Don't lick tin-lead plated wire or component leads mindlessly, and don't lick your fingers while soldering. you should wash your hands periodically while and after handling leaded solder. Lead is important only in direct contact, i.e. There's no "therapy" that would undo the exposure, since the exposure itself is so minuscule that it'd be hard to even quantitatively determine it just by taking samples from your body.īut, first of all: presence of lead in the solder is beside the point as far as fumes go in point soldering. In any case, the deed is done, so worrying won't retroactively fix anything. Try things out, maybe even put some water in one, just so you know what it looks like. Get a whole bunch of various fittings, some pipe, and set yourself up outside (flux fumes get nasty, after awhile). It's well worth it to practice a bit before you try sweating any real pipe. This one took me forever to learn how to spot, and if you've got a whole lot of green, it's too late: the pipe's too hot, and you're boiling away all the flux. The more subtle thing is that when the copper's just perfectly heated, there's a very light touch of green in the flame - just a tiny bit, where the flame's bouncing off of the pipe. Very obvious & noticeable when you know what to look for. On the most basic level: if there's any water present, as it heats up the steam makes the flame go bright yellow. One trick that I learned from an old pro, that helped me a lot, is to look at the color of your flame, where it's bouncing off the pipe. (too much flux will also leave you with nasty-smelling water.) If it's slobbered all over the place, the solder follows it all over the place. Part of the function of flux, is it draws the solder into the joint. Got a fresh tub of Lennox green and the joints were easy again. With flux, I had an old tub of Oatey green that was horrible. In general, the hotter the torch the easier it is to sweat. If you do see the flux burn off, stop because you'll have to re-prep the joint.Ī couple questions: what type of torch are you using and what type of flux. The solder should only "see" heat from the joint, not the flame. If you expose the solder to the flame too early it is possible to oxidize the solder and then it won't melt correctly. Touch the solder to the joint and it should melt instantly. At some point before theflux starts to burn off, the joint will be hot enough to melt the solder. You'll see it melt at which point it should spread evenly. In addition to the other suggestions, apply the hotest part of the flame to the base of the joint while heating. I'm not sure if it's really required or not but it can't hurt (unless you're the small furry creature). I am surprised that no one has mentioned the ritual sacrifice of a small furry creature to appease the gods of sweat joints. It is also a good idea to ensure that there is an exit for any possible steam that may be generated or it will try to escape through the molten metal in the joint, which will often compromise the joint. Note, you'll never get a good solder joint if there is any water at the location of the fitting. Both the outside of the pipe and the inside of the fitting need to be bright and shiney don't touch it with your fingers after cleaning (oils are bad for the joint), cover both the fitting interior and the pipe exterior with flux, then go for it. As you heat, it will at first, not do anything, then as you approach the right temp, it will stick a little, and then when you place it there, it will melt and flow into the joint. As you are heating the fitting, periodically test to see if it is hot enough by placing the tip of the solder wire on the fitting/pipe junction. Heat the fitting, not the pipe, move the torch around so you don't apply all the heat from one side, don't put the flame on the solder (in fact, you can usually remove the flame while putting it on).
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