my Old Workshop

Plumbing pointers and tips (Part II)

We started into some plumbing tips last time. Here are some more things to think about and do when you’re working on your pipes.

Wire warning: You may come across a ground wire clamped to pipe you’re moving or removing. The wire is more than likely inert, however, if a short circuit should suddenly occur, that wire would become carry a full load. So treat it as a live wire, handling it with rubber gloves and insulated tools until you clamp it to another grounded pipe.

When soldering, you know the fluxed pieces are hot enough to draw the solder when the flame around the pipe turns green. Touch the solder to the joint and pull it away. Even if you can’t see big globs of solder around the joint, it should be well sealed.

Of course, you should always test all joints before covering them up. Have a helper turn on the water pressure, slowly at first, while you examine each joint for leaks.

If you have trouble soldering because the heat is drawing water from elsewhere in the pipes, roll up a piece of bread and stuff it down the pipes. This will block the water as you work, and when you’re done, the water will flush it out. Remember to remove screens from faucets.

Keep an open faucet near the area in which you’re soldering to allow the hot air to escape.

You may want to insulate all pipes whether they touch or not. This keeps hot pipes from losing heat, and cold pipes from sweating in humidity.