a couple of tees and elbows etc too close to do separately for example) then this really matters.

 

[PullerGas]

Small Hilmor 15/22mm on offer at BES Dan £42 + Vodka & Tonic!!

 

[Nige F]

Was thinking of those Bahco ones actually. Do they do a 22mm set? My bending skills are pish poor though, I won't deny it.

Don't be so modest I can only see 2 possibly 3 places on that install where a bend would have saved fittings. ( but I can't make out if it's 22 or 28 )

 

[PullerGas]

Don't be so modest I can only see 2 possibly 3 places on that install where a bend would have saved fittings. ( but I can't make out if it's 22 or 28 )

Seriously Mr Elbows??!! I can see 10-12 formed 90deg bends alone!!
Save on fittings, save on time & no leaks!!......and look 100 times more professional.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Only leak was a bit I forgot as the customer kept asking daft questions.

No fittings would be saved up top as there was strict requirements for the look and space.

Down the bottom, there could have been 5 pulled bends I suppose, but it would have looked at bit odd IMO
So ordinarily I would have only pulled a kink to have avoided the 45 presses.

 

[Steelmasons]

Hey Dan , why use press when you could have soldered????...you had the soldering gear out so why not carry on??

 

[Dan Robinson]

I don't carry 45 ef fittings. Like I said.... Benders in much the same state as a Bam Lochinver

 

[dilalio]

OP: use end feed... apply moving flame and when you think joint is up to temp, quickly touch solder on back of joint near the wall/surface if it runs joint is ready and you can keep touching and lifting solder until you see it runs round to bottom of joint; as you do this, move flame onto fitting rather than joint and let capillary action pull the solder into the socket. Put torch down and use a flux brush to flick away the teardrop of solder at the bottom of the joint but not at your face or arm. Then spray soapy water onto pipe away from joint (so as not to shock it) and move spray gently towards joint. When hissing stops, wipe thoroughly with a clean wet cloth.
For vertical coupling joints, you only need to apply solder to the top of the fitting and draw the torch down whilst touching the solder on; get this right and the solder will run down the inside of the fitting until it appear as a neat ring at the bottom joint thus avoiding candlewaxing!
Good luck

 

[PullerGas]

At the danger of driving the DaftyDIYer completely bonkers!! Dan used Electronics solder for his EF fittings, there, I said it, it is what it is.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Not for a while... Can't be a7sed looking for the larger rolls. That was normal unleaded.

 

[oss]

It may be worth a look on YouTube there are quite a few soldering tutorials, tom's tips is worth a look as he seems quite a character.

 

[dilalio]

Flux : capillary action...
F€ck me... the flux capacitor exists!!!

 

[Steelmasons]

Benders in much the same state as a Bam Lochinver

Don't believe all you hear Dan..

 

[oss]

The point I was trying to make, the lad is obviously trying to do things right and seems like he wants to learn so all the comments made are valid but for instance, some flux's can't be used on potable water, some guys insist on using leaded solder but again can't be used on potable water, the fittings themselves have to comply with British standards etc, for instance I picked up some solder ring fittings (Yorkshire is a brand name) on the bag it said not to be used on gas (wickes), the amount of solder to add , why the fittings are not meant to be be fluxed , why the pipes are reamed out, the amount of heat to apply , how to apply it ,the problems of overheating, all these things and more are all on YouTube for people to watch.
My apprenticeship was 5 years, my fathers was 7 years today people are up and running after a 6 week training course but believe me they are not trained , I don't blame anyone for wanting to make a living but use all the resources all your disposal to get that knowledge.
On another post a fellow was talking about the difference between a tank and a cistern and it was obvious that even experienced fitters did not know , so we all can learn, so I suppose what I'm saying is that soldering perhaps is not rocket science but there is more to it than just applying heat and hoping for the best, also every day is a school day.