A trick I have used many times is to open a sink valve or spigot anywhere on the same line and stick my wet/dry vac hose loosely over that to create a slight suction on the line. This draws the water away from the fitting I want to solder and drys it out. Works like a charm every time.
Yeah I've done that also and it does work well but I prefer using bread because it's easier and quicker but when I didn't have any bread and the homeowner doesn't either that does work also. I have an adapter that fits on to my vacuum with a piece or pex pipe attached to it and I'll tape it to the faucet. I've been meaning to put an adapter on it for years but I always forget about it or say I'll do it late or next time lol. Also you want the valves open anyway so it doesn't put positive pressure on the line and cause a pinhole leak.
@@my2centz196 That's why I just let the hose hang loosely, because my vacuum is so powerful it would suck the solder right out of the joint if I sealed it on there tight.
@@UtwoBed yeah that makes sense and it's definitely a good idea. I always open as many faucets as possible even if I'm not using a vacuum because the torch will cause it to have a positive pressure alone. I've never thought about leaving the vacuum lose mostly because it would fall off but the vacuum I use is a ridged shop vac. I forget the amps but it's like a 10gal I think can't remember that either lol. I wouldn't say mine is that powerful it's just your average shop vac nothing special so I never really had that problem but most of the time I'll just open one more faucet suck the water out and turn it off. I've also just blown it out but it it's a leaking gate valve somewhere and I'm not replacing it I'll leave it on but I do take the bread shortcut more then anything.
@@del189 You are welcome. You know, necessity is the mother of invention. I had to solder a pipe in a house that had a leaking main valve. Water was trickling out so fast that bread would not hold long enough, so I thought, how the hell can I keep the water away from this joint? Shop-vac just popped into my head. (:-)
I just realized from your presentation here that the reason I've seen so many journeyman plumbers bend the end of their solder was not only to get a better angle; but, it was also to mark how much solder to use on each joint. Thanks for that.
Yup that is exactly it and in the case when they are doing 1" pipes you will see them curve off about an inch. It's a great sanity check gauge to tell whether you have used enough solder because once it wicks into the joint you really can't see how much went in there.
I tried to use that bread trick once about 30 years ago. And it was a pain in the ass. But it can work. I'm for opening other valves and creating suction with vacuums. And I would also only use rosin core solder for copper that won't stop dripping. Well hey that's what I think, and it was a good video anyway. Because there's lots of people out there who don't have a clue about anyting. And you may have surely helped someone. Peace and love, peace and love.
Seem like you could do some of the prep work while it's dripping as those tools can get wet. Then you have more time to solder after you stick the bread in if you need it.
heat the joint area first until you see the flux start to move and get hot, keep the flame moving from pipe to fitting back and forth over the joint area, then move the flame to just the coupling as soon as it's hot enough to start applying the solder. Don't just only heat the coupling, the problem with that is, if the joint isn't super tight, it takes too long for the heat transfer to the pipe, especially if its still damp inside and then the temperature difference of the coupling or fitting is too much higher than the pipe.
petcatznz Heh heh heh 😏 laffing in Hawaii, now dats funny. I would tell him to break the Union on the house side of the meter eh but he would probably flood the neighborhood. I’m curious to see what he would do if the bread doesn’t stop the leak. 🌺
I've had 10 hours on a plumbing course and I can't understand why he fluxed the inside of the pipe, why he used a wire brush to deburr instead of a deburring tool, why he didn't use a compression fitting, why he wore big thick leather gloves. I don't know enough yet but would a SharkBite fitting not have sufficed?
Lol. Yes I goofed putting the flux inside the pipe that was a momentary lapse of focus there. I did not de burr with the wiring brush I had already de burred with my regular burring tool which you can see sitting on the shower curb at the very beginning of the video. I just wanted to clean the inside of the pipe nothing wrong with that. There was not enough pipe coming out of the wall in my opinion to put a compression fitting because then if anybody ever had to do anything later to the pipe there wouldn't be enough pipe behind it to make any repairs so I wanted to leave the owner of few inches of pipe out of the wall. As for the shark by and I don't believe in using them long term especially on a sensitive location like that although the fact that it's outside the wall would make me feel a little bit easier about using it. I typically use shark bites to cap off a pipe temporarily. In by the way when this was all said and done I did put on a compression fit quarter turn shut off valveBut the owner just want a little bit more pipe coming out of the wall that is why we sawdered that fitting on there to begin with to extend it out a few inches.
@@jeffostroff Clean is good. I am told by experienced plumbers water soluble should in theory be just that, but still a potential issue - and usually a lot longer than 2 years to be an issue. Also the reason flux only used on the outside pipe joint so it can't be pushed into the inside. Just more for information, but saw others referring to it in the thread. I am currently fixing this exact problem on a bunch of pipe joints...can you say replace pipes! yes it would be the old flux
Wave the torch 1/2 way around fitting,solder joint facing wall first. You have to run solder around edge of fitting to get it to flow around. Then move to outside edge and continue moving torch around fitting and run solder around joint. I use 3 fingers and bend that amout of solder at 45° angle from end of roll . You dont put flux inside pipe or fitting . Flux fitting and pipe. Hope this helped .
Yes, adding the flux was a goof, was more focused on making the video, and not thinking clearly in 90 degree non air conditioned bathroom, but it is also water soluble flux.
bend your solder twice the diameter of the fitting and sweep it over the top and pull it under the bottom. check far side for coverage. inspect front side and make a little swipe on the bottom in case you missed a spot. on 1/2 and3/4
Years ago I was on a service call and I had a pipe that wouldn't stop leaking so I asked the homeowner if she had a piece of white bread. She goes sure hands me the bread and says you want some ham and cheese with that lol. Anyway I've told this trick to a ton of people and most seem surprised. I've even had homeowners get upset with me about it until I explained it would dissolve and I'd take aerator off and blow it out the faucet. Anyway this trick works amazingly well. I've been using this trick for about 20 couple years now and use it a couple times a week at least. So much so keep a loaf on the truck and replace it once a week at least. Other breads work also but I'd keep from using breads with seeds like rye.
@@richardordonez8331 never used those lol. I guess it it works I only use Mapp gas also anymore and have for the last 10 years or so. I have a couple torches with 3ft hoses that work great. It's much more convenient especially since they'll hang right on your belt loop lol.
This trick is legit. it works!!! A plumber hipped me to this trick like 30 yrs ago and I did it. When you’re done soldering turn on the water and the wet bread oozes right out. Kinda looks like poop coming out.
@@JoeSmith-dh1rz I can tell by your comments that you are definitely not a pro. Soldering can definitely be done wrong such as this demonstration. It might not immediately leak, but it will in the near future. I see that all the time.
@@JoeSmith-dh1rz I don't know what you're doing, but I know you're no plumber. Gobbing on solder is not what you're after when soldering. Also I don't know any plumber that can examine inside all of their joints. Not possible.
The fix for your problem is to go to the front of the house, shut off the water and if is not a positive stop you can crack loose the fitting from the valve to the house and the water will stop. Re-tighten the fitting at the main valve, turn water back on SLOWLY and WAAA LAAA! Thank me later lol I had a really bad time many years ago and I called the city to come and check thier valve and the man said to do this while he waited for me to solder a new ball valve to the house main, it was a free lesson that I was grateful and want to pass it on Happy Soldering!!!
^^^ This ^^^ And if you put flux inside the pipe like this guy did, it could to draw solder INSIDE the pipe and make a bunch of torpidity that will break down the joint over time and no matter how "solid" the joint is, it will fail prematurely. No flux inside pipe. I would trust the acid in the flux to clean off "hand oil" before I would put flux on inside of pipe.
A retired plumber that was in business for about 40 years told me about this bread trick a long while ago. I never had to use it, but it looks like it works as long as the water is only trickling out.
Yes we had that bread in there for about 15 minutes and it was indeed a small trickle and you are right anything beyond that with just such rate the bread too quickly and could start to crumble but we packed it real mice and dense before we shoved it into the pipe.
Stop water flow as much as possible by turning meter off and on a few times , then find lowest supply which most likely would be the toilet water supply valve and remove line from shut off valve , use a to do or small lan under to catch leaking water , that will give you enough time to solder pipe , or loosening the meter adapter ( the big nut with the ruber washer , ) water won't go up the house , I've done it many times if the bread doesn't work , the bread trick only gives you like a minute or less depending on the amount of water leaking trhu . I'll try the bread first then exhaust the other options , one of them it's gonna work .and never give up. Get it done no matter what...
A we did it the opposite here we tried turning on all the faucets and all the other rooms and sinks and nothing helped because the gate just simply was not closing all the way on the valve. Also in many condos you can't just go outside and cut off the main because you'll take out other people's units with it which is a big problem with some of these older condos. They want to sign on the elevator with 24 hours notice about water being shut off tomorrow. In our case the bread trick held back the water for probably at least 10 minutes while we were filming this scene.
I carry a 12" piece of 1/8 " steel brake line with a flare on one end. Slip a balloon over the flared end and wrap rubber band several times to hold and seal it tight. I use an old squeeze bulb from a soccer ball pump on the other end. Slide the balloon through the fitting several inches past the area to be heated. Pump a squeeze of air to inflate the balloon and then do the solder job. Release the pressure and withdraw the tube with the balloon still attached. The actually make commercial devices that work this same way but require multiple sized inflatable bladders...and the size you need is always missing from the tool box. The balloon system has never failed me. I have even used the method on natural gas and oil pipeline welding repair. (keep a sniffer handy)
Got the job done... that's good. One method explained well... that's good. You did a good job with video. Appreciate your time and effort to post and share your helps....
I'm trying to get my skills up for a bathroom remodel. I'm realizing this guy is wearing brand new leather gloves to solder a copper pipe and just watched four other videos before deciding to make his own. I was hoping for an experienced plumber and I got this guy.
Like many trolls before you, you use the wrong metrics to determine whether somebody knows something or not. Just because I'm using new leather gloves doesn't mean anything we are constantly buying new tools and new gloves and new everything to try out and do two review videos on.
I'll tell you what...you go ahead and save 5 seconds of time, I focus on quality and preventing contamination. I always clean right before I solder. Don't risk any contaminants on bread from getting on your pipe if you clean the pipe first. DUH! Your problem is handyman guys like you in a rush never stop to think about your actions and what problems you'll cause down the road. You're all about saving 5 seconds at the risk of other people's property.
@@jeffostroff pro here and what he said was right, i would have atleast sanded the pipe before putting bread in the line. More so that you have more time with the bread doing its job. Better yet i would have used a jet swet. Nonetheless good job extending the pipe out, much better for future repairs.
@@BULB271602 Well a couple of things here 1st of all I've done this enough times that I know how much time I have when I stick the bread in and it was plenty of time as the video showed so I don't know why you guys are harping on this subject. I prefer to do the cleaning after the brightest put in just in case there's any contamination. Cleaning the pipe after the bread is inserted assures that there will be 0 contaminations. My way works correctly your way works correctly as well. 2nd of all yes we all have a swet jet but this was a video for DIY people and home owners who are not going to run out and spend $50 on a swet jet and then wait for it to be delivered when they have their water turned off and need a solution right now.
I thought the same thing dude, but I didn't want to say nothing. It's like why are you putting the bread in first it's going to be soaked and falling out the front before you're ready to go.
Great Trick! Thank you very much. I have same issue except I am welding a value to copper pipe under kitchen sink. Hope it works? I appreciate sharing this idea either way. Thank you
To make the job faster , before you put in the bread , you can clean the outside of the pipe and don't have to do the inside. you should have pre soldered the joint on the second pipe ahead of time and cleaned the inside of that pipe. Then shove in the bread the dry the inside and give the outside a quick once over with an emery pad. Then not so much torch flame.
@@jeffostroff All I had on hand was potato bread and 12 grain whole wheat so went with the potato bread. Worked perfectly !! Seriously this is one of many reasons I think RUclips is invaluable. I can't imagine what I would've done without your help. Was thinking about blowing compressed air back in to the pipe maybe, but that probably wouldn't have worked either. This is one "trick" I'll never forget ✊🏼
1:52 Using vacuum to clean inside of the pipe? There will be hardly any effect of vacuum from a few centimeter distance. Also vacuum is hard to come by and with vacuum cleaner I have strong doubts. However a gentle pressure would be more effective to blow out any dirt in the pipe. 5:04 "solder will be drawn to heat source" Said who? This is no longer concerns plumbing , it is physics. Any reference to this statement.? The correct terminology should be "capillary action" as commonly used but I would suggest surface tension. Liquids are attracted to the solid surface and adhere with a stronger bond than the inter bond among the liquid molecules. Hence as soon as soldering metal melts and becomes liquid it is immediately attracted by the surface of copper pipe nearby. That is due to surface tension. And the *attention* the double surface of concentric copper pipe one inside the other creating a very fine gap causes capillary action and stronger surface tension force to draw/attract/pull the liquid solder. Where does the heat comes into play? That goes beyond plumbing and takes us into physics. Firstly you need a minimum base amount of heat to keep solder metal in liquid state while cooling off by the ambient temperature. Secondly you can repeat the same experiment at different temperatures (Not heat) to observe and obtain data how surface tension/capillary action behaves under different temperatures. Under ambient temperatures this information maybe of no use to plumbers but in electronic industry or in space precision to manipulate the matter maybe everything.
The purpose of the vacuum was to suck out the last few drops of water still sitting in the bottom of the pipe, which it did a great job removing. If you still don't believe the effectiveness of our Rigid shop vac which is designed to vacuum up water, check out my other video on changing out a hose bibb where we used the vacuum an inch away from the pipe you can see the vacuum sucking the water stream out of the pipe, see video here: ruclips.net/video/73Sn71X4fGc/видео.html and you'll also see we used the term capillary action.
Rookie. Prep your pipe before sticking the bread inside and always heat the bottom of the fitting first, especially if there’s water in the pipe. The solder will always catch on top but it’s the bottom where the water will be traveling is where you will have the trouble if there’s water in the pipe. Also if your water main shutoff is not completing shutting down the water you can brake the nut on the water meter as well.
had to use this trick just a week ago was brazing some under the slab line and the hot water would not stop leaking so I had some left over biscuits form breakfast and shoved it into the line both direction and stop it long enough to braze, try it it works
Someone may have said it but I got the water to stop leaking but turning on every faucet in the house (while main water line was shut off) to stop dripping. It takes a few moments for the dripping to stop. I waited about 5 minutes.
Reem the pipe and sand it. Then use a long piece of 1/4" inch r/o tubing and shove it into the pipe until it will not go any further or at least 2'-6'+ feet. Then blow and blow until no water comes out. Then put the brushed fitting on to the sanded pipe with flux, flux the pipe, and solder it. Of course you will want to have the fittings brushed, and the pipe sanded, and fluxed. Also have torch and solder ready near bye to use as quickly as possible to solder the fitting. I have been plumbing since 2000 and went to a plumbing technical college and the r/o tubing trick is the best one I know of, no bread stuck in water line or mess from it. I always use this trick on top outs when the manifold stub out from the underground plumbing has to be cut, sanded, reemed, fluxed and fittings cleaned fluxed and put in to the pipe. You want to flux the pipe after getting the water out of it with r/o trick. I have heard of the bread trick but never used it, and I have done the plumbing on hundreds of homes, 30 + commercial buildings, and around 1000 apartments. Plus plumbing service some and add on's or extended water lines.
This is a pretty cool trick. Hadn't thought of this before. I do a lot of handyman repairs for a friend of mine, and this may come in handy sometime. I do plan on buying some Jet Swets, but in the meantime sammich bread it is.
This is good until you can pay the $149 for the Jet Swet kit. Pricey kit, but comes in a nice yellow plastic case, and has room for the 1" JetSwet which you can buy later.
I use another method, I open all the water valves going to the hose bibbs. Then take a air compressor to blow the excess water out of the house long enough to solder the joint. It gives you about two minutes till you have to get done, but it works. You should blow the compressed air into the pipe to be soldered, for about fifteen seconds and time the waters return. This gives you the amount of time you will need to finish the solder joint. Using the bread as well should buy you more time. Using a vacuum to suck the water out into the lawn hose, should give you all the time you need. Great video. I never tried the bread trick
Will the compressor stop even this flow of water that we showed here? This was more than a drip, it was actually flowing. Every minute or 2 the water would also gush a little bit, then drop back.
@@ddmau7995 I'd rather not use a Shark bite, I only use them for temporary work, and never inside the wall. Although I would be open to using outside the wall, where you can see if anything goes wrong with it.
I just finished plumbing in a pressure tank for our well. I had 4 joints spraying water afterwards. I realized I had applied the flux using my finger do you think the oils from my finger in the flux cause that failure
Aaron, yes, oils from your finger could have caused it, and also maybe just an incomplete soldering and heating. Did yo brush clean all the parts where solder will be? Did you heat from underneath and let the flame heat rise up? Did you use the correct amount of solder? Did you push the tip of solder around the connection seam and let the solder melt on the pipe all the way around, and not try to follow the solder around the pipe with the flame? Did you apply heat to only the fitting and not the pipe to allow capillary action to suck the solder into the connection joint? Did you leave the heated connections ALONE, undisturbed after you turn off the flame and let it cool down by itself to room temperature? You want to be sure you don't use a cold or wet rag while the pipe is still cooling down. Let me know how you did with this check list, it could be a combination of issues.
@@jeffostroff thank you very much for the kind and extremely straight forward reply. I'm using the checklist to start over. What a pickle I'm in now, bit with your help I'm on my way to success
@@AaronRiegel One more thing, go watch this 5 minute how to solder video, it's the best one out there, this guy is the best: ruclips.net/video/JyVbjDsric4/видео.html
I put the bread in and soldered the pipe. However the water doesn't turn on because the pipe is clogged now. Im not sure if the joint is soldered good enough and Im afraid that at some point the pipe will clear and the water will leak out. Do you have any suggestions how long until the bread will desolve ?
You are supposed to flush out the bread after you solder the copper fitting onto the pipe. If you do that, the 60 PSI water pressure is enough to force the brea dout of the pipe.
@@jeffostroff I tried turning on the tap in the other room and nothing. When you say flushing do you mean at the source in the furnace room where all the water starts ?
@@jeffostroffLol, don't butter the bread! JK. Clean first, stuff the turkey, I mean pipe, and then just give a quick swipe with bit of rubbing alcohol if you think you got stuff on it. Gives you more time for the soldering.
Thank you so much! So what we are trying to accomplish here is to just get the water to stop running long enough that we can solder another valve further down the line, so we can solder around the rest of the house.
gary, That's not an extreme condition actually, the compression fittings are the norm in our area. We went on after this repair to install a compression fitting. We had to cut the old one off and extend the length of this copper pipe from the wall because the stub out was too short to begin with, then we added a lot of thickness for the tile and thin set mortar, and the homeowner was disabled and wanted the pipe to come out further from the wall to them to reach the compression valve, if they needed to which we installed at the end of this pipe.
@@jeffostroff No man I mean in an extreme situation where the water keeps running. You install a compression fitting so you can shut the water down and continue work
I thought the bread dissolves in the water and will break down and come through the faucets when the screens are removed. Do you have to turn on the water and blow it out?
Yes you must blow out the the bread, because we act quick to get everything done while the bread is still a hard ball and has not broken down. Those pipes need to be clear before you install the shutoff valve.
@@jeffostroff thanks for the advice. I tried it with a piece of rope. It was a 3 inch of vertical piece of pipe which then bent into horizontal. Pushed the rope in. Waited few seconds and pulled it out. It was soaked and I saw no water left in the 3 " vertical. Slid the pipe and the coupler on. It took the solder no problem. No leaks.
Why do you clean the inside of the copper pipe when the solder goes on the outside of the pipe? Please explain I’ve seen this so much and don’t know why people do it
For me it was a slip of the wrist, loss of focus, end of a day 100 degrees in that bathroom and I was having a hard time concentrating. You can hear me say after doing it that it was non necessary.
I don't know I've been told that whole wheat is even better than using white bread but I heard that using a good brioche will really do the trick as does a good croissant
The WC connection is the lowest point in a house so unless you have a hose cock lower that you can remove the top assembly and letting the water to flow out there, the only way to stop water affecting the joint is to disconnect your house at the meter where the main meter cock is that you shut down. There should always be a union connection where the main water comes in allowing physical disconnection of your house from the main. If you use the correct flux, you do not need to worry about all that mucking about cleaning the pipe. AND you certainly do not need to clean the inside of the pipe not unless you are using a fitting that goes inside the pipe, (they don't exist). The best flux to use is LA-CO soft soldering flux. It is water soluble and does not need to be cleaned up. When the water is turned on, all residue LA-CO will flush away. You should never put the flame directly onto the fitting when SODERING a joint. The flame should be applied 25mm away from the joint allowing the heat to travel along the pipe to the joint at the same time occasionally touching the joint with the soft solder to test if it's hot enough.
if you shut the main water off and it still trickles out, then opening the hot and cold valves of the sinks or tubs below the line your repairing should do the trick. it worked for me.
Jerry, That simply was not possible in this case, this was a toilet water supply line, already the lowest point in the property. Also, what you are proposing does not work when you have continuous water more than a trickle flowing, your solution works to relieve water still in the system after the water has been successfully shut off.
Soldering the fitting to the pipe seems very hit and miss for success. In the UK we would use 'Yorkshire Fittings' which have rings of solder already in position. Just clean off the pipe ends, flux, push on the fittings and heat.
Yes I heard of those and was very intrested in trying some of those out. My only question is how do you know when the solder has flowed because it's in the middle and you can't see it so how do you know?
When the solder is fluid it will pop out of the sides, and that's it. I am not a plumber, but have found these quick and sure. But, of course, cleanliness is the key to a good joint and you made a good key point re not touching the clean pipe ends. There are a couple of videos regarding these Yorkshire fittings on YT. Best wishes.
Ya know, REAL plumbers wouldn't waste their time being arrogant cutting down others and trolling videos of people trying to make a difference. In your arrogance, you missed the point of this DIY video which show homeowners how to fix problems with what they've got, not how a plumber with $2000 in tools would do it. So while you're sitting on your high horse snubbing your nose down on the rest of us, we are all successfully helping those in need who are wondering where their next meal is going to come from, and could never afford a REAL plumber.
@@jeffostroff Jeff I just recently started watching your videos. I hope you take my advice. Stop responding to losers. Seriously. It will wind up getting to you. If you are going to make it in the public eye just ignore them. I do want to say one thing though. Because I am in the business it bothers me that there is so much how to info out there that there is a shortage of work. It will stop bothering me when I start my RUclips career and start making my living making videos and showing people how to do things. Ha lol 🤣😭😂
Bend your solder so that you're feeding the end, not laying the wire on the joint. Heat rises. So have the flame pointed at the bottom of the fitting(if possible). Start at the joint nearest the bread and... the tip of the blue cone everyone.
Yes, we had done that, even the bath tubs. When the water is still running, it's because the gate valve no longer closes all the way. If water has not stopped after 10 minutes, then it is never going to stop,
@@jeffostroff then you go out to the yard and turn of it off at the meter like a REAL plumber! And if you can't, you use a jet sweat kit and solder in a valve in somewhere like a "professional". This is totally unprofessional and you should be banned from youtube! It's like a mechanic replacing brake pads with a sticking caliper piston!
@@m_soko Oh, take note, everyone! Here Ye, Here, Ye, master plumber @Mike Sokolowski is here! In condos, you are not allowed to shut of the meter, it affects other people, they have to post signs days in advance, get permission, etc. Homeowners don't have the street tool either, and pliers hardly ever work. Nobody likes an arrogant snobby plumber like you. The purpose of this video just sailed right over your head and you missed it. This is a DIY video for homeowners (plumbers don't need to be told), and no homeowner is going to spend $50 on a Swet Jet to use once in their lifetime. But even so, we have the link to the Swet Jet in description and you missed that too. Plenty of plumbers use this trick and there is nothing unprofessional about it because it solves the problem, just look at all, just because the great high horse master plumber Mike Sokolowski decrees that it is unprofessional. I'd like to see how you waste your clients money if you could not find your Set Jet, what would you do then? Read all the the comments from people who said this totally appropriate method helped them. The only unprofessional here is you. You need to be brought back down to earth.
its not back pressure...... chances are its an old gate valve that leaks by...... and DEFINITELY DO NOT OPEN OTHER VALVES... that is the worst thing you can do..... once you break the vaccuumm you have completely negated all efforts of draining the pipe.... the worst thing a person can do when u have the water off is open something...... which they do..... all the time..... at the worst time possible the same principal that causes water to syphon , keeps it in the pipe despite gravity
@@m_soko your an idiot...... and obviously you have never been in some real word situations..... if u actually had the chops and the experience.... you would know.... sometimes.... the simple low tech answer is the right answer.... not always can u get a jet sweat to work... for instance... what if that pipe doesnt go straight back any amount of distance.... chances are it goes down.. maybe it was real tight and the soft copper comes up to a tee..... or any other myriad of situations where you may have had access and the room to work before the top out.... but when u come back to service it in 5 or 10 years not so much,...... not every time does the jet sweat with its what 12" handle work......
You will see most plumbers will coat those threads with pipe dope it's that blue thick rubbery liquid that you brush all over the mail threads before you attach it then you will see it sealed up give that a try.
Did you open another line to help drain? If the main valve isn't closing completely, that's a bigger issue, i would've stopped to fix that. I don't know why ppl are mocking your sweat job. It's fine, and some good tips.
Why do so many of you people come in here pedaling that nonsense? Of course I tried opening drains in other rooms and no it doesn't solve the problem what you're failing to understand, is that when the main valve will not turn off 100% no matter what you do and you still have a stream of water leaking no amount of turning on and off faucets in other rooms is going to help especially when this is the lowest pipe in the entire house.
@@jeffostroff nonsense? I'm guessing you have a shi**y gate valve for your main shutoff. Im not confused. I can understand your frustration with the abundance of snide comments. 🙄
So, I understand the bread trip but I’m a little confused as why didn’t you lean the pipe before inserting the bread and vacuum out as much water before inserting the bread?
I've used this trick many times with success but the last time it ended up clogging my bathroom faucet. Unfortunately I had to dissemble the faucet and clean it out to get it to work again. I probably should have unhooked the line from the faucet before I turned the water back on so the bread could exit the line.
Danny H. Yes that can happen that is why you always want to plan ahead with your exit point, where it is going to be for the bread and make sure there is nothing on that exit point so that the bread can shoot right out.
I’ve used that so called bread trick on a leak like this a few times and all it did was make a mess. Can you braze with copper rods instead ? would that work better than solder?
Try to ball the bread up nice and tight and use only the white part of the bread, it has worked every time we have used it. If not, you can buy a 1/2" Jet Swet Plumbing Plug Tool (Alternative to bread trick): amzn.to/2VB4RJW
Bread trick does work. You do still have to dry out the pipe though. No idea why you would try to braze with copper, how would that help? If you were at temps to braze copper onto copper, that's basically a weld, no? Much more complicated and the pipers are not meant to take that - those temps would possibly screw up the pipe and you'd get leak from the pipe even if the joint was welded solid.
Spend $200 and by a jet sweat kit. Worth its weight in gold on that 2am leak . I'm pretty much to the point lately that if it's not a ball valve I bring the kit in with the torch
Thanks, was looking all over the internet and finally found you video. I did see it a while back but didnt save it. Only have wheat bread but going to use cheap ass wipe paper and run the bathtub on cold water. Again thank you and will the word.
1. Clean the pipe BEFORE you plug the pipe. Then just wipe the water off. Duh! 2. Don't bother cleaning the inside of the pipe. That's POINTLESS!! If you need to ream the pipe use the tool you have sitting right there at 1:14. Use the right tool for the job rookie. The wire brush will NOT ream out the pipe. 3. The comment about the oil on your fingers is NONSENSE. The flux will take care of any "oil' 4. Don't just dab the flux on. Make sure you put it 360 degrees around the pipe AND inside the coupler. 5. This is a time critical joint. Don't just drop the solder on. Hit the entire fitting 360 degrees to be damn sure you got it. 6. Heat the pipe from the bottom or the side not the top. 7. I bet this leaked!!!!🤣
The way I was taught is to take bread, roll into a ball, not hard, big enough to fill the leaking pipe, it clogs the water temporarily so you can do the solder. When finished, turn the water on and the bread will flush out.
That's what I get for not watching your video. Thanks for not beating me up over it. By the way, I now have seen it and your very thorough. Very professional.
Since you are using compression, isn't it easier if you solder a pipe onto the shut off valve, and connect the pipes together using a compression coupling? Otherwise might also be better to solder on the shut off valve before flushing out the bread.
John, I don't think that would be easier, to install the compression valve onto a loose piece of pipe. It might be more cumbersome to tighten down. We like to attach the compression fitting shut off valves right onto a pipe coming out of the wall because that pipe is held in place, because we have to use 2 wrenches to tighten down the compression nut. That is easier to to do on a stationary pipe coming out of the wall. As for your second suggestion, You don't ever want to install the valve on the pipe until after you flush bread out, to avoid the bread getting caught inside the valve. Remember the copper pipe is 1/2" wide, and so you are expecting a 1/2" sized ball of thread to shoot out of a 1/4" inner diameter hole on the shut off valve where the hose will connect to the 3/8 threads. Not a good idea. It's easier and quicker to just flush it out for 2 seconds of water flow into your Homer bucket.
Not sure why you and a few other people before you keep saying this when it's obvious by looking at the video that the bread did hold up. I did the cleaning after I loaded the bread just to make sure the bread didn't introduce any contaminants or oils from the baking process.
Heat from the bottom, no excessive solder. I also run my flux brush around the soldered joint which not only cleans the joint up it also spreads the solder around the joint a little more 👍
Good tip! But keep in mind, I've read research that says not to flux the joint after you sweat it because the cold flux is a temp shock which can crack the heated solder joint. So I quit doing it, but yes it does make things look nice and clean.
R/O tubing and blowing the water out the line works best. Another trick is a 3/4" unreemed copper pipe that's about 6" long to scrape the dry wall mud off of the copper pipe first then sand it before putting a angle stop.
Mission accomplished. A smaller torch tip would help you control where the flame goes. Try heating one side, then finish on the other. The pipe doesn't have to be sticking out of the wall so far, it looks like an amateur did the work and is unsure of himself. I am looking for a trick to stop the water from flowing back from the house if you're doing work on the main supply line?
Dude was using a mapp gas torch. The heads aren't changabel, but still too much heat and WHY clen and flux INSIDE the pipe. This guy did NOT go to school!
I had the same problem with a main shut off gate valve, change to a ball valve and it will stop all water flow. I like the all plastic ones since FL water is corrosive and full of calcium deposits, metal just won't last long term. I've used the bread trick for CPVC also but if you use the blue wet location glue a little moisture won't be a problem. Not sure why you brushed and fluxed the inside of the pipe but you should have done the inside of the coupler right? I never knew about the lenght of solder. I always just fed it enough to fill to the edge of the outside fitting but I'm not a pro, just a DIYer. BTW, Def Leppard sucks.
Great truck that I’ll definitely use but for how much you talked about working quickly once the bread is in you sure did take forever! I’d have that sucker soldered on there before you finished cleaning to outside up
Yes we got really lucky with that piece of bread I made it nice and dense and during a 10 minutes that I was in there filming this it didn't even leak.
Don't put flux on the inside of the pipe. It invites solder to pool inside the pipe, creating an obstruction. In a cold water system, it can cause corrosion inside too.
Marco, that is made by Oatey, it is called hands free heat shield, $13 at Home Depot: www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-9-in-x-12-in-Hands-Free-Heat-Shield-314002/100345508
I guess you didn't hear me say after I did it that it was not necessary. It was 100 degrees in that bathroom, mid July the hottest day of the year, and we could barely breath or think straight.
@@two9s649 I don't like to leave any doubt or chance that any bread will wedge itself inside the shutoff valve when you attach it, as the video shows near the end, we flush the bread out by turning the water on for about 2 seconds, then shut it off. Do this BEFORE you install the water shutoff valve.
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✅ Plumber's Solder Kit: amzn.to/2BWr0cP
✅ 1/2" Jet Swet Plumbing Plug Tool (Alternative to bread trick): amzn.to/2VB4RJW
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You forgot to list the bread.
jeffostroff this guys a moron and not a plumber . Steve lav is a real plumber . He cooked that pipe . Bread doesn’t always work . Rookie
A trick I have used many times is to open a sink valve or spigot anywhere on the same line and stick my wet/dry vac hose loosely over that to create a slight suction on the line. This draws the water away from the fitting I want to solder and drys it out. Works like a charm every time.
Yeah I've done that also and it does work well but I prefer using bread because it's easier and quicker but when I didn't have any bread and the homeowner doesn't either that does work also. I have an adapter that fits on to my vacuum with a piece or pex pipe attached to it and I'll tape it to the faucet. I've been meaning to put an adapter on it for years but I always forget about it or say I'll do it late or next time lol. Also you want the valves open anyway so it doesn't put positive pressure on the line and cause a pinhole leak.
@@my2centz196 That's why I just let the hose hang loosely, because my vacuum is so powerful it would suck the solder right out of the joint if I sealed it on there tight.
@@UtwoBed yeah that makes sense and it's definitely a good idea. I always open as many faucets as possible even if I'm not using a vacuum because the torch will cause it to have a positive pressure alone. I've never thought about leaving the vacuum lose mostly because it would fall off but the vacuum I use is a ridged shop vac. I forget the amps but it's like a 10gal I think can't remember that either lol. I wouldn't say mine is that powerful it's just your average shop vac nothing special so I never really had that problem but most of the time I'll just open one more faucet suck the water out and turn it off. I've also just blown it out but it it's a leaking gate valve somewhere and I'm not replacing it I'll leave it on but I do take the bread shortcut more then anything.
@@del189 You are welcome. You know, necessity is the mother of invention. I had to solder a pipe in a house that had a leaking main valve. Water was trickling out so fast that bread would not hold long enough, so I thought, how the hell can I keep the water away from this joint? Shop-vac just popped into my head. (:-)
@@UtwoBed Why not just cut the pipe anywhere after the main valve and slap in a shark bite valve and problem solved in about 5 minutes lol.
First time soldering copper pipes here. Stumbled upon the video. Wouldn’t have thought to use bread as a temp plug but I will never forget it now!
Glad I could help
I just googled how to stop dripping water before soldering, your channel popped up, being dripping for more than 2 hours ,Thanks just got it done
You're welcome, glad I could help.
When soldering hold the flame under the pipe and apply solder at the top. The heat will pull the solder around the pipe.
Nitrofan69 lol and apply less heat and bring your torch closer
@@PlumbGod_88 Not the best torch head for soldering.
Won't you burn your hands if you hold the flame?
I get the feeling that this guy is more of a tile guy than a plumber lol
I just realized from your presentation here that the reason I've seen so many journeyman plumbers bend the end of their solder was not only to get a better angle; but, it was also to mark how much solder to use on each joint. Thanks for that.
Yup that is exactly it and in the case when they are doing 1" pipes you will see them curve off about an inch. It's a great sanity check gauge to tell whether you have used enough solder because once it wicks into the joint you really can't see how much went in there.
And when brazing with a stick always bend the end over itself. No trick just because if someone bumps you by bye eye
I tried to use that bread trick once about 30 years ago. And it was a pain in the ass. But it can work. I'm for opening other valves and creating suction with vacuums. And I would also only use rosin core solder for copper that won't stop dripping. Well hey that's what I think, and it was a good video anyway. Because there's lots of people out there who don't have a clue about anyting. And you may have surely helped someone. Peace and love, peace and love.
Seem like you could do some of the prep work while it's dripping as those tools can get wet. Then you have more time to solder after you stick the bread in if you need it.
I was thinking the same thing.
heat the joint area first until you see the flux start to move and get hot, keep the flame moving from pipe to fitting back and forth over the joint area, then move the flame to just the coupling as soon as it's hot enough to start applying the solder. Don't just only heat the coupling, the problem with that is, if the joint isn't super tight, it takes too long for the heat transfer to the pipe, especially if its still damp inside and then the temperature difference of the coupling or fitting is too much higher than the pipe.
You could have used a little less bread and saved some dough.
Ha! That's a classic!
petcatznz
Heh heh heh 😏 laffing in Hawaii, now dats funny. I would tell him to break the Union on the house side of the meter eh but he would probably flood the neighborhood.
I’m curious to see what he would do if the bread doesn’t stop the leak. 🌺
"F" clown🤔🤣
Who's the old plumber ??
Bcuz it ain't this dude with the torch that don't know heat rises.
He shouldn't be telling nobody nothing
Green as a bean
I've had 10 hours on a plumbing course and I can't understand why he fluxed the inside of the pipe, why he used a wire brush to deburr instead of a deburring tool, why he didn't use a compression fitting, why he wore big thick leather gloves. I don't know enough yet but would a SharkBite fitting not have sufficed?
Lol. Yes I goofed putting the flux inside the pipe that was a momentary lapse of focus there. I did not de burr with the wiring brush I had already de burred with my regular burring tool which you can see sitting on the shower curb at the very beginning of the video. I just wanted to clean the inside of the pipe nothing wrong with that. There was not enough pipe coming out of the wall in my opinion to put a compression fitting because then if anybody ever had to do anything later to the pipe there wouldn't be enough pipe behind it to make any repairs so I wanted to leave the owner of few inches of pipe out of the wall. As for the shark by and I don't believe in using them long term especially on a sensitive location like that although the fact that it's outside the wall would make me feel a little bit easier about using it. I typically use shark bites to cap off a pipe temporarily. In by the way when this was all said and done I did put on a compression fit quarter turn shut off valveBut the owner just want a little bit more pipe coming out of the wall that is why we sawdered that fitting on there to begin with to extend it out a few inches.
Sharkbite may be nice but it's an increased cost and no matter what that o ring will eventually fail
@@jeffostroff flux stuck on the inside of the pipe said to cause pinholes eventually
@@ashleeverma112 Yes but we cleaned it off and it is water soluble flux this is not the standard old flux that the rest of you use.
@@jeffostroff Clean is good. I am told by experienced plumbers water soluble should in theory be just that, but still a potential issue - and usually a lot longer than 2 years to be an issue. Also the reason flux only used on the outside pipe joint so it can't be pushed into the inside. Just more for information, but saw others referring to it in the thread. I am currently fixing this exact problem on a bunch of pipe joints...can you say replace pipes! yes it would be the old flux
Wave the torch 1/2 way around fitting,solder joint facing wall first. You have to run solder around edge of fitting to get it to flow around. Then move to outside edge and continue moving torch around fitting and run solder around joint. I use 3 fingers and bend that amout of solder at 45° angle from end of roll . You dont put flux inside pipe or fitting . Flux fitting and pipe. Hope this helped .
If you have a basement,open laundry tub faucet to relieve water pressure from first floor .
Yes, adding the flux was a goof, was more focused on making the video, and not thinking clearly in 90 degree non air conditioned bathroom, but it is also water soluble flux.
bend your solder twice the diameter of the fitting and sweep it over the top and pull it under the bottom. check far side for coverage. inspect front side and make a little swipe on the bottom in case you missed a spot. on 1/2 and3/4
Years ago I was on a service call and I had a pipe that wouldn't stop leaking so I asked the homeowner if she had a piece of white bread. She goes sure hands me the bread and says you want some ham and cheese with that lol. Anyway I've told this trick to a ton of people and most seem surprised. I've even had homeowners get upset with me about it until I explained it would dissolve and I'd take aerator off and blow it out the faucet. Anyway this trick works amazingly well. I've been using this trick for about 20 couple years now and use it a couple times a week at least. So much so keep a loaf on the truck and replace it once a week at least. Other breads work also but I'd keep from using breads with seeds like rye.
My2cents I 've used bagel and pizza crust before. Lol. I love the smell of bread toasted by mapp gas. 😆
@@richardordonez8331 never used those lol. I guess it it works I only use Mapp gas also anymore and have for the last 10 years or so. I have a couple torches with 3ft hoses that work great. It's much more convenient especially since they'll hang right on your belt loop lol.
Thanks for the trick I had spend like 45 minutes trying to drain all the water but thanks to you got done and worked like a charm
This trick is legit. it works!!! A plumber hipped me to this trick like 30 yrs ago and I did it. When you’re done soldering turn on the water and the wet bread oozes right out. Kinda looks like poop coming out.
Yup, used it a few times, still a classic in a pinch.
Damn, you have rookie soldering skills at best. Definitely not enough experience to tell others how to do it.
mazzmari my thoughts exactly....
Who cares what it fuckin looks like long as it holds your not going to see it. You guys act like your pros lol....
@@JoeSmith-dh1rz I can tell by your comments that you are definitely not a pro. Soldering can definitely be done wrong such as this demonstration. It might not immediately leak, but it will in the near future. I see that all the time.
Soldering joints aren't always pretty as long solder goes all the way in the joint inside and u can see it sealed inside it's good
@@JoeSmith-dh1rz I don't know what you're doing, but I know you're no plumber. Gobbing on solder is not what you're after when soldering. Also I don't know any plumber that can examine inside all of their joints. Not possible.
Thank you so much, you just saved me from a constant flow of about a gallon per minute down the drain out of a pipe I couldn’t close off!!!
I'm glad I could help you out with that!
The fix for your problem is to go to the front of the house, shut off the water and if is not a positive stop you can crack loose the fitting from the valve to the house and the water will stop.
Re-tighten the fitting at the main valve, turn water back on SLOWLY and WAAA LAAA!
Thank me later lol
I had a really bad time many years ago and I called the city to come and check thier valve and the man said to do this while he waited for me to solder a new ball valve to the house main, it was a free lesson that I was grateful and want to pass it on
Happy Soldering!!!
Waaaaaaaaay too much heat. You don't have to clean the inside of he pipe....Also, you heat the pipe first then the fitting...
^^^ This ^^^ And if you put flux inside the pipe like this guy did, it could to draw solder INSIDE the pipe and make a bunch of torpidity that will break down the joint over time and no matter how "solid" the joint is, it will fail prematurely. No flux inside pipe. I would trust the acid in the flux to clean off "hand oil" before I would put flux on inside of pipe.
A retired plumber that was in business for about 40 years told me about this bread trick a long while ago. I never had to use it, but it looks like it works as long as the water is only trickling out.
Yes we had that bread in there for about 15 minutes and it was indeed a small trickle and you are right anything beyond that with just such rate the bread too quickly and could start to crumble but we packed it real mice and dense before we shoved it into the pipe.
Stop water flow as much as possible by turning meter off and on a few times , then find lowest supply which most likely would be the toilet water supply valve and remove line from shut off valve , use a to do or small lan under to catch leaking water , that will give you enough time to solder pipe , or loosening the meter adapter ( the big nut with the ruber washer , ) water won't go up the house , I've done it many times if the bread doesn't work , the bread trick only gives you like a minute or less depending on the amount of water leaking trhu . I'll try the bread first then exhaust the other options , one of them it's gonna work .and never give up. Get it done no matter what...
A we did it the opposite here we tried turning on all the faucets and all the other rooms and sinks and nothing helped because the gate just simply was not closing all the way on the valve. Also in many condos you can't just go outside and cut off the main because you'll take out other people's units with it which is a big problem with some of these older condos. They want to sign on the elevator with 24 hours notice about water being shut off tomorrow. In our case the bread trick held back the water for probably at least 10 minutes while we were filming this scene.
I carry a 12" piece of 1/8 " steel brake line with a flare on one end. Slip a balloon over the flared end and wrap rubber band several times to hold and seal it tight. I use an old squeeze bulb from a soccer ball pump on the other end. Slide the balloon through the fitting several inches past the area to be heated. Pump a squeeze of air to inflate the balloon and then do the solder job. Release the pressure and withdraw the tube with the balloon still attached.
The actually make commercial devices that work this same way but require multiple sized inflatable bladders...and the size you need is always missing from the tool box. The balloon system has never failed me. I have even used the method on natural gas and oil pipeline welding repair. (keep a sniffer handy)
That's another great idea, thanks! Just watch out for the snobby arrogant plumbers out there who call it amateurish and unprofessional.
You my friend are a genius. I'm going to the garage to put one together. Can't wait to try it. Thank you.
Brilliant!
Got the job done... that's good. One method explained well... that's good. You did a good job with video. Appreciate your time and effort to post and share your helps....
Thanks, glad you liked it.
I didn't use bread but the shop vac trick from the comments worked like a charm.
We tried that too, but this is not a case of leftover water in the system, it's a constant stream leftover because the water won't shut off.
I'm trying to get my skills up for a bathroom remodel. I'm realizing this guy is wearing brand new leather gloves to solder a copper pipe and just watched four other videos before deciding to make his own. I was hoping for an experienced plumber and I got this guy.
Like many trolls before you, you use the wrong metrics to determine whether somebody knows something or not. Just because I'm using new leather gloves doesn't mean anything we are constantly buying new tools and new gloves and new everything to try out and do two review videos on.
You could have saved a lot of time by cleaning the pipe before you put the bread in! DUH!!!
Absolutely!
I'll tell you what...you go ahead and save 5 seconds of time, I focus on quality and preventing contamination. I always clean right before I solder. Don't risk any contaminants on bread from getting on your pipe if you clean the pipe first. DUH! Your problem is handyman guys like you in a rush never stop to think about your actions and what problems you'll cause down the road. You're all about saving 5 seconds at the risk of other people's property.
@@jeffostroff pro here and what he said was right, i would have atleast sanded the pipe before putting bread in the line. More so that you have more time with the bread doing its job. Better yet i would have used a jet swet. Nonetheless good job extending the pipe out, much better for future repairs.
@@BULB271602 Well a couple of things here 1st of all I've done this enough times that I know how much time I have when I stick the bread in and it was plenty of time as the video showed so I don't know why you guys are harping on this subject. I prefer to do the cleaning after the brightest put in just in case there's any contamination. Cleaning the pipe after the bread is inserted assures that there will be 0 contaminations. My way works correctly your way works correctly as well. 2nd of all yes we all have a swet jet but this was a video for DIY people and home owners who are not going to run out and spend $50 on a swet jet and then wait for it to be delivered when they have their water turned off and need a solution right now.
I thought the same thing dude, but I didn't want to say nothing. It's like why are you putting the bread in first it's going to be soaked and falling out the front before you're ready to go.
Great Trick! Thank you very much. I have same issue except I am welding a value to copper pipe under kitchen sink. Hope it works? I appreciate sharing this idea either way. Thank you
Good luck!
To make the job faster , before you put in the bread , you can clean the outside of the pipe and don't have to do the inside. you should have pre soldered the joint on the second pipe ahead of time and cleaned the inside of that pipe. Then shove in the bread the dry the inside and give the outside a quick once over with an emery pad. Then not so much torch flame.
Those Benzomatic torches give you way too much glame
This just saved my sanity!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 Thank you so much.
Glad to help!
@@jeffostroff All I had on hand was potato bread and 12 grain whole wheat so went with the potato bread. Worked perfectly !! Seriously this is one of many reasons I think RUclips is invaluable. I can't imagine what I would've done without your help. Was thinking about blowing compressed air back in to the pipe maybe, but that probably wouldn't have worked either. This is one "trick" I'll never forget ✊🏼
1:52 Using vacuum to clean inside of the pipe?
There will be hardly any effect of vacuum from a few centimeter distance.
Also vacuum is hard to come by and with vacuum cleaner I have strong doubts.
However a gentle pressure would be more effective to blow out any dirt in the pipe.
5:04 "solder will be drawn to heat source"
Said who?
This is no longer concerns plumbing , it is physics. Any reference to this statement.?
The correct terminology should be "capillary action" as commonly used but I would suggest surface tension.
Liquids are attracted to the solid surface and adhere with a stronger bond than the inter bond among the liquid molecules.
Hence as soon as soldering metal melts and becomes liquid it is immediately attracted by the surface of copper pipe nearby. That is due to surface tension.
And the *attention* the double surface of concentric copper pipe one inside the other creating a very fine gap causes capillary action and stronger surface tension force to draw/attract/pull the liquid solder.
Where does the heat comes into play?
That goes beyond plumbing and takes us into physics.
Firstly you need a minimum base amount of heat to keep solder metal in liquid state while cooling off by the ambient temperature.
Secondly you can repeat the same experiment at different temperatures (Not heat) to observe and obtain data how surface tension/capillary action behaves under different temperatures.
Under ambient temperatures this information maybe of no use to plumbers but in electronic industry or in space precision to manipulate the matter maybe everything.
The purpose of the vacuum was to suck out the last few drops of water still sitting in the bottom of the pipe, which it did a great job removing. If you still don't believe the effectiveness of our Rigid shop vac which is designed to vacuum up water, check out my other video on changing out a hose bibb where we used the vacuum an inch away from the pipe you can see the vacuum sucking the water stream out of the pipe, see video here: ruclips.net/video/73Sn71X4fGc/видео.html and you'll also see we used the term capillary action.
Definitely a first timer !
Oh you are? 😜
@@jeffostroff Don't worry about the negative comments bro, people are just assholes..
Rookie. Prep your pipe before sticking the bread inside and always heat the bottom of the fitting first, especially if there’s water in the pipe. The solder will always catch on top but it’s the bottom where the water will be traveling is where you will have the trouble if there’s water in the pipe. Also if your water main shutoff is not completing shutting down the water you can brake the nut on the water meter as well.
had to use this trick just a week ago was brazing some under the slab line and the hot water would not stop leaking so I had some left over biscuits form breakfast and shoved it into the line both direction and stop it long enough to braze, try it it works
I have used it a hald dozen times, works like a charm. I also have a Jet Swet, a pro tool for doing this same thing
Someone may have said it but I got the water to stop leaking but turning on every faucet in the house (while main water line was shut off) to stop dripping. It takes a few moments for the dripping to stop. I waited about 5 minutes.
Reem the pipe and sand it. Then use a long piece of 1/4" inch r/o tubing and shove it into the pipe until it will not go any further or at least 2'-6'+ feet. Then blow and blow until no water comes out. Then put the brushed fitting on to the sanded pipe with flux, flux the pipe, and solder it. Of course you will want to have the fittings brushed, and the pipe sanded, and fluxed. Also have torch and solder ready near bye to use as quickly as possible to solder the fitting. I have been plumbing since 2000 and went to a plumbing technical college and the r/o tubing trick is the best one I know of, no bread stuck in water line or mess from it. I always use this trick on top outs when the manifold stub out from the underground plumbing has to be cut, sanded, reemed, fluxed and fittings cleaned fluxed and put in to the pipe. You want to flux the pipe after getting the water out of it with r/o trick. I have heard of the bread trick but never used it, and I have done the plumbing on hundreds of homes, 30 + commercial buildings, and around 1000 apartments. Plus plumbing service some and add on's or extended water lines.
sounds like a cool idea!
Where did you get that fire blanket.....i somehow soldered witha. Dripping pipe and it sealed, don't ask me how because im no plumber but it worked.
I bought it at home depot they sell it right next to where the torches are.
This is a pretty cool trick. Hadn't thought of this before. I do a lot of handyman repairs for a friend of mine, and this may come in handy sometime. I do plan on buying some Jet Swets, but in the meantime sammich bread it is.
This is good until you can pay the $149 for the Jet Swet kit. Pricey kit, but comes in a nice yellow plastic case, and has room for the 1" JetSwet which you can buy later.
I use another method, I open all the water valves going to the hose bibbs. Then take a air compressor to blow the excess water out of the house long enough to solder the joint. It gives you about two minutes till you have to get done, but it works. You should blow the compressed air into the pipe to be soldered, for about fifteen seconds and time the waters return. This gives you the amount of time you will need to finish the solder joint. Using the bread as well should buy you more time. Using a vacuum to suck the water out into the lawn hose, should give you all the time you need. Great video. I never tried the bread trick
Will the compressor stop even this flow of water that we showed here? This was more than a drip, it was actually flowing. Every minute or 2 the water would also gush a little bit, then drop back.
2019,simple solution,use a shark bite fitting. No sweat ,no torch, put it together and walk away.
@@ddmau7995 I'd rather not use a Shark bite, I only use them for temporary work, and never inside the wall. Although I would be open to using outside the wall, where you can see if anything goes wrong with it.
I just finished plumbing in a pressure tank for our well. I had 4 joints spraying water afterwards. I realized I had applied the flux using my finger do you think the oils from my finger in the flux cause that failure
Aaron, yes, oils from your finger could have caused it, and also maybe just an incomplete soldering and heating. Did yo brush clean all the parts where solder will be? Did you heat from underneath and let the flame heat rise up? Did you use the correct amount of solder? Did you push the tip of solder around the connection seam and let the solder melt on the pipe all the way around, and not try to follow the solder around the pipe with the flame? Did you apply heat to only the fitting and not the pipe to allow capillary action to suck the solder into the connection joint? Did you leave the heated connections ALONE, undisturbed after you turn off the flame and let it cool down by itself to room temperature? You want to be sure you don't use a cold or wet rag while the pipe is still cooling down. Let me know how you did with this check list, it could be a combination of issues.
@@jeffostroff thank you very much for the kind and extremely straight forward reply. I'm using the checklist to start over. What a pickle I'm in now, bit with your help I'm on my way to success
@@AaronRiegel One more thing, go watch this 5 minute how to solder video, it's the best one out there, this guy is the best: ruclips.net/video/JyVbjDsric4/видео.html
disconnect the Nut on the city side
break it loose so your bypass is contained inside meter box,reconnecting is super easy just dont lose gasket
I put the bread in and soldered the pipe. However the water doesn't turn
on because the pipe is clogged now. Im not sure if the joint is
soldered good enough and Im afraid that at some point the pipe will
clear and the water will leak out. Do you have any suggestions how long
until the bread will desolve ?
You are supposed to flush out the bread after you solder the copper fitting onto the pipe. If you do that, the 60 PSI water pressure is enough to force the brea dout of the pipe.
@@jeffostroff I tried turning on the tap in the other room and nothing. When you say flushing do you mean at the source in the furnace room where all the water starts ?
I use this trick but, why not clean and prep the pipes prior to inserting the bread?
Yes you could. I preferred to clean after the bread was installed, in case any impurities or oil got onto the pipe.
@@jeffostroffLol, don't butter the bread! JK. Clean first, stuff the turkey, I mean pipe, and then just give a quick swipe with bit of rubbing alcohol if you think you got stuff on it. Gives you more time for the soldering.
Thank you so much! So what we are trying to accomplish here is to just get the water to stop running long enough that we can solder another valve further down the line, so we can solder around the rest of the house.
yes that is all you need to do, stop flowing a few minutes.
In extreme conditions use a compression fitting and valve
gary, That's not an extreme condition actually, the compression fittings are the norm in our area. We went on after this repair to install a compression fitting. We had to cut the old one off and extend the length of this copper pipe from the wall because the stub out was too short to begin with, then we added a lot of thickness for the tile and thin set mortar, and the homeowner was disabled and wanted the pipe to come out further from the wall to them to reach the compression valve, if they needed to which we installed at the end of this pipe.
@@jeffostroff No man I mean in an extreme situation where the water keeps running. You install a compression fitting so you can shut the water down and continue work
I thought the bread dissolves in the water and will break down and come through the faucets when the screens are removed. Do you have to turn on the water and blow it out?
Yes you must blow out the the bread, because we act quick to get everything done while the bread is still a hard ball and has not broken down. Those pipes need to be clear before you install the shutoff valve.
@@jeffostroff Thanks
huge thanks for posting. Is it OK to use a compression fitting for connection where solder is not possible because of water?
I would only use one if it were outside the wall
@@jeffostroff thanks for the advice. I tried it with a piece of rope. It was a 3 inch of vertical piece of pipe which then bent into horizontal. Pushed the rope in. Waited few seconds and pulled it out. It was soaked and I saw no water left in the 3 " vertical. Slid the pipe and the coupler on. It took the solder no problem. No leaks.
Why do you clean the inside of the copper pipe when the solder goes on the outside of the pipe? Please explain I’ve seen this so much and don’t know why people do it
For me it was a slip of the wrist, loss of focus, end of a day 100 degrees in that bathroom and I was having a hard time concentrating. You can hear me say after doing it that it was non necessary.
I don't know I've been told that whole wheat is even better than using white bread but I heard that using a good brioche will really do the trick as does a good croissant
The WC connection is the lowest point in a house so unless you have a hose cock lower that you can remove the top assembly and letting the water to flow out there, the only way to stop water affecting the joint is to disconnect your house at the meter where the main meter cock is that you shut down.
There should always be a union connection where the main water comes in allowing physical disconnection of your house from the main.
If you use the correct flux, you do not need to worry about all that mucking about cleaning the pipe.
AND you certainly do not need to clean the inside of the pipe not unless you are using a fitting that goes inside the pipe, (they don't exist).
The best flux to use is LA-CO soft soldering flux. It is water soluble and does not need to be cleaned up. When the water is turned on, all residue LA-CO will flush away.
You should never put the flame directly onto the fitting when SODERING a joint. The flame should be applied 25mm away from the joint allowing the heat to travel along the pipe to the joint at the same time occasionally touching the joint with the soft solder to test if it's hot enough.
if you shut the main water off and it still trickles out, then opening the hot and cold valves of the sinks or tubs below the line your repairing should do the trick. it worked for me.
Jerry, That simply was not possible in this case, this was a toilet water supply line, already the lowest point in the property. Also, what you are proposing does not work when you have continuous water more than a trickle flowing, your solution works to relieve water still in the system after the water has been successfully shut off.
Soldering the fitting to the pipe seems very hit and miss for success. In the UK we would use 'Yorkshire Fittings' which have rings of solder already in position. Just clean off the pipe ends, flux, push on the fittings and heat.
Yes I heard of those and was very intrested in trying some of those out. My only question is how do you know when the solder has flowed because it's in the middle and you can't see it so how do you know?
When the solder is fluid it will pop out of the sides, and that's it. I am not a plumber, but have found these quick and sure. But, of course, cleanliness is the key to a good joint and you made a good key point re not touching the clean pipe ends. There are a couple of videos regarding these Yorkshire fittings on YT. Best wishes.
ya know REAL Plumbers watch these DYI S for entertainment
David Cohn exactly!
Ya know, REAL plumbers wouldn't waste their time being arrogant cutting down others and trolling videos of people trying to make a difference. In your arrogance, you missed the point of this DIY video which show homeowners how to fix problems with what they've got, not how a plumber with $2000 in tools would do it. So while you're sitting on your high horse snubbing your nose down on the rest of us, we are all successfully helping those in need who are wondering where their next meal is going to come from, and could never afford a REAL plumber.
@@jeffostroff Jeff I just recently started watching your videos. I hope you take my advice. Stop responding to losers. Seriously. It will wind up getting to you. If you are going to make it in the public eye just ignore them. I do want to say one thing though. Because I am in the business it bothers me that there is so much how to info out there that there is a shortage of work. It will stop bothering me when I start my RUclips career and start making my living making videos and showing people how to do things. Ha lol 🤣😭😂
@@sal.pizzurro I love engaging these guys, the more engagement, the better our videos rank.
@@jeffostroff no one is cutting anyone down
there is truth in his statement that was by no means mal intentioned in nature
Bend your solder so that you're feeding the end, not laying the wire on the joint. Heat rises. So have the flame pointed at the bottom of the fitting(if possible). Start at the joint nearest the bread and... the tip of the blue cone everyone.
Good tips, thanks!
Why would you clean the insiide of copper?
You clean the inside of fittings!!
Reduce turbulence at the fitting.
This worked well for a similar issue. Thanks Jeff!
Glad to hear it helped Mike!
open all the other valves in the house to relieve back pressure.
Yes, we had done that, even the bath tubs. When the water is still running, it's because the gate valve no longer closes all the way. If water has not stopped after 10 minutes, then it is never going to stop,
@@jeffostroff then you go out to the yard and turn of it off at the meter like a REAL plumber! And if you can't, you use a jet sweat kit and solder in a valve in somewhere like a "professional".
This is totally unprofessional and you should be banned from youtube! It's like a mechanic replacing brake pads with a sticking caliper piston!
@@m_soko Oh, take note, everyone! Here Ye, Here, Ye, master plumber @Mike Sokolowski is here! In condos, you are not allowed to shut of the meter, it affects other people, they have to post signs days in advance, get permission, etc. Homeowners don't have the street tool either, and pliers hardly ever work. Nobody likes an arrogant snobby plumber like you. The purpose of this video just sailed right over your head and you missed it. This is a DIY video for homeowners (plumbers don't need to be told), and no homeowner is going to spend $50 on a Swet Jet to use once in their lifetime. But even so, we have the link to the Swet Jet in description and you missed that too. Plenty of plumbers use this trick and there is nothing unprofessional about it because it solves the problem, just look at all, just because the great high horse master plumber Mike Sokolowski decrees that it is unprofessional. I'd like to see how you waste your clients money if you could not find your Set Jet, what would you do then? Read all the the comments from people who said this totally appropriate method helped them. The only unprofessional here is you. You need to be brought back down to earth.
its not back pressure...... chances are its an old gate valve that leaks by...... and DEFINITELY DO NOT OPEN OTHER VALVES... that is the worst thing you can do..... once you break the vaccuumm you have completely negated all efforts of draining the pipe.... the worst thing a person can do when u have the water off is open something...... which they do..... all the time..... at the worst time possible the same principal that causes water to syphon , keeps it in the pipe despite gravity
@@m_soko your an idiot...... and obviously you have never been in some real word situations..... if u actually had the chops and the experience.... you would know.... sometimes.... the simple low tech answer is the right answer.... not always can u get a jet sweat to work... for instance... what if that pipe doesnt go straight back any amount of distance.... chances are it goes down.. maybe it was real tight and the soft copper comes up to a tee..... or any other myriad of situations where you may have had access and the room to work before the top out.... but when u come back to service it in 5 or 10 years not so much,...... not every time does the jet sweat with its what 12" handle work......
I have a question for you. The nipples(threads on top of the water heater) do not want to seal. Water keeps dripping through the threads.
You will see most plumbers will coat those threads with pipe dope it's that blue thick rubbery liquid that you brush all over the mail threads before you attach it then you will see it sealed up give that a try.
I have 20 years experience in the plumbing and heating business, that has to be the roughest work I've ever watched.
Yes a little sloppy, but it got done, and it is reliable, still holding to this day.
There’s always tradesmen watching tutorial videos just so they can come tell us how much better they are…
Did you open another line to help drain? If the main valve isn't closing completely, that's a bigger issue, i would've stopped to fix that. I don't know why ppl are mocking your sweat job. It's fine, and some good tips.
Why do so many of you people come in here pedaling that nonsense? Of course I tried opening drains in other rooms and no it doesn't solve the problem what you're failing to understand, is that when the main valve will not turn off 100% no matter what you do and you still have a stream of water leaking no amount of turning on and off faucets in other rooms is going to help especially when this is the lowest pipe in the entire house.
@@jeffostroff nonsense? I'm guessing you have a shi**y gate valve for your main shutoff. Im not confused. I can understand your frustration with the abundance of snide comments. 🙄
Would the water had come out if you only used the vac, like if you held if on the pipe for 1 minute?
The bread trick work wonders for me 👍🏾
6:38 Your bathroom after a night of spicy wings and beer
LOL that's me after wings and beer
That’s cool with the bread. Kept it dry longer than I expected!
It is the density of the bread that keeps it in shape for so long
So, I understand the bread trip but I’m a little confused as why didn’t you lean the pipe before inserting the bread and vacuum out as much water before inserting the bread?
I've used this trick many times with success but the last time it ended up clogging my bathroom faucet. Unfortunately I had to dissemble the faucet and clean it out to get it to work again. I probably should have unhooked the line from the faucet before I turned the water back on so the bread could exit the line.
Danny H. Yes that can happen that is why you always want to plan ahead with your exit point, where it is going to be for the bread and make sure there is nothing on that exit point so that the bread can shoot right out.
I’ve used that so called bread trick on a leak like this a few times and all it did was make a mess. Can you braze with copper rods instead ? would that work better than solder?
Try to ball the bread up nice and tight and use only the white part of the bread, it has worked every time we have used it. If not, you can buy a 1/2" Jet Swet Plumbing Plug Tool (Alternative to bread trick): amzn.to/2VB4RJW
Bread trick does work. You do still have to dry out the pipe though. No idea why you would try to braze with copper, how would that help? If you were at temps to braze copper onto copper, that's basically a weld, no? Much more complicated and the pipers are not meant to take that - those temps would possibly screw up the pipe and you'd get leak from the pipe even if the joint was welded solid.
Spend $200 and by a jet sweat kit. Worth its weight in gold on that 2am leak . I'm pretty much to the point lately that if it's not a ball valve I bring the kit in with the torch
Thanks, was looking all over the internet and finally found you video. I did see it a while back but didnt save it. Only have wheat bread but going to use cheap ass wipe paper and run the bathtub on cold water. Again thank you and will the word.
Good trick to up one's sleeve!
Yes, we have used this trick several times over the years
1. Clean the pipe BEFORE you plug the pipe. Then just wipe the water off. Duh!
2. Don't bother cleaning the inside of the pipe. That's POINTLESS!! If you need to ream the pipe use the tool you have sitting right there at 1:14. Use the right tool for the job rookie. The wire brush will NOT ream out the pipe.
3. The comment about the oil on your fingers is NONSENSE. The flux will take care of any "oil'
4. Don't just dab the flux on. Make sure you put it 360 degrees around the pipe AND inside the coupler.
5. This is a time critical joint. Don't just drop the solder on. Hit the entire fitting 360 degrees to be damn sure you got it.
6. Heat the pipe from the bottom or the side not the top.
7. I bet this leaked!!!!🤣
2 1/2 years later, still works perfectly.
Is Soldering to hold the pipe together or stop for water leak ?
In this case and was to extend the length of the pipe coming out of the wall because it was too short
Not going to watch the video but saw the thumbnail and instantly thought FLEXTAPE!!!!!!
No flextape, LOL, but this trick has been used by plumbers for decades
Can I reuse a valve even though there is some soldering compound still inside the walls of the female end? If not, is there a way to get it off?
I don't think you would have any problem with it but if you feel uncomfortable valves are not that expensive that you could put a new one on.
Thanks.
Thank u!!! The trick worked!!!
The way I was taught is to take bread, roll into a ball, not hard, big enough to fill the leaking pipe, it clogs the water temporarily so you can do the solder. When finished, turn the water on and the bread will flush out.
Yes, that is exactly how we did it here.
That's what I get for not watching your video. Thanks for not beating me up over it.
By the way, I now have seen it and your very thorough. Very professional.
I’ve just used a rubber cork with a pull handle and plug the leak then and when done pull the string to remove
that's a great idea Jim!
Since you are using compression, isn't it easier if you solder a pipe onto the shut off valve, and connect the pipes together using a compression coupling?
Otherwise might also be better to solder on the shut off valve before flushing out the bread.
John, I don't think that would be easier, to install the compression valve onto a loose piece of pipe. It might be more cumbersome to tighten down. We like to attach the compression fitting shut off valves right onto a pipe coming out of the wall because that pipe is held in place, because we have to use 2 wrenches to tighten down the compression nut. That is easier to to do on a stationary pipe coming out of the wall. As for your second suggestion, You don't ever want to install the valve on the pipe until after you flush bread out, to avoid the bread getting caught inside the valve. Remember the copper pipe is 1/2" wide, and so you are expecting a 1/2" sized ball of thread to shoot out of a 1/4" inner diameter hole on the shut off valve where the hose will connect to the 3/8 threads. Not a good idea. It's easier and quicker to just flush it out for 2 seconds of water flow into your Homer bucket.
Nice trick. Thanks.
Glad you liked it that trick has been around for decades.
Nice tip however I would probably do the cleanup work before I put the bread in because the bread won't hold water back for a long time
Not sure why you and a few other people before you keep saying this when it's obvious by looking at the video that the bread did hold up. I did the cleaning after I loaded the bread just to make sure the bread didn't introduce any contaminants or oils from the baking process.
Just loosen the union on the downstream side of the water meter. It can leak all it wants in the box. I wish my problems were all this easy lol.
Might try that sometime, but man, scary thinking about unscrewing the city's stuff.
Exactly what I do in this situation. Problem solved.
Heat from the bottom, no excessive solder. I also run my flux brush around the soldered joint which not only cleans the joint up it also spreads the solder around the joint a little more 👍
Good tip! But keep in mind, I've read research that says not to flux the joint after you sweat it because the cold flux is a temp shock which can crack the heated solder joint. So I quit doing it, but yes it does make things look nice and clean.
@@jeffostroff If you see a drip, just use a dry cloth to gently wipe the joint, while the solder is still liquid, then won't cause a crack.
I did that too, but it messes up the flux brush bristles, a dry cloth works better and not as messy
now how you going to put the chrome plate on with the coupling in the way ?
So many questions on this video. But this is a good one!
R/O tubing and blowing the water out the line works best. Another trick is a 3/4" unreemed copper pipe that's about 6" long to scrape the dry wall mud off of the copper pipe first then sand it before putting a angle stop.
Mission accomplished. A smaller torch tip would help you control where the flame goes. Try heating one side, then finish on the other. The pipe doesn't have to be sticking out of the wall so far, it looks like an amateur did the work and is unsure of himself.
I am looking for a trick to stop the water from flowing back from the house if you're doing work on the main supply line?
Gino Asci try installing temporary back flow preventer.
@@jeffostroff : thank you
Disconnect the water meter at unions
Dude was using a mapp gas torch. The heads aren't changabel, but still too much heat and WHY clen and flux INSIDE the pipe. This guy did NOT go to school!
the pipe is 1/2", what's the size of the coupler?
It's a 1/2" coupler is what they call it, designed to fit tightly around the outside of the 1/2" pipe
I had the same problem with a main shut off gate valve, change to a ball valve and it will stop all water flow. I like the all plastic ones since FL water is corrosive and full of calcium deposits, metal just won't last long term. I've used the bread trick for CPVC also but if you use the blue wet location glue a little moisture won't be a problem. Not sure why you brushed and fluxed the inside of the pipe but you should have done the inside of the coupler right? I never knew about the lenght of solder. I always just fed it enough to fill to the edge of the outside fitting but I'm not a pro, just a DIYer.
BTW, Def Leppard sucks.
Yes indeed, any chance we get we change the main shutoff to a ball valve and also did that at my own house.
Great truck that I’ll definitely use but for how much you talked about working quickly once the bread is in you sure did take forever! I’d have that sucker soldered on there before you finished cleaning to outside up
Yes we got really lucky with that piece of bread I made it nice and dense and during a 10 minutes that I was in there filming this it didn't even leak.
one thing I would suggest is to put that hot blue part of the flame right on the joint I think you'll get a lot quicker heat up time
Don't put flux on the inside of the pipe. It invites solder to pool inside the pipe, creating an obstruction. In a cold water system, it can cause corrosion inside too.
Yes that was a slip of the wrist inside a 90 degree bathroom in July, end of day, lack of focus.
Some say the bread 🍞 still in there 😜
That’s quite a lot of heat there you brazing it 😂😂
How about a elbow that's been soldered,can you put a bread in it.
That will still work you just shoot the bread right back out after . the water pressure will force it out even with a 45ﾟ elbow
Interesting clip,thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
What is the name of the black thing that protects the wall?
Marco, that is made by Oatey, it is called hands free heat shield, $13 at Home Depot: www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-9-in-x-12-in-Hands-Free-Heat-Shield-314002/100345508
Thanks man!.
Jet sweat stick is well worth the investment
Yes we have one now, whole kit does all 3 sizes
thanks that bread trick saved me a lot of headache
111HCS Awesome glad to help out another person caught in a jam
Why did u sand the inside of the pipe? Lol I've never done that or seen anybody do that. But that bread trick works like a charm! 🔥 good shit
I guess you didn't hear me say after I did it that it was not necessary. It was 100 degrees in that bathroom, mid July the hottest day of the year, and we could barely breath or think straight.
@@jeffostroff gotcha, the bread dissolves on it's own?
@@two9s649 I don't like to leave any doubt or chance that any bread will wedge itself inside the shutoff valve when you attach it, as the video shows near the end, we flush the bread out by turning the water on for about 2 seconds, then shut it off. Do this BEFORE you install the water shutoff valve.
Cool trick but I always solder from the bottom up since heat rises. And never flux the inside of my pipes just inside the fitting and outside the pipe
Yes that was a slip of the rest and you heard me say on the video that I didn't need to do that and after I did it
Nice, thanks
Glad to help
I did this but I had a kink in the copper line now it's blocked 😂. I'll wait and see if it will break down enough to pass.