I just finished soldering a bunch of 3/4 copper pipes together, and true to form, one of the soldered joints is leaking where the pipe meets a ball valve. Do I have to take it all apart to repair this or can I heat up the joint, flux and solder and hope for the best? Any suggestions?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story

Freestanding with boxed stairs, this small deck is full of ideas for a long-lasting entry that will look great for years to come.
Featured Video
How to Install Cable Rail Around Wood-Post CornersHighlights
Fine Homebuilding Magazine
- Home Group
- Antique Trader
- Arts & Crafts Homes
- Bank Note Reporter
- Cabin Life
- Cuisine at Home
- Fine Gardening
- Fine Woodworking
- Green Building Advisor
- Garden Gate
- Horticulture
- Keep Craft Alive
- Log Home Living
- Military Trader/Vehicles
- Numismatic News
- Numismaster
- Old Cars Weekly
- Old House Journal
- Period Homes
- Popular Woodworking
- Script
- ShopNotes
- Sports Collectors Digest
- Threads
- Timber Home Living
- Traditional Building
- Woodsmith
- World Coin News
- Writer's Digest
Replies
Suggestion #1, repost this in either the Energy/insulation folder, or Construction Techniques (?) folder, it might get more exposure.
Suggestion #2, drain the system where it is leaking, wipe it down, apply some flux, heat, and hope for the best. Actually, there's a pretty good chance it will work. But you need to drain it completely and have a vent path for any steam from residual water. BTW, don't over heat it, and apply the heat mainly to the pipe.
Suggestion #3, have a sparkling day!
I'd had a few similar experiences, most of which didn't turn out until, I switched from propane to map gas. The additional heat output is just enough to provide for a MUCH better chance of success. I agree with the comment about providing an alternative path for allowing steam to escape. On one really gnarly value in a crawl space, I found success only after cutting the pipe a few feet higher (where it was vertical), sweating the valve and then sweating in a coupler on the vertical joint.
andrew