I need to solder a valve in a copper water line but keep getting a drip of water which keeps me from being able to solder the joint. Any tips on how to solder when you are dealing with a slow drip that can't be stopped?

Wet vac
Open taps above and below joint.

Put a piece of bread in the line (No crust)

Hi all:

If all pipes are opened and drained there should be no need for any "tricks" such as bread or anything like that... ;)

If after shutting off the water main and opening all faucets (including the outside faucets) there is still water issues then the connection at the water meter outlet needs to be cracked to allow water to drip at that fitting as it is likely that the main water shutoff is malfunctioning.

There can also occasionally be a siphoning effect at times where water gets pulled from a water heater, for example, when draining systems down that can cause difficulties with soldering. In this case, shutting the cold water shutoff into the water heater and draining 5 gallons of water from the heater will fix this issue.

Finally, if pipes are below a level that they cannot be drained properly you can use a wet/dry vacuum (as mentioned by KISS) to pull water out of pipes and/or you can BOIL the water out of the pipe using a torch to a point that you can solder.

In all my years, if I followed this advice then I never had issues soldering.

Good luck~~

MARK

I agree with Mark,
If I get a steady drip and can't seem to stop it I shut the system off at the meter or pump and open up the lowest valve to drain the system down. For the moisture that's left I take my torch and boil the water out of the pipe. Like Mark This has always worked for me. Good luck, Tom

I am a mere amateur, but I have found that I can get as mad as I want to get in trying to get rid of that annoying little drip that steams when you try to solder. The bread trick has worked for me many times and does keep my blood pressure under 155/95! :mad:

I have had some times when I had the main valve off and, it seemed, every faucet in the house open and it would still drip. I think the Apostle Paul himself would have struggled to contain his temper. :)

BTW Tambo, the bread simply dissolves when you turn the water back on.

Hey Hey Jlisenbe:

I think you said the key word there, "main valve off... it seemed,". If you actually drop the meter (disconnect the meter or just loosen the nut so it drips) it should help quite abit.

The biggest culprit I have found for that annoying drip is the water heater where the water heater turns on almost the same time as you want to solder. Water expands a bit as it starts to heat up again and water inevitably backflows into the pipes you just drained.

If you drain a bit of water off from the water heater and close shutoffs to any appliances that heat a water source such as a tankless coil on a boiler and you drop that meter then you shouldn't need the bread or any other tricks or "special tools"... ;)

Let me know how it goes, next time~~

Thanks... MARK

I'll remember that advice. We are on well water so the meter is not an option, but I could simply turn on the outside faucet that is only a couple of feet off the mainline, right by the pressure tank. Hadn't thought of that. I think my biggest problem has always been not thinking ahead to do those things, then getting impatient and in too much of a hurry.

Most pumps that I've worked on also have a drain right at/after the pressure tank... couldn't hurt to drain some water from this as well... :)

Thanks.

The bread thrick is a great way of stopping the drip.

Or you can buy these small pelts that look like an over sized vitamin E tablet. They come in different sizes and plug the pipe so you can solder.