When Customer Says You're Too Expensive

[Toxic Ted]

Yeah, got my greenhouse out in garden, doing really well this winter!! And then there's the attic, 1 guess at what plants I grow up there??

Erm........spiderplants?

 

[jase158]

I do wipe the joint but solder doesn't move once it is on!! Too much flux probably!! The joints on here are perfect, just the right amount of solder, all shiny and clean. No snots, no scorch marks. Each joint must take about 8 minutes each!! I have used many heat mats and they all get burnt!! Heat mats burning??? Syrely they should be heat resistant. I don't have loads of scorch marks, mainly above boilers as the pipes are always so close to the wall you can't help but get scorch marks. I do have pride in my work but don't look for perfection. Mistakes happen and not everything can be perfect.

 

[jase158]

And then you look at BG installs and think they are charging £4-£5k for that terrible job, leaving it leaking and putting filling loops on mains inlet to combi's. Surely if people are happy to accept this then a few snots and scorch marks aren't the end of the world when I double check everything, do everything exactly how the customer wants it and to the regs and give customers the best solution to there problems.

 

[jase158]

Will try wiping it before soldering, good tip. I got taught at college to flux female end. But When doing gas course they say to do male end!! We got taught nothing at colleg, was taught by a bloke that came from a training centre, owned his own training centre and got sacked for having no qualifications. Absolute waste of time. Maybe I should have some more pride in my soldering, but I just want it to not leak. Nothing worse then a leaking joint at 5 pm!!

 

[jase158]

And no it doesn't drip after it's wiped, it drips and then it is impossible to clean it off

 

[gasmanrob]

If your burning things then also look at your torch selection domestic really dosent need mapp gas unless your doing 28mm+ all day long. It burns the flux and the pipe making it difficult to get a nice run.

also rothy have two heads the super fire and the thinner sure fire much more precise I personaly use the tx504 it's flame is more adjustable and the head swivels for better access

 

[jase158]

Got rid of pro about 4 months ago and it made a massive difference, had the smaller nozzle, didn't find it made a difference, turning the gas down works brilliantly on 15mm but doesn't go all the way round for 22mm

 

[cr0ft]

I did a big job this morning, believe me you don't want to see any photos.

I've done a big job too. It's actually completely blocked one of our loos. Anyone know where I can still buy wire coat hangers?

 

[jase158]

Pardon me if I don't answer Simon but I am a complete idiot and shouldn't be a plumber and apparently my name is jarse, not that I take it personally or anything

 

[gasmanrob]

Not every joint I do is perfect and no one here can claim that every joint they do is, but just limit the risk of a messy joint, I personally touch the solder at the rear of the joint to fill it where if it did run you wouldn't see it, it doesn't take any extra time to solder other any other method. But we all have different gripes and beliefs