Soldering Copper Pipes With Water in Them (7 Solutions) | GOT2LEARN

Here are 7 solutions to soldering a copper pipe that has water flowing thru it.

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DISCLAIMER: Got2Learn is NOT responsible for any damage done to a property of which the plumbing wasn't done by a professional, I do not recommend doing your own plumbing if you are unsure about what you are doing, always hire a LICENSED contractor when doing any type of plumbing so you can be covered by insurances if something does happen, these videos are for entertainment purposes only!

[unclematt]

This guy kicks ass. He makes great videos that are very well done and very educational. He's a wonderful member of the YouTube community!

[TheLawWon]

This is the most educating & professional channel on plumbing I've found.

Great job brother!

🇨🇦 🎯 🇨🇦

[normanbruyel]

Any time I have to do some plumbing at home, I end up watching some of your videos before I start. Thanks for putting them up!

[Speeddemon]

I'm really impressed. I am the Chairman of maintenance at my condo building and over the last 5 years I initiated a replacement cut off taps that began leaking behind the vanities in bathrooms and on the ground floors (we're only 3 stories) I would be waiting hours for the cold water to drain. I have used the vac but still would get water that wouldn't stop. Incredible advice!

[blissroadmusic]

Thanks! the purge valve did the trick. you saved the day!

[reynaldomorales]

Thanks! You're video is great and you are a excellent teacher instructor.

[artalamo]

Caution - Many years back I tried this method and it worked. There was one major issue “All my fixtures got blocked once the water was turned on”. It took hours to clean out everything. Toilets, faucets, shower, etc. I opened the utility tub faucet first thinking ahead to dispose of the bread. It didn’t work and bread still clogged my system. I would say be careful where this method is used. If the pipe being repaired is in the beginning of your water source it could clog up other fixtures. If the repair is at the end of the water source and effects one or two fixtures go for it. I had to learn the hard way. Just sharing my experience.

[eco_guardian]

Brilliant - I wish there was Youtube 20 years ago, when I had this happen.

[danfarris]

I’ve used the the dissolvable plugs that look like a real big gel pill. They come in the various copper pipe sizes with the insertion tool. The pipe has to be burr free as per the instructions and they are way better at holding back the endless trickle than bread. When done just add a little heat where they are and whoosh they are gone. They eventually totally dissolve and do not plug your fixtures.

[plumberpsa]

I like to create a temporary dam. For instance, in your mock up wall in the video, cut and drain as much as you can. On the side the water is coming from, go back a couple of studs and use a long flat screw driver as a wedge to raise the pipe to the top of the hole, creating a peak to block water from flowing toward your patch. If the line is on the bottom of a joist, again go back and use the handle of the screw driver to now create a dip to hold the water. Sometimes with this you have to remove a clamp. You should be ready with everything fluxed as you will have a small window to sweat.
Another good idea is solder all joints that do not have water flowing on them, then go back and sweat a coupling away from those, such as the tee in the video. The idea is that it's much easier and cheaper to solder a coupling and if you have to cut something out because it didn't take then all you lose is a coupling.

[diehardfan]

Thanks for the video. I admire your clear concise and rhythmic explanations. I can tell you spent time gathering all of your thoughts and conveying them For the video.

[funkyhomosapien]

As a plumber in the UK we use propane and MAP gas which burns at a higher temperature. I have successfully souldered "Yorkshire" fittings with a ring of soulder already in the fitting many times with water in the pipe using MAP gas.
Good trick with the bread though!

[WillNGo]

Great tips and tricks, delivered quickly and clearly. Terrific channel. As I mentioned in a comment on another of your videos, fixing my neighbor's main waterline 3/4" copper on a steep hill, the main turned off still allowed some water to flow. My neighbor daisy chained three plastic drinking straws and sucked out about a foot of water. It was flowing slow enough that this gave us the time to solder the repair. Tip for the straws. We didn't have a knife with us. Cut a taper on one end of two of the straws (scissors would be best for this), then they'll slide together easily. Of course a small diameter hose would also work. This is a variation on the shop vac, but I don't think it would work very well on a horizontal pipe.
And yes I've successfully soldered slightly wet pipes, not damp but drip drip. In 50 years I've been able to do this only a couple times as a hail Mary before doing something more difficult. Don't count on it, 95% of the time you'll just be making more work for yourself. The heat absorbing pad? I've got one of these that's about 40 years old, still good. Excellent for fire safety. And Fire Safety is critical - you will set fire to something. Plywood is worse than 2x4s as it's drier. And if the fire dies out, still wet it.

[bridgetdallaire]

Thank you so much for the trick of using bread, after 2 tries and trips to town for more parts because of dripping water it worked..again thank you...😊

[k.a.davison]

This homeowner has been there and would have appreciated this video, but it was before the internet was well established. I seem to recall that I ended up waiting FOREVER for the water to outflow. Anyway, thanks, good advice.

[kerryman]

I have a small wet vac I use when changing a toilet to get the remaining water out of the tank and bowl. I recently made a fitting out of a PVC end cap that fit on the hose. I drilled a hole in it and attached a piece of clear flexible tubing in it that I can run into the pipe to vac the water out. Works well.

[shanesmaineshop]

This absalutly works I have used the tip to save the day more then once. Thanks for sharing.

[alext]

The bread trick is great. It can hold a surprising amount of pressure. On several occasions, I waited for the break-thru to occur and heard the rush of water take place. It is sometimes fumbly to push the bread in. I think it swells up when it gets wet. I have needed to use up to 3 full pieces on some 3/4" copper where water was not stopping. I always use MAPP gas to get done quickly. Take the aerator out on downstream faucets you want to use for flushing the bread out. Also, It smells like toast. Good tip.

[danharte]

Ive used the bread technique a few times over the years when ive had to and its always worked

[SundaysCatch]

Propress it like I do and call it a day. lol but always a good reminder. Good video man.