Pro tricks for "de-watering" horiz. Cu runs prior to sweating??

10 years ago

Howdy Gang, it's good to be back! (I actually get caught up sometimes.) :D

Anyways, buddy has a long (and apparently perfectly level) run of 3/4" copper. Along this run is a coupler that needs to become a tee.

Have done the shop-vac blowing into the hose bib (w/OUT anti-siphon) at far end, expelling water from hose bib WITH anti-siphon at the other end. Still boiling water with my torch--not even blistering some old latex paint, let alone melting solder.

There is some minor leak-by at the shutoff valve, but *apparently* only a few ounces overnight.

I have suggested drilling a 1/8" hole in the doomed coupler, as even if one or both pipe ends are perforated, pipe needs to be cut back anyway, since end-spacing much greater for Tee than coupler... buddy is resisting this.

SO... any tips and tricks from the pros on how to DEHYDRATE this copper canyon?

Thanks in advance.

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Comments (5)

geoffrey_b
10 years ago
I would cut out 4 - 6 inches each side of the coupling. Then open a faucet from above, drain the water, and try slightly bending the tubing downward - from 5 - 6 feet away. Heat the pipe - until there is no steam or sputtering.

They make couplings with no stop - they slide over the copper so you don't need a union.
fixizin
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks much. When I returned, idiot-hack buddy had gone after it with a recip-saw and the dreaded Shark-Bite fitting. :rolleyes:

This of course LEAKED, due to rough edges. So he made ANOTHER trip to buy the special S-B removal tool. Once removed, I dressed the edges with my Ridgid "red grenade". That appeared to do it, no further leaks... time will tell.

No more favors for him. I can't be associated, even privately, with hack-work. I wiped off all my fingerprints, so no one could prove my involvement later on, lol.

At least this pipe run is outdoors, and not behind a wall.
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User
10 years ago
If a ragged edge leaked on a Shark-Bite then more than likely the internal o-ring is compromised.
bob_cville
10 years ago
For the future, the old plumbers trick to stop a slow drip down a pipe that is preventing soldering is to take a piece of bread and shove it up the pipe a few inches in the direction of the leak. The bread stops the leak enough to be able to solder the pipe, and then when pressure is restored the burnt bread ball is easily blasted down the line. Just be sure that the first thing you open after this fix is an outdoor faucet or a utility sink, rather than a faucet with a aerator or a toilet.
jackfre
10 years ago
I've found that it is not worth screwing around with tricks. I cut the pipe and install a union at that location. drain it as best you can. I can then either push up the pipe enough to prevent the water from coming to the joint long enough to sweat that end on. Do the same on both sides and the union can be made up and you are good. Another thing, when you have a "little" residual water in the pipe you can run your torch along the length of the pipe toward the open section and the water will boil off and travel to the opening. It helps dry it out better.