So. . . Just how bad is it to skip wiping a solder joint to clean off all the flux? I know the flux will make the copper go all green, but can it actually cause the tubing to fail?
Edit: I wipe all my joints. . . now. I have a bunch of soldered joints in my home, behind drywall, that I did not wipe. Is this cause for worry?
Edited 2/23/2008 8:04 am ET by Biff_Loman
Edited 2/23/2008 8:05 am ET by Biff_Loman
Replies
Over time It defiantly is the cause of faliure of copper pipe, that and If the pipe isnt secured properly are the only reasons Ive ever seen copper fail, cant think of any other reason Ive had to fix a copper pipe
IMO If you wipe off the flux and secure the pipe It should last well beyond a lifetime
Ive seen unwiped pipes look like 60 year old pipes after 3-5 years.
I consider it major. I belive oxidation is the term for what happens (oxidation=rust on steel)
You have non corrosive water up north.
In south jersey and some part of southeastern PA, Copper corrodes from the inside out from aggressive water. (I believe it is acidic water) and the copper pipe gets pinholes in it.
ill buy that, although Im from upstate ny we have all types of bad water around and honestly Ive never seen a problem that couldnt be traced to flux or movement, and of course contact with someting like a steel screw or a galvinized fitting will corrode the pipe.
The post was about not wiping off the flux and wouldnt you agree the oxidation rate is fast and very effictive in ruining the copper?
In your opinion how long would the acidic? water take to create a leak?
ill buy that, although Im from upstate ny we have all types of bad water around and honestly Ive never seen a problem that couldnt be traced to flux or movement, and of course contact with someting like a steel screw or a galvinized fitting will corrode the pipe.
Yes. Unfortunately I experience that water every time I come up there. Most leaks I have ever seen are bad fittings (pinholes in the fittings) or pinholes in the pipe where the trimmer shot thru it, or a bad sweat joint.
The post was about not wiping off the flux and wouldnt you agree the oxidation rate is fast and very effictive in ruining the copper?
Yes, oxidation will destroy any metal in the right conditions (except maybe stainless steel but there are chemicals that will trash stainless too). I have never seen flux cause a leak but I am a builder contractor not plumber so I have yet to see it all.
I would not rip the drywall out though to wipe the pipes off.
In your opinion how long would the acidic? water take to create a leak?
The fastest I saw on a well was about 11 years. Waterford New Jersey, ouside of Berlin. on a well.
Rosin flux usually no problem (but there are different types rosin, a few 'activated' types do have corrosive properties)
Acid flux you can corrode pinholes in the copper.
That said, have some acid fluxed joints in my house almost 40 YO, no problems yet.
Not ideal, but rarely does it cause a problem.
Some fluxes cause more harm, most fluxes you find today are water soluble & will turn copper bright green in several minutes, but once the flux dries out it looks bad but the corroding process stops.
Get your hands on some old school Laco & it never stops eating away at the copper.
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” —Albert Einstein