Project 2501
Well-known member
First job doing copper this large. Yeah, I had a few pin hole leaks. I'm not going to pretend I'm the baddest fitter alive but I'm pretty darn happy with how things turned out..
Sweating 6" copper pipe
- Thread starter Project 2501
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OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
6 inch type K for underground main from backflow preventer. 15% Sil-fos brazed with oxy/acetylene.
Again, first time brazing pipe of this size and had difficulty at the beginning trying to bring the joint up and staying at the correct temperature for capillary action. As you can see I got one joint a little too hot. But air tested for 24 hours with zero drop in pressure and was good to go.
Again, first time brazing pipe of this size and had difficulty at the beginning trying to bring the joint up and staying at the correct temperature for capillary action. As you can see I got one joint a little too hot. But air tested for 24 hours with zero drop in pressure and was good to go.
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toplessHO
Well-known member
Did you nitrogen purge while sweating it so the inside wouldnt oxidize?
toplessHO
Well-known member
And if I had much of that to do I would make me a heater to clamp around the fitting and
use electrical current to produce heat.
use electrical current to produce heat.
Dagny
Well-known member
Are the top pics. soft solder? That's the problem with the brazing alloys the pipe gets ruined from the heat.
royce
Well-known member
Good looking joints Project 2501,
When you get bigger than 2", it separates the men from the boys.
If it was med gas, refrigeration, lube or any clean product line, a purge is a necessity, but not a water service.
Brazing does not ruin the pipe, it just anneals it and makes it scale.
With the cost of copper, I'm surprised the contractor opted to run the service in copper.
Must have been a spec or code calling for copper?
One last thing, on 4" and larger it is nice to have two torches on it, one helping preheat and one brazing or soldering. Not a necessity but helps with speed and quality.
Well done and thanks for sharing
Royce
When you get bigger than 2", it separates the men from the boys.
If it was med gas, refrigeration, lube or any clean product line, a purge is a necessity, but not a water service.
Brazing does not ruin the pipe, it just anneals it and makes it scale.
With the cost of copper, I'm surprised the contractor opted to run the service in copper.
Must have been a spec or code calling for copper?
One last thing, on 4" and larger it is nice to have two torches on it, one helping preheat and one brazing or soldering. Not a necessity but helps with speed and quality.
Well done and thanks for sharing
Royce
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
I did some 2" with a propane hand torch, and I thought that was a *****.
OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
Top pics are soft solder on 6" type L copper tubing and sweated with an acetylene turbo torch using an A32 large bore tip
OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
Yes to all of the above. And thank you for the pat on the back. Some people claim to have no interest in receiving the approval from fellow tradesman... i on the otherhand need the challenge of keeping up with the pack as it both boosts my confidence when excelling at a task and also drives me to work harder if and when I fail..
royce
Well-known member
Right on Sir,
Striving for excellence is what keeps our work from turning into drudgery and keeps it joyous.
Royce
OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
Thank u sir..
Side note.. the second set of pics are supposed to look like that.. I didn't go hog wild with the torch
thejimmy
Well-known member
Well done, we just finished a project doing 4" and smaller using 45% silver brazing filler (customer callout) it makes for a nice looking joint.
Congrats on the test results!
Congrats on the test results!
OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
jwith68
Well-known member
Nice work, Project 2501!
I'm in the refrigeration industry, on the design side. Wish we saw more joints looking like the ones you made, even on much smaller lines. Nitrogen purge should be used on every joint in the systems we deal with, but the first filter change will usually demonstrate it is too infrequently done that way!
I'm in the refrigeration industry, on the design side. Wish we saw more joints looking like the ones you made, even on much smaller lines. Nitrogen purge should be used on every joint in the systems we deal with, but the first filter change will usually demonstrate it is too infrequently done that way!
Bopbop
Well-known member
Project 2501, I am a plumbing engineer designing large plumbing and med gas systems. Those joints look really good. I design a lot of systems with 6" and larger mains. Typically see the grooved joints and some of the smaller systems the Propress. The hospitals love that system because of the smoke, etc. On the sweat joints that large typically they use 2 torches.
rlitman
Well-known member
A32
I own one of those hot air balloon inflating torches, only because I got it cheap. The thing damned near requires hearing protection to use, but yeah, I couldn't picture using anything less for that job.
So you did that all with a B cylinder? ;P
They look good to me, for what they are. I'm just stunned that 6" copper was the pipe of choice (because of the astronomical price), but, well done sir!
OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
A32
I own one of those hot air balloon inflating torches, only because I got it cheap. The thing damned near requires hearing protection to use, but yeah, I couldn't picture using anything less for that job.
So you did that all with a B cylinder? ;P
Yes, all of the soft solder sweating was dont with a b tank with acetylene and turbo torch with that gigantic a32 tip. Even with earplugs it still sounds like a jet engine.
The sil-fos brazing was done with an oxy/acetylene rig and rosebud tip. Two torches would have been nice. You can see from the bumpy texture of the joint that I was having temperature issues and producing cold joints. That's when I decided to heat one area longer and almost barbecued the fitting..
But
Thank you for the compliments
They look good to me, for what they are. I'm just stunned that 6" copper was the pipe of choice (because of the astronomical price), but, well done sir!
Yeah, it's around 1500 for a 10 footer of type L..
The 90s are about 350 a piece..
BD1
Well-known member
We always use Bridgit solder. That stuff is great to work with.
We rarely do 6''. Most of the copper work we use Propress. It's great on 4'' IF the customer accepts it and you can afford the price. Propress has really come a long way from their electric gun .
We rarely do 6''. Most of the copper work we use Propress. It's great on 4'' IF the customer accepts it and you can afford the price. Propress has really come a long way from their electric gun .
OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
BD1
Well-known member
Sweating 6" copper pipe
I am a Union PIPEFITTER, you know the skilled trades guys. Been using it on heating ,chilled water, and condenser water since it came out. Awesome !! It's not cheap . We had a two tray cart with elbows and couplings on it. Was looking at just over $5,000.00 setting there. All 4" copper.
You can really make time with it. We've gotten more work using it especially since there's no open flame. Having propress it what helped get many jobs. Some places require a dedicated fire watch with any open flame, even soldering.
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I am a Union PIPEFITTER, you know the skilled trades guys. Been using it on heating ,chilled water, and condenser water since it came out. Awesome !! It's not cheap . We had a two tray cart with elbows and couplings on it. Was looking at just over $5,000.00 setting there. All 4" copper.
You can really make time with it. We've gotten more work using it especially since there's no open flame. Having propress it what helped get many jobs. Some places require a dedicated fire watch with any open flame, even soldering.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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BD1
Well-known member
A32
I own one of those hot air balloon inflating torches, only because I got it cheap. The thing damned near requires hearing protection to use, but yeah, I couldn't picture using anything less for that job.
So you did that all with a B cylinder? ;P
We usually use a full size acetylene tank with a "B " tank to acetylene adapter. Saves going through a bunch of small tanks.
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malibu101
Well-known member
On ProPress© and such.
I have no firsthand experience, but I have seen this become common on the campus I work on. Yes, it has many benefits.
But I question this... the seal is made by an O-ring. The crimp holds the fitting to the pipe.
I've seen many bad O-rings over the years I've worked on things.
I wonder what is going to happen to the O-rings in 50 years?
I have no firsthand experience, but I have seen this become common on the campus I work on. Yes, it has many benefits.
But I question this... the seal is made by an O-ring. The crimp holds the fitting to the pipe.
I've seen many bad O-rings over the years I've worked on things.
I wonder what is going to happen to the O-rings in 50 years?
BD1
Well-known member
I don't think it will be a issue. Look at the Victalic piping. That originated 100 years ago and still going strong.
Propress does have specific o rings depending on use. I think propress has been around for 25 or 30 years when it originated in Europe.
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thejimmy
Well-known member
We used Harris Stay-Silv white flux
OP
Project 2501
Well-known member
A32
I own one of those hot air balloon inflating torches, only because I got it cheap. The thing damned near requires hearing protection to use, but yeah, I couldn't picture using anything less for that job.
So you did that all with a B cylinder? ;P
We usually use a full size acetylene tank with a "B " tank to acetylene adapter. Saves going through a bunch of small tanks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yeah.. B tanks.. I go through on average about 2 a day. Depends on how many joints I have. Some days I'm just hanging full length runs with couplings so I might do 8 couplings over the course of a work day. But days like today I went through almost three bottles and had to reduce my tip size down to an a14 because the A32 was devouring the acetylene.
My mistake about the whole propress/plumber comment. It's just that the only people I ever hear talking about propress are plumbers, mostly service plumbers.
OP
