How to Solder a Pipe | Ask Richard | Ask This Old House

This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shares tips on soldering pipe. (See below for shopping list, tools, and steps.)
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Shopping List for How to Solder a Pipe:
- Lead-free solder
- Flux and acid brush to ensure solder bonds to copper pipe and fittings
- Propane cylinder
- Dry cloth
Tools List for How to Solder a Pipe:
- Safety glasses
- Propane torch with striker to melt solder
- Tubing cutter to cut copper pipe
- Emery cloth or Cleaning brush to clean copper pipe and fittings
- Screw-on torch tip to attach to the propane cylinder
- Heat shield to prevent torch flame from burning combustible surfaces
Steps for How to Solder a Pipe:
1. Use a cleaning strip or an emery cloth to clean the outside of the copper pipe and the inside of the copper fitting.
2. Use an acid brush to apply flux onto the pipe end and inside the fitting.
3. Push the fitting onto the pipe until they fit tightly together.
4. Thread the torch tip onto the propane cylinder, then open the valve and ignite the propane with a striker or a built-in igniter.
5. Adjust the valve to create a sharp, well-defined pencil-tip flame.
6. Use the torch to apply heat to one side of the copper fitting.
7. Once the flux starts to bubble, press the solder against the opposite side of the fitting.
8. Wait for the heat to melt the solder, then and draw the solder into the joint.
9. Remove the flame and gently wipe away any excess solder with a dry cloth.
10. When soldering existing pipes, be sure to drain all water out of the pipes first.
11. Use a fireproof heat shield to protect wood framing, insulation and other combustibles from the torch flame.
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Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers-and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.
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How to Solder a Pipe | Ask Richard | Ask This Old House
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[@massinissa9947]

Concise and precise, beautiful thank you . KZbin needs more like you.

[@samanthajennings5146]

You can heat just the bottom and put solder at top of the fitting and it will pull it through to the bottom on 1/2 fittings

[@Steelrailbearing]

This is exactly what i was looking for , fast and straight to the point. I haven't sweat a pipe in 15 years and was looking for a refresher. I now have a new Amtrol tank and no leaks! Thank you!

[@cranjismcbasketball2118]

Ahhhh don't stick you finger in the flame!!! Haha awesome explanation!

[@devaunramsey923]

That smile after seeing sooo much flux lol

[@yumann]

You don't want to burn the house. Pretty good advice.

[@gregorygalati3435]

I've watched a lot of in-depth videos that took a half hour and yet this video was easy and provided all the information in that video did

[@MrDeviousdom]

Holy flux batman!

[@danno5805]

I was looking for this comment 😂

[@bobshanery5152]

No worries its melts away. More of an issue I see is either to little or dirty flux.

[@MrDeviousdom]

@@bobshanery5152 it hangs on inside the pipes and it takes an awful lot of water to wash it through until you can't smell it anymore. And also makes for a poor breathing environment when you are sweating the pipes.

[@ak477ism]

😂😂😂🏆

[@Timmylongstroke]

Having that work space..excellent

[@jinpark5324]

It seems to me that you apply too much flux and a lot of them will end up inside the pipe.

[@sbauman67]

And how do you get all of the water out of the old pipe, tricky

[@nedcramdon1306]

He doesn't flux around, does he. Mondo flux!

[@ninjawriter]

one time I didn't get all the water out of the pipe and the pipe was sealed so it eventually evaporated, turned to steam, exploded from the pressure like some sort of steam bomb, spraying me with liquid solder. Ya, it sucked.

[@pappabob29]

+Devin Poe Always a good idea when soldering to have an "escape" for those kind of gasses such as a open faucet or valve. Sometimes, those gasses or steam can leave a "tunnel" (a leak in your solder joint) in your molten solder if they are not allowed to escape by some other route.

[@lynchmob751]

You prob cooked your fitting. Not good

[@AStanton1966]

If you can't have an open fitting nearby, and there's water in the line, look into using a jet fitting. These fittings allow you to solder while letting the stream escape through a tiny vent. When you are done, you simply installed an o-ring cap of the vent for no leaks.

[@bugeater593]

Awesome . Clean and decent finish.

[@phxtonash]

If a old pipe is still driping water put a piece of bread in it to stop water, than solder when done the bread will simply spray out faucet

[@alvilla701]

I'm not an expert but I think you are correct, thank you Sir

[@Sugarkryptonite]

+phxtonash Not if your faucets have filters on them (which most do)

[@SirBuzz]

Pendemic Good point. Yeah, make sure the bread is headed to a faucet without a filter or has filter removed.

[@AStanton1966]

I tried that once, I ended up with a Three Stooges moment and the smell of toast.

[@websurfer1585]

More tricky when you have to solder 3 joints quickly, as with a TEE fitting.

[@he-got-a-new-mommy]

not very difficult unless it is large diameter pipe.

[@ProplumberbrisbaneAu]

Great. Thanks for sharing

[@Australia-ky7kx]

Good info often wondered how its done.

[@kingShuvo-oy8dr5ez3n]

thank you so much

[@mikimiki195]

How do you make sure all water is out if you working in the basement it constantly drips down

[@-clif1987]

You need bread shoved into the pipe to stop the water.

[@alexyanker3059]

Thank you wish I saw this before I accidentally burned down the house. Unfortunately my wife didn’t make it out in time but I was able to get my baseball card collection out.

[@steven-sl7jv]

Whats a good way to take out the water to soder and complete the job? Beginning my handyman career and learning as i go any body who did the same please feel free to leave positive comments

[@boobizzy4173]

Thank you

[@IAmKyleBrown]

One of your best videos! Nice work Richard and team. Thanks!

[@pedropereira8924]

Ver nice, thank you

[@HaloGTMaster94]

Pro!

[@danherring5676]

Ya got enough flux on that fitting, Rich?? Jeebus flippin' Christmas, man!

[@crazyyokes6578]

Kill for torch touch too

[@datstovey]

Propane and alotta flux got it 😂

[@Djm9393]

what kind of flux did you use

[@dmonk926]

how hot should the flame be? Can those tiny torches do the job?

[@RJMAalex]

Licensed plumber uses propane lol !! Turn the fitting brush clockwise turns in both directions

[@OffGridInvestor]

That's enough flux to do half the bathroom....

[@solomon3anderson]

1:37 It's a pattern...

[@Normanb15]

Dear god...so sloppy

[@TheMissingtime]

I need that heat shield

[@olixbob]

concise video. like.

[@NatSpecialOAthlete]

Never wipe with cold towel because it could cause it to crack inside the pipe.

[@GrahamDIY]

I used to think that. But have you seen how they do this in industry with robots? After the soldering it is sprayed with cold water immediately Hey, I’m with you. Doesn’t sound sensible due to thermal shock. Maybe industry uses different solder 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@he-got-a-new-mommy]

I been wiping the joints with cold towel for 30 years now, i better stop!....thanks

[@user-vg7oc8et7c]

ماهو مساعد الحام؟ What is a welding assistantً؟

[@MinecraftWithTaylor]

Cool

[@ericwotton2046]

I think you need more flux!!

[@fldave612]

Richard knows better, that's WAY TOO MUCH flux, that's going to erode the copper especially on the cold side over a short time.

[@zeeshankkhan9794]

best

[@YoMamma-dy8gu]

I did this years ago, plumbed up a bunch of copper pipes all by myself and felt proud of myself. Then about 5-7 years later the joints started failing one by one. I think 4 or 5 different joints failed. Now I just call a plumber!

[@nonyabusiness5802]

That much flux is guaranteed to give problems. Explanation here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hILQiH-oZtZ1qa8

[@damannoa]

Let me be the first to say that he used way too much flux.

[@rcbryant10]

Lol noticed

[@americanfirst913]

Holy flux!

[@zachgeorge8700]

You need to wipe the flux lol!

[@johnrambo6861]

dude is sanding metal right under it looking right up at it... Lemme tell you this.. Getting metal pieces in your cornea is no joke.. Happened to me and even though the metal was removed from my eye years ago I still have eye pain.... Wear fucking glasses.

[@Doomzdayxx]

I can vouch for this. I got metal in my eye from drilling in metal studs. Not fun having the Doc pick the pieces out.

[@rcx8666c]

Are plastic pipes the best ??

[@justinballard7242]

No

[@edmalts]

I'm trying and leak is still there!!!!!!!

[@DD-pb1gq]

What kind of flux is that?

[@slickjames1]

Aeon

[@robertsimon5869]

Too much

[@joeygergely9814]

bro the flux 😫. always heat around the pipe first then the fitting. not enough to burn the flux out but enough to melt the solder. always keep your flame to the back of the fitting cup. solder always moves to the heat. and push the solder in. his way works but its not the correct way. trust me nothing worse than soldering a water line and have it leak

[@jameswalden3240]

Can I solder pipes that aren't copper

[@IronLungs01]

James Walden Well you can theoretically but it depends on the kind of metal and the purpose it's going to serve.

[@ryanbrown5993]

he used way to much flux

[@fedilindigenousking3172]

Same thing I was saying

[@psychiatry-is-eugenics]

Too little is worse ?

[@Doomzdayxx]

@@psychiatry-is-eugenics too much can stick around and corrode the pipe, causing a leak. Too little can leak eventually. Pick your poison.

[@Yo-_-Yo]

If doesn’t matter how much as long as you put flux only on the pipe but not inside fitting When connecting pipe to fitting then twist the pipe a full circle and that’s it Not any single particle over flux inside DO NOT PUT FLUX IN FITTING!Never!!!.

[@robynord.9313]

Qué nombre tiene ..?el soplete o como lo pido??

[@elmerlopez.9952]

Se llama welding torch, como quien dice antorcha para soldar, yo las compro en home depot , valen unos 38 o 40 dólares,, depende el tamaño.

[@jasonmay2889]

want is flux

[@s13g3r4]

Hi does it matter what gas you use propane or butane or doesnt matter?

[@datstovey]

Mapp

[@jimlahey8919]

One person never used a heat shield and burned his house down 😜

[@aaronbaraiya3692]

was that "person" you?

[@jimlahey8919]

@@aaronbaraiya3692 maybe 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@YoMamma-dy8gu]

Knew a guy who started a fire inside the walls of his house this way. 😬

[@nazimkhan9932]

how purchase in India ??

[@maithamme292]

Nice but this bag solder what to be used ?

[@ICT_Anton]

What the flux are you doing? 😮

[@matylda4894]

No enough flux😂

[@GrahamDIY]

HOW MUCH FLUX?????? Solder will run where there is flux. Flux the inside of the joint only and then insert the pipe. There shouldn’t be any flux on the outside because you want the solder to run to the inside of the joint. Wipe away any flux that is on the outside of the pipe/fitting afterwards.

[@alfonsogavina7688]

Swag, time to find a solder job

[@eazyrat]

how to sodder a pipe

[@jobdylan5782]

Solder

[@restoblast1387]

Yep, it does sound like they say sodder in those parts.

[@DannySauer]

@@restoblast1387 It sounds like that everywhere, because that's how it's pronounced. If you hear someone making an "ell" sound, point them to a dictionary.

[@restoblast1387]

@@DannySauer we pronounce it, as solder, like sole - der

[@crazyyokes6578]

Y my moms mic took

[@habibimetalscrafts8739]

Nbb

[@Normanb15]

Excessive flux...dear god

[@31pilot]

Kind of sloppy and overkill FLUX, eh?

[@psychiatry-is-eugenics]

.

[@justingraham7387]

Nope your wrong!!!

[@CupidFromKentucky]

Such overpowering music.

[@ryanroberts1104]

Step 1. Realize it's called "sweating" and not "soldering".

[@embreesmith7613]

anyone that has to watch this shouldn't be doing the job

[@crazyyokes6578]

Shame you don’t talk

[@claybornlewis276]

You talk way too much way too much