re-soldeing

[pipeline]

just spent my evening taking apart all the end feed fitting that i have been practising my soldering on, and all of them were soldered correctly even the 28mm straight couplers,, they just looked rough. also ive seen on a few vids on u tube people wearing gloves to remove the solder runs,, while the solder is wet, i this a good idea or not. also can the fitting be re used to practise on, do i have to file all the solder out of em. thanks men

 

[wheeto]

ive seen on a few vids on u tube people wearing gloves to remove the solder runs,, while the solder is wet, i this a good idea or not.

If you mean using the gloved hand directly to wipe the solder then I'd say this is a bit risky.

also can the fitting be re used to practise on, do i have to file all the solder out of em. thanks men

If it fits you can re-use it directly. If not then you need to remove solder, probably by abrasion, until it does. If you think the fitting has been abused (really cooked, perhaps, or deformed) then it's not worth re-using, especially solder-ring ones. Good to practise soldering on nevertheless.

 

[clarky101]

Dont need gloves in the real world but in the H&S world you probably do + googles :sad_smile:

 

[SimonJohns]

Personally I use wirewool to get the solder out. It has to be hot thou. Be careful!

 

[pipeline]

Personally I use wirewool to get the solder out. It has to be hot thou. Be careful!

that sound like hard work john,, also u for got to tell me where plumbs was in bridgend? thanks

 

[PlumbBobBob]

plumb centre
tremains road
bridgend
cf31 1tz

 

[pipeline]

plumb centre
tremains road
bridgend
cf31 1tz

ahh yeah, i know where that is,, didnt think he was talkin about plumb centre.. nice 1 steve

 

[SimonJohns]

ahh yeah, i know where that is,, didnt think he was talkin about plumb centre.. nice 1 steve

see rich on the counter, hes the only happy chap in there, tell him you want discount too, plumbcentre can be a bit steep without having terms set up

 

[pipeline]

see rich on the counter, hes the only happy chap in there, tell him you want discount too, plumbcentre can be a bit steep without having terms set up

yeah nice1 johns i was only after a pot of everflux,, ill stick on your account.. ftf ha

only kidding

 

[marleyco]

You tried the center brand flux, its good and made by power flow but cheaper

 

[SimonJohns]

You tried the center brand flux, its good and made by power flow but cheaper

I find power flux to be awful. It sticks when you make fittings up.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

see rich on the counter, hes the only happy chap in there, tell him you want discount too, plumbcentre can be a bit steep without having terms set up

rich is a maesteg boy

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

steel wool or kitchen roll is fine for wiping a soldered joint and making it look neat,you will find re using fittings hard work

 

[SimonJohns]

rich is a maesteg boy

Explains alot! Lol

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

Explains alot! Lol

is he a manager now? had a tie on last time i seen him

 

[SimonJohns]

is he a manager now? had a tie on last time i seen him

Don't know. Havent been there for a long time

He should be thou. I dont like the older chap on the counter. And the boy on parts is a pain in the rear

You have to speak to Chris if you wants parts from Bridgend

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

i dont go there that often theres a right muppet on spares and the older guy on the counter is in a time warp he has 2 speeds slow and stop

 

[Best]

To remove & reuse a soldered fitting you have to either, heat it gently & tap it off, & provided it is fully soldered inside, hold it with pump pliers while heating it till solder melts & push it on fluxed pipe & resolder.
Or, after removing fitting, immediately clean solder out of fitting using a rag. Easier on 22mm & larger fittings. Don't leave a trace of solder or fitting won't slip onto pipe later, as it should do. As someone said, you should be wearing gloves, goggles or face shield & a firesuit, but in the real world - I don't!
Be sure the fitting hasn't got dark untinned parts inside! If it does, clean them with emery. Also file the edge of fitting clean, as it may be very tarnished & won't allow solder to get near it.

 

[tamz]

In the real world you wipe the snots with your bare finger. You won't feel in but in the risk assessed world of impracticability, you have a pair of welders gloves on and knock the pipe so much doing it that it is leaking like a sieve.
If you are unsweating it just wipe it with a bit steel wool or cloth while it is hot to make it smooth inside. You will never be able to wipe off the solder that is there. If you want it off you will need to file it.

When doing other joints with old fittings, unless you water test them you won't know if you did it right. An old fitting once it is tinned (has solder stuck to it) will take even if you are terrible at it.
The only way to do it right is use new fittings. Solder them then take them apart and check. In the real world, turn the water on, turn the water off lol

 

[Best]

If you are unsweating it just wipe it with a bit steel wool or cloth while it is hot to make it smooth inside. You will never be able to wipe off the solder that is there. If you want it off you will need to file it.

Tamz, I can usually clean the solder off inside fittings fully, just using a cloth with my fingers inside it & a lot of speed. Lol! Guess it is just something I am used to.
Very easy to miss a tiny bit solder though.
The 15mm or smaller are a bother to clean obviously.
I have no worries about reusing a clean fitting, but usually wouldn't as easier to fit a new one.

 

[tamz]

Tamz, I can usually clean the solder off inside fittings fully, just using a cloth with my fingers inside it & a lot of speed. Lol! Guess it is just something I am used to.

You must have a lot of patience as the solder is chemically bonded to the copper.
You can join 2 tinned ends together without flux or solder if you know how (you may need a dab of solder to fill out a bit but you will now by watching).

Learning is a slow process best supervised :wink:

 

[Best]

You must have a lot of patience as the solder is chemically bonded to the copper.
You can join 2 tinned ends together without flux or solder if you know how (you may need a dab of solder to fill out a bit but you will now by watching).

Learning is a slow process best supervised :wink:

If you originally meant that literally ALL the solder cannot be removed - ie the tinning, then no, I don't & can't remove it, unless I emery it when it is cooler, but don't need to remove the tinning obviously.
I also have put both an already heavy soldered pipe end & a fitting just removed & thick with solder together in one go, & then I redo the joint, but always the risk of letting solder inside pipe.
I generally only do this with my own work, if it is a change of idea or if it years old as it should already be fully soldered. I find a lot of fittings are a mess with others work so tends to be not tinned.

 

[adam84]

Ire-use end feed fittings all the time, just clean em out with the fittings brush and re-flux with the added advantage of being tinned! was the plumbing video on utube by plumberx? and yes you can "wet wipe" the joints but risk desturbing them before they harden.

 

[Mr leaky]

when i was learning soldering i used a socket forming tool to make a socket on the end of a length of pipe then used a hacksaw to cut that off and made another socket with the tool cut that off and just continued like that until i had used that piece then i cleaned and fluxed them and soldered the pieces back together again

 

[Guest123]

Do they teach you young uns in college how to get solder off your plastic push fit fittings or am I using them wrong? LOL

 

[tamz]

Yer using the wrong flux. Plastic needs lacold or it will not work

 

[WHPES]

I use a cotton rag to wipe solder off when runny (gloves as well).

 

[dancinplumba]

Have never heard of or done any soldeing. do they not teach spelling in skool these days ??

 

[tamz]

Obviuslie not :lol:

 

[wheeto]

Have never heard of or done any soldeing. do they not teach spelling in skool these days ??

Nor how to capitalize sentences

 

[SafeGasInstall]

gloves for me when installing
water spray with me from B&Q to cool fittings and CLEAN dump cloth to wipe all joints
do not over do with flux , do not over heat , do not over do with solder this is my best practice
mind you it took me 1 day to learn how to solder need lol