Tomorrow I have a little DIY project. The supply valve for hot water to my washing machine sprung a leak and I need to replace it. I’m going by this wikihow article, but wanted to see if anyone here would care to chime in with some advice.
For the record, I’ve kinda-sorta done this once before. It was about 10 years ago and I had to replace my hot water heater. As part of the process, I had to re-plumb the overflow lines. Things seemed to go fine, but those lines were not under pressure and actually have never be used.
Unfortunately, the line is plumbed in a way that makes a little extra work. The copper line goes down from the valve, makes a quick 90 deg turn, runs for about 5 or 6 inches, and the 90 degrees again upward. I figure it’ll be easiest to cut it on the upswing after the turn and then replace what will look like a U shaped section. Two elbows and a straight connector.
The wikihow article says to reheat the joint after you’ve soldered it and has cooled down. I wasn’t aware that this step was necessary (I guess they say to do it if you’re a beginner, and that’s me). Any thoughts about that or anything else I should be aware of?
Unless I misread it, the ‘reheat’ step is to apply the solder. Before that it says to coat everything with flux and then, before joining them, heat them until the flux burns off.
Ignore that article. Just go find one of the millions of youtube videos. Watch it and don’t overthink.
ETA, if you’re concerned, pick up a few feet of copper and some connections and practice soldering them. If you can make it so there’s only one opening, you can attach a fitting to it so you can screw it into a garden hose and leak test it to see how you did.
The key is to sand all the connections - inside and out - completely clean and shiny. Even sand brand new fittings.
If you do this, and use a proper water-soluble flux, the soldering will be a piece of cake. Simply heat the joint, and apply the solder to the other side of the joint, once it starts to flow, just wipe the piece of solder around the hot joint, and turn off the torch. It will be obvious if it’s good joint - the solder will wick into the joint.
Thanks. Yeah, I remember when I did it before that it was pretty obvious when the heated pipe was ready to accept the solder. It’s almost magical the way it works!
I’m only a little nervous because the lines I soldered before didn’t have to work under pressure. I’m pretty sure I did everything right, and it didn’t seem too hard, but I figured I check in here for advice just in case.
Be careful with whatever is behind where you’re soldering; one can get so involved with creating a good solder joint that you don’t realize you’ve scorched the framing or set fire to the drywall. Safety first!
Unless you are determined to solder for the sake of soldering, I recommend you use Shark Bite fittings. They are quick, work well, and avoid the dangers associated with using a torch near flammables.
Unless you are determined to deal with leaks and possible joint failure, I recommend you solder the joint. Press on fittings such as Sharkbite and Tectite are popular but I have witnessed may flooded home stories. I sell plumbing products ya and no plumber I know would use them in their house.
It sounds like you could just cut the U off, solder on a male adapter and then use an angle stop that threads onto the adapter. That would give you the most secure joint. There are also straight stops if the results in less bending of the supply line.
There are also pads to absorb the flame while soldering. insurance pad is another name for them. Highly recommended.
If you’re new to sweating pipe, buy a bunch of extra fittings and pipe, and do lots of practicing beforehand.
When feeding the solder to the joint, don’t feed it too much solder. If you do, a blob of solder will form inside the pipe, and could eventually break off and clog a valve downstream from it.
You have witnessed many flooded homes or you have heard many flooded home stories? You weren’t clear and those two things aren’t the same.
I have used Shark Bite products several times to make repairs in areas where I didn’t care to use a torch. The oldest has been in place for a decade without leaking a drop.
Hmm. Never thought of that. I might go that route! And now that you mention it, I did quite a bit of that type of plumbing in physics labs back in college.
I’m only a mild DIYer and have sweated pipes several times, no leaks yet.
One thing to be careful of when sweating existing pipes is to make sure there’s no water in the pipe. The heat can make any remotely nearby water steam and even boil which is not good.
Have a thick rag and good gloves handy to wipe away any excess solder while it’s still liquid. Pros know how much solder to use to avoid this. DIYers typically don’t.
Not overkill at all, and a simple safety. And wet down any wood/drywall that will be near first. A spray bottle can come in handy to do this, and a bucket of water and rags.