How To Solder Copper Plumbing Pipes

[@hamnchee]

I always appreciate how you don't edit out little mistakes like the extra gob of solder. Helps me know what do do as well as what to look out for. I'm doing my first bathroom gut and remodel and just about everything from plumbing to water lines is being re-routed/replaced, and you're my go to KZbin DIY guru, Shannon! Thanks for all the great vids!

[@HouseImprovements]

Thanks for following all of our videos!

[@ericklodnicki]

HouseImprovements always such great videos. The breadth of information and topics covered is fantastic. THE resource for home improvement and repair.

[@paultrigger3798]

This video is exactly what i was looking for. There are many small details to work like this and the consequences of pipes failing is huge.

[@BearistaBear]

His advice to practice on spare pieces of copper and spare fittings is spot on. This is how I learned to solder copper pipes.

[@danseman1]

I really appreciated your video. I used to do a lot of this work but that was a long time ago. One of the greatest lessons to be learned here is to stay focused. It's difficult to be talking and still do a perfect job. Thanks for leaving the video as is so we all can learn from it. Learning from mistakes, yours or others, is the best way to learn.

[@islandnupe]

I can't believe it took 14 minutes to explain this. Appreciate the effort, but have mercy.

[@PerthPlumbers]

Thanks for sharing this video about plumbing with us. This will help people especially those who wants to do the plumbing themselves at home.

[@l.c.bowdog4308]

I just watched this for the hell of it. His soldering is a lot like mine. Thank you for the info. Bottom line is the solder gets sucked in and don't leek.

[@EricRn218]

Real quality here, thanks for going into depth on all sorts of things newer people are learning about. It helps them feel safe enought o actually try these things out

[@brianmiller9365]

Glad I found your channel. Came here after watching your vid on PEX piping. Subbed and thanks. Not all of us are "experts", thats why we're here. I am a professional in a completely different line of work.

[@dleivam]

Thanks Shannon. Your videos are very clear explaining the why and how to do it and they have always helped me to fix stuff around my house.

[@paganpoetprophet6441]

i never even thought of a fire extinguisher ; have one in kitchen but this video made me realize ; its quite necessary ; thanks for educating me ; good video

[@TM25964e]

Great advice. My first time soldering and it came out really good. One really big issue though... the bread trick; don't use it if the line is feeding faucet/shower heads with screens, special adaptors and other small outputs. It will clog and most likely you will have to disassemble and clean multiple faucets. I learned that the hard way.

[@ds99]

Thanks for the reassurance. I think anyone new to this might not trust it. :-) I will keep checking under the kitchen sink. The welding consisted of 2 corner joints, 1 "T" joint, and 3 valves (hot, cold, dishwasher). I put them all together first and then welded them all at once. I was surprised at how quickly it went. Many thanks for the great video too! My weld looks clean based on the instructions you gave.

[@HouseImprovements]

Glad to here.

[@stormbytes]

Oh wow this exact thing happened to me about a week ago and I was literally pulling my hair out! I was soldering a brass pipe in the ceiling of my basement. Water main was shut off and I was pretty sure the pipe was empty but as soon as I put the torch to it water started leaking down. After 3 or 4 unsuccessful attempts at soldering the joint I managed a temporary fix. The whole situation was mind boggling. I've soldered hundreds of pipes in my time and I was literally questioning my sanity at one point after having tried and failed to solder the same piece of copper 3 times!! thanks for the video :)

[@mrbreez33]

Having never done soldering before, found your video very informative. Thank You.

[@laocoste4966]

Love the part of KZbin that saves you money and makes your brain grow

[@tr.evorbrown]

Super-helpful !! Thanks. You explain things so the layman can understand and gain some confidence in their ability at the same time!!

[@jeffreywells8207]

This is a chore to be done very soon , thanx 4 posting !

[@healthfullivingify]

Thanks for the refresher. It's been a while since I've done this. I appreciate it.

[@gregbernard4466]

Great Presentation. I was told the flux prevents oxidation of the copper when heated with the torch. The high temperature makes the copper look dirty as it oxidizes rapidly with the heat of the torch. The flux does seem to keep the copper clean for the solder to stick. I try to aim the flame parallel to any walls instead of having the flame go towards a wall directly when I solder in tight spaces.

[@frankjones5283]

Thanks for this video..this video showed me how easy it is to solder going uphill.

[@HouseImprovements]

You're welcome, Frank.

[@pete9639]

nice instruction. you didn't rush anything you and seem like a good teacher. thanks

[@rebeccagunder5396]

Thanks for posting this video. You covered all of the details and I am ready to tackle soldering - with practice first. Good teaching.

[@catinbowler3387]

These videos are so incredibly helpful. Thank you so much Shannon.

[@Boobiemusic]

One of the easiest to understand! Thanks Shannon!

[@Can_it_Be_Done_DIY]

That's a great and informative video, thanks. I'm going to fix a water leak and I needed to learn how to souder!

[@HouseImprovements]

You're welcome. It's not a bad idea to do a test solder joint or two (or more) before fixing the leak, if possible.

[@paulwharton1850]

Very good video - I learnt a lot. The guy is a great teacher.

[@coolhacker011]

Thanks for taking the time to share. BTW The Bread trick does work. The only catch is when you turn on the water at the sink, it will get caught in the screen of the faucet. Just unscrew the screen and clean it out.

[@HouseImprovements]

Good to hear, nice tip

[@yobrogoodwht3566]

Shannon you are a great guy and all videos you made are interesting.

[@unclefreddieDied]

7:50 great tip! My parents pipes needed work I thought I could fix it...heated the pipes to melt the existing solder, but there was water in there...I was trying to heat it for 5mins and nothing..... called a plumber and he told me why.(water in the pipe)

[@HouseImprovements]

Yes even a slight bit can really cause issues with a small torch like this.

[@swordandwords6020]

A fire extinguisher? So I been doing it wrong all along I always keep a beer by me.

[@PipeCorn]

Thanks for the info Shannon. I used to use a damp rag to wipe the joint while it was still hot until I found I may have been wrong. I have been told by plumbers that quenching the joint while hot can cause cracks in the solder and possibly troubles down the road. I now wait until the joint cools down by itself then wipe the pipe to get all the excess flux off. Just a thought

[@BelieveDo]

Excellent demo! Thanks for posting this.

[@arturseversons3444]

fantastic, I do need to solder in a T-joint and now I know how! Thank you so much :)

[@zenmonkey9]

Thank you, Shannon. This is very helpful.

[@elfre8992]

Very helpful and provided enough detail so that i can go and try it.

[@ds99]

Lots of good tips and techniques here. Thank you Shannon.

[@markthompson4099]

You are a great teacher BRO I really like your thoroughness. As for helpful comments. Water in the line will create steam which will gas off blowing out your solder should the system be closed, and therefore copper unions do help that can be mechanically connected or SharkBites. Bread that is white flower in the pipe works wonders I use it all the time. But be sure to take out the aerators and flush the system out so that it does not clog toilets and sinks. Also wipe with a dry rag to whip the solder off. You did not use to much you just cooled off your metal with water before you can remove it. Thanks for all your teaching. Mark

[@AJDIYNetwork]

Great vid Shannon.

[@yakyakker]

Thanks, have always wanted to do this. I was just about to start my first project but decided to google it first. Turns out I was about to make some fairly critical mistakes! Back to the hardware store I go.

[@glcboxer2012]

Excellent informative video Shannon! Thanks. God bless.

[@fredcarrter]

It's interesting all the negative comments on here about not having the perfect amount of solder however unlike most other videos this is the only one I've found so far that shows sucking the solder up into the joint. It's easy to solder a perfect joint when you can turn it whichever way you want and just let the solder run down into the joint life most videos do however that's not always an option for attached plumbing.

[@jeffnarum1373]

F C It also shows us first time DIY guys what "too much" looks like. Great vid, great preperation.

[@Parrain0606]

Great DIY video......more information, less BS. Nicely done. Thank you

[@plumbersinlosangelesca4737]

Great step-by-step video! I have to start doing this...lol

[@Element_Z48]

this channel deserves more subs and views

[@HouseImprovements]

Spread the word please!

[@fsiddiqui89]

Fantastic video you did an amazing job I followed ur instructions and it worked out perfectly for me, thanks

[@bingli6651]

Fareed Siddiqui 一

[@ThePowerTrader]

Qualified Electrician with over 15 years under me belt of domestic commercial industrial re wires, intruder alarms, CCTV, fire alarms, emergency lighting, nurse call systems, door entry systems, sky installations etc etc etc.......... But I just cannot seem to solder a copper pipe joint. Oh, by the way, I can do compression joints beautifully on copper pipes with a real score of 20/20 joints not leaking. But the result with soldering them was unfortunately 7/20 not leaking. The other 14 p!ssed out as soon as water drive through. Wish me luck for future soldering guys. Thanks.

[@charredskeleton]

thanks for the video Shannon. It helped a lot!

[@HouseImprovements]

You are welcome !

[@MajorTendonitis]

Thank you for doing these videos Shannon , as they are going to come in very handy . I'm debating to do my tub/shower plumbing with1/2" pex in , and 3/4" out to the tub spout , diverter valve , shower head and shower wand , but it's tempting to go with copper . I have to sweat in copper adapters to go to pex out of the delta valve regardless . Will see how I am at soldering first I guess

[@HouseImprovements]

try some push fit connectors instead. Come to my forum if you have further questions. www.house-improvements.com/forums/

[@StevePhillips]

Brilliant demo, we need this because we recently messed up big style; we probably used too much heat. The flux we used was like solid wax, not sure how we were meant to paste it on. May need to redo entire job, if we get leaks, not yet tried it out.

[@earlmacneil4322]

I have used the bread trick. Works great. I go to a spot downstream when I turn the water back on and remove the screen (if its a sink). The bread usealy shoots out when u turn the tap on.

[@Thujaplicata1]

Great video, really helped me with my basic knowledge.

[@benoitlambert100]

I did the bread trick he talks about and it worked out real good....just flush the bread out by turning the water back on

[@ImNotStalkingYou]

The bread trick can be a life saver on a small line

[@magnusmdd]

agreed, I used that method when I worked as an apartment maintenance tech and it works great!!!

[@dblake8756]

What if you are working on a pipe that just barely sticks out of the drywall? Is there some kind of special protective material to use to protect the wall from heating up or burning?

[@mrpangy4174]

Nice job. I like that fact that you used too much solder. Please show us how to fix the problems we run into. The perfect job is great to experience but learning comes from correcting the errors and issues that we run into.

[@HouseImprovements]

Thanks, nothing ever goes 100% smooth every time .

[@sizekhabhelu8994]

hey guys thanks so much this app is great l learn a lots from it well done keep on sharing l appreciate

[@AutumnsVeiling]

excellent vid as always, thanks for the information!

[@juliouchimura3753]

Thanks for the VERY useful video

[@ColdWarVet607]

As was taught to me on soldering copper pipes to fittings, ideally the torch flame is positioned back on the fitting, where the pipe going into it stops. Water flows from wet to dry and solder flows from coolest to hottest, having the torch NOT at the point where the pipe and fitting meet and positioned as stated above will draw the solder along the full length of the inserted pipe segment giving you the best soldered join you can get ! Also please wear safety glasses my good friend, you where pretty close up there, the fire extinguisher won't do you any good if you are blinded by the solder or flux pop activated by boiling water.

[@HouseImprovements]

Thanks for the feed back

[@heela188]

Thank you for the clear instruction.

[@HouseImprovements]

You are welcome, thanks for watching

[@armymobilityofficer9099]

Thanks. Simple and easy to understand.

[@jockellis]

dSir, Does this fitting need to be Brassoed for morning inspection?

[@netwayne]

Nice video, Shannon. You were very thorough. Only thing I would add is I would have liked to have seen you wearing safety glasses.

[@irrelevant2235]

I recommend to not use a wet rag to immediately cool the newly soldered joint. The immediate temperature change can cause micro-fractures which will weaken the joint. This is analogous to the crack that you see on an ice cube when you drop it in a cup filled with hot water. The newly soldered joint should be allowed to cool off by itself.

[@skidz8426]

Thanks a lot your video are very helpful

[@HouseImprovements]

Thank you

[@armadoflores]

grasias amigo! soy estudiante de RVAC y tu clase de soldadura me ayudo mucho, saludos, sigue con tus videos, son muy utiles.

[@naospgom]

I LIKE YOUR VIDEOS, VERY HELPFUL...!

[@thomasp.monroe4922]

He mentioned the bread trick . Take my word for it , the bread works . Use the center portion of the bread . Put enough that you can ram it about 6 inches deep in the tubing and make a solid seal. This works well in places where it may not be possible to drain the line or a cutoff slightly leaks . Work fast if it leaks to much. Also I always the brown soft cotton gloves soldering copper . This allows you to wipe the fitting with the gloved hand before the solder sets hard. Be careful not to hold your hand on the copper to long or you will get burned . A little practice and you will learn. Use tight fitting gloves

[@josephfoster30]

Great video! What should I do if I’m moving the vanity drain pipe over to the right and the Vent pipe is directly in the way? 2x6” studs. I can’t find a pvc connector that will bring the pipe forward 1” so I can go around the front of the vent pipe?

[@BigCarmine]

Bread in the pipe works great to stop water from getting into the solder area. But roll it into a dough ball first. Water will dissolve it very quickly.

[@adrpals2324]

Thanks very useful information.

[@goyeabuddy]

thanks! now I can go out & change out my water heater shut-off valve...

[@dominickcarbonara5494]

LOL

[@serafinflorendo340]

Thanks Shannon, do you have a video on removing copper fittings using a torch?

[@craigparker7340]

the bread trick works very well

[@davehook7603]

Great video! Thanks!!! Very informative!!!!

[@HomeownerRepair]

Great video!

[@joedoe11]

I hope that in the future copper soldering machines will be invented to make a plumber's job easier

[@khoyano4131]

Thanks again Shannon

[@LousyPainter]

I have done plenty of soldering and taken a coarse on plumbing and all I can say is " very good". The bread thing does work but don't use the crust unless you run the water without the fixtures right after. You should run the water just to make sure everything is cleaned out. If you install the fixtures just remove any screens and blast the water hot and cold for 10 to 15 minutes ( cleans out any "bread" and flux) .

[@LousyPainter]

In summary, "excellent" job Shannon! You have high quality educational videos!

[@vincentrusso2769]

There are 2 different thicknesses of copper pipe "L" & "M" and the paste is commonly referred to as FLUX. You can also purchase lead free solder that is hollow and contains FLUX inside it and it is dispensed as the solder melts.

[@jorgeg922]

These are great videos!

[@matyasxfulop]

I was looking for an intro to pipe soldering and left with a masters.

[@1337_RC]

awesome comment, i came out the same way

[@StevePhillips]

I can't see it happening to me unfortunately, but as long as I can learn to do the job correctly, I'll be happy enough, but congrats both, wish I could get masters as well in this line of work plumbing.

[@SoCaL884]

Great video man keep them rolling....

[@mct8888]

Great video, I’m inspired!

[@LoukasVargasBMX]

I need to move my stove range gas line more to the left to leave room for the Downdraft blower. I think it looks like a flex gas line under coming up. Do I need to shit off the valve and relocate it or do I need to add a longer line. It needs to be move another five inches at the minimum

[@sgomez3047]

Great job! Thank you!!

[@alexrogue7557]

thanks fer sharing, learnt lots!

[@lynec.4073]

Thanks for the video. What do you think of the brass systems that are non welding, they make fittings that are faster to install, however my question is what is the life expectancy compared to soldering? Thank you in advance for your answer.

[@HouseImprovements]

+Lyne Conway Push fit fittings are a good alternative ,but I would not do a whole house with them as the cost is to much. Time will tell how long they will last. Most copper will only last 50yrs without eventually starting to have issues.

[@lynec.4073]

+HouseImprovements Thanks for your prompt reply. I would like to further ask. For copper pipes in basement ceiling, that lead to my garden hose. I have some access now, but will have difficult access later. I am changing 3 pieces: a valve, an elbow along with the outdoor tap. How does the Push Fit fittings compare to the Compression with nut fittings. Your opining is very much appreciated: for reliability, for problem free.

[@nisarzaman]

Very well explained Thanks

[@southperthplumbers]

This is a tough one but one can surely understand the process on soldering copper plumbing pipes.

[@jockellis]

Does capillary action draw the solder in? You are the first person I've heard to actually describe the amount of flux needed. What happens to the flux?

[@HouseImprovements]

The flux basically liquifies and evaporates and also runs or burns off. Yes I believe you would call that capillary action ,drawing the solder in.

[@TheSlipperyNoodle]

Another good tip for the home owners is to solder everything you can horizontally ... that way you can err on the side of a touch extra solder an any excess will drip out the bottom. Also, use good brand name solder and tinning flux ... not the place to save $5.

[@TheCracker713]

You flux the fitting and the pipe why risk a leak? Also if any of the brush bristles come off while applying the flux make sure to get it off cause it wont set right

[@19745402]

Shannon, I watched your video. I have a question for you. Why doesn't the solder adhere to the copper once heated? I cleaned it up till shiny. I heated it from the bottom and applied the solder from the top. All it does is break off. What am I doing wrong?

[@HouseImprovements]

Dexter Burles Are you applying heat to the copper fittings and pipe? Make sure that is what you are doing and let the heat of those melt the solder.

[@CallamDumon]

the copper has to be hot enough for the solder to melt into the joint. U also might need to apply more flux paste

[@paganpoetprophet6441]

what do feel about shark bites over traditional soldering; when compared which is best ? thanks

[@paganpoetprophet6441]

so rubbing solder the whole 360 degrees of the diameter of pipe not necessary ?the solder is drawn into the part you dont touch with solder ; is that right ?

[@henloy]

Thanks definitely helped out

[@hariatmakhalsa1648]

How long do you loet the solder draw up inside the pipe? I did some and there was no "bead" around the end of he joint and a gap there but all the joints held great. how do yo know when to take the solder away? Thanks

[@HouseImprovements]

I usually wait until it is starting to form a small drip. Should take no more then 2 seconds if you are hot enough.

[@josephfoster30]

So you only need to solder the opposite side of the heat and the flux makes the solder go all the way around?

[@wabisabiland98]

Don't touch the joints while solder is still liquid. Don't worry about cleaning immediately, you can clean all you want after cooled off.