You can do both ends of the fitting at the same time by heating in the middle like this. The light blue flame should be just touching the fitting. Then concentrate the heat in the middle of the fitting. Move this part of the flame along the fitting and the pipe to bring them up to soldering temperature. The tip of this light blue flame is the hottest part of the flame. If you look at the flame of torch you will notice there is a lighter blue, well-defined flame in the middle of a darker blue flame. When the fitting is firmly in place, rotate both the pipe and the fitting several times to spread the flux evenly.Ī propane torch is the tool we’ll use to sweat copper pipe. Place the copper fitting on the pipe only after it is thoroughly cleaned and coated with soldering paste. Also apply flux to the inside of the cleaned fittings using the same technique. Flux or soldering paste ensures a firm bond between the copper and the solder and will help will keep the copper from oxidizing when heated. Next, apply a light coat of flux or soldering paste to the cleaned end of the copper pipe. Debris or foreign matter left in the pipe causes a poor seal. You can use the wire brush, steel wool or sandpaper. You must also clean the inside of all fittings. You can also use sandpaper or steel wool to accomplish this task.
Turn the tool back and forth until the pipe is bright.
Clean the area to be inserted in the fitting until it is bright all around. While it depends on the fitting, a general rule of thumb is to add about a half inch for each fitting to the length of pipe you cut.Īfter you’ve cut the copper pipe to the proper length, clean the end of the pipe with this special cleaning brush. When cutting pipe for a specific run, you’ll need to make allowances for how much the fittings increase the overall length of the run. If you cut copper pipe with a hacksaw, you may want to use a half-round file to perform this task, as the hacksaw leaves more burrs than the tubing cutter as you can see here. A wire brush designed for this specific purpose makes easy work of it. Having both on hand is a good idea.Īfter making the cut, we need to remove the burrs inside the pipe. This cutter is designed to work in tight areas where there isn’t room to spin the larger cutter. This tube cutter uses a screw motion to tighten the cutting wheel against the pipe as it is turned. When using a tube cutter, hold the copper tubing in place with a vise or a clamp, being careful not to distort the copper.
Although both will make a satisfactory cut, the tube cutter ensures a square cut every time and leaves fewer burs. To cut copper tubing, you can use either a hacksaw or a copper tube cutter designed specifically for this task.
#PLUMBING TOOL TO SECURE PIPES HOW TO#
We’ll start by learning how to cut copper tubing. These are just a few of the types of fittings that are available in ¾” and ½” sizes. There are a variety of fittings designed to make turns and bends in pipe, or to branch out in various directions. We’ll discuss how to cut copper pipe, we’ll talk about copper fittings, and how to solder these components together.Ĭopper pipe (or tubing as it is called) is joined together using copper fittings. Today I’m going to show you the basic method for sweating copper pipe. It’s really pretty easy, and with the right tools and know-how from your local independent home improvement retailer, you’ll be sweating copper in no time. Instead of calling a plumber to do the work, maybe it’s time to stretch your plumbing skills a little bit and lean how to do it yourself. There will come a time in the course of a do-it-yourself plumbing project when you will need to connect copper water supply lines.
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