Yorkshire Street elbow solder query

[shd1970]

I’m plumbing a new radiator in and having to put some new copper piping
I’m a DIYer and an average solderer hence I use Yorkshire fittings
As you can see from the photo, I’m looking to solder a piece of copper to a street elbow and then to connect to a 90° elbow

My question is as follows :

Am I safe to solder the street elbow to the copper pipe first, let it go cold, and then clean up and solder the 90°elbow onto the end of the street or should I do it all at the same time?

I need to be quite precise with the positioning, but also, I’m concerned when I solder the 90° joint onto the end of the street elbow , will it weaken the first joint?

Make sense ?

TIA

 

[Gasguru]

It depends if you're the typical diyer that spends an hour heating the joints but you could wrap a wet rag around the street elbow joint.
With pump pliers gently crimp the end of the fittings so they grip the pipe...you can then pre-fab and solder the lot in one go.
Offsets look a lot nicer with obtuse fittings (if you don't want to use the benders).

 

[shd1970]

It depends if you're the typical diyer that spends an hour heating the joints but you could wrap a wet rag around the street elbow joint.
With pump pliers gently crimp the end of the fittings so they grip the pipe...you can then pre-fab and solder the lot in one go.
Offsets look a lot nicer with obtuse fittings (if you don't want to use the benders).

Thank @Gasguru

In answer to your first question, the answer is no
I heat the joint (not the pipe !) on a low flame (a plumber that I was watching once said less is more in terms of flame needed) and as soon as I see the soldering appear, I stop

I should’ve said that from an appearance perspective I don’t really care because these are going to be plaster boarded over but as I say, I’m trying to be a little bit precise so when I come to do the final elbows and connect the radiator up, I’m not having to pull the pipes around and stress any of the joints

 

[accelerator]

Why don't you solder the 90°elbow onto the street elbow first, and let that cool. Then solder the result to the pipe.

If you solder the street elbow to the pipe first, then in my view you have more chance of this joint getting damaged, because the pipe puts leverage on the joint when you are trying to add on the 90°elbow.

I'm not a plumber though ...

 

[oldbuffer]

1. The best way is to solder all the joints at one time in sequence.
2. However, if you prefer to do it in stages, which I can understand, then:
2.1 Solder the street elbow to the pipe, allow it to cool.
2.2 Re-clean the straight part of the street elbow as it will have oxidised.
2.3 Solder the two arms of the 90 degree elbow at the same time.
3. The key to soldering is cleanliness and the correct use of flux. So:
3.1 Clean the pipe and the inside of each fitting and the straight outside of the street elbow. "Scotchbrite" type pads don't leave as much debris as wire wool.
3.2 Flux the outside of the pipes (and straight outside of the street elbow). Do not flux inside the fittings or the flux will get pushed inside when you put the parts together, and can cause corrosion.
3.3 Apply low to medium heat. I find propane gas hot enough for 15mm and 22mm pipe without resorting to MAPP gas.
3.4 With Yorkshire fittings my preference is to heat the pipe and let the heat run into the joint, with an occasional waft of heat over the fitting.
3.5 As shd 1970 says, as soon as a shiny run of solder appears at the lip of the joint, the solder has run and the joint is made.
3.6 Logic suggests you start at the bottom joint and let the heat run upwards. I prefer to start at the top of a series of joints and work downwards. Provided you don't overdo the heat this allows the upper joints to start cooling before all the solder runs out.