I'll just add my two cents about stay-brite#8.
I've had about the same experience as Jim greengo has had with it. I've used it for over 30 years on hundreds of R-22 system installs and in all that time I've never had a joint come a part or even a leak that I can remember.
it's just as easy as water pipe soldering, i just used a regular propane tank, you don't need mapp gas, it just doesn't need to be that hot.
I've been in those classes with the factory rep's at the wholesale house and I remember one about 30 years ago when the rep had in his hand those same examples of soldering verses brazing and the oxide scale with brazing and no scale with soldering, then he said "Gentlemen this is the stuff you should be using" he was holding stay-brite#8 in his other hand. that was enough for me.
It's amazing stuff with harris's stay clean liquid flux you can solder copper to steel, when I replaced the compressor in my beverage cooler 3 years ago I had to do just that it has a steel tubed condenser. (r134a).
I'm going to add my disclaimer here, before I get flamed, all my experiences with #8 have been with r22. I've been retired for 13 years and have not done any 410a systems.
Also i know the manufacturers all recommend brazing with nitrogen purge for 410a that being said I can't believe that #8 wouldn't hold up to the increased pressures of 410a.
maybe there's another reason? I thought I heard something about the flux being a problem. I do know there are still people out there still using it on 410a installs.
According to Harris the manufacturer it's stronger than a brazed joint.
I just wonder why were going back to all these line sets from the 70's that were nothing but problems, flared connections and pre-charged line sets.
it just seems like were going backwards, just my two cents.
