Hi Charlie,
You've been inhaling too many solder fumes, Charlie. As I
recall it, it's _The Joy of *SEX*_! :>
My hose bib in the back yard started leaking. Got a new washer,
turned off the water, and tried taking it apart. An hour later, I
gave up! Can't get the stem out, looks like lime build up is so thick
that it has made its own washer in there. So, it looks like it is
time to replace the hose bib.
Go into Home Depot, talk to gal there, and she gives me something
called a sharkbite fitting. You just cut off the old sweated on hose
bib and put it on and screw on a new hose bib. Sounds doable.
Next day, turn off water and go to get to work. First, I compare the
new fittings and the existing - not the same size! She gave me a 1/2"
sharkbite, but OD of existing is 1". Turn water back on...
Go back to Home Depot, looking for pipe with OD of 1". She doesn't
know of anything like that. Brings in old guy (my age!) and he thinks
about it, and figures it out. Plumber used 3/4" pipe and a 1/2" hose
bib, but sweated a coupler across both. Coupler would be flush with
stucco wall. So, now I have a torch and plumbing kit, a new 3/4"
sweat to male thread, and a new 3/4" hose bib.
So, now I have a new adventure - learning to sweat pipe! Any hints
and suggestions? Pipe is painted white - do I need to remove paint
first, or just burn it off with torch? How hard is it to sweat off a
coupler like this? Any advice will be appreciated!
There are lots of tutorials on-line that will help you with
the details of sweatig a joint (with photos, etc.). So, I'll
only concentrate on the stuff they tend to forget to tell you!
First things first. Some general things to know...
"Plumbing takes THREE trips". By my count, you've only made
*two*! So, plan on (at least) one more! :-/
Don't use a ball valve for a hose bibb or any other "rate
control" valve. A ball valve can only be used as a "stop"
(full on/full off). Operating it in any other position
will lead to erosion (aka valve failure) -- esp with
aggressive water! They are also problematic in that they
can be operated "too quickly" (think: "water hammer") which
can actually cause bits of plumbing and appliances to *fail*
[I suspect you have NOT purchased a ball valve so this shouldn't
apply to you]
Consider using a "boiler drain" instead of a hose bibb.
Most hose bibbs have the operating handle/knob oriented
parallel to the ground *or* at a 45 degree incline therefrom.
As the knob ends up very close to the wall of the house,
operating the knob with your hand ends up scraping your
knuckles against the side of the house. Not a big deal
if your house is clad in cedar shingles. But, a different
experience, entirely, when your knuckles are brushing up
against stucco!
As a rule of thumb, the diameter of the pipe determines
how far the pipe is intended to penetrate into fittings.
E.g., a 3/4" pipe will extend 3/4" into any fitting to
which it is intended to mate. You can skim A LITTLE if
need be (e.g., 5/8" if your pipe is 1/8" too short) but
Code wants this nominal penetration (and I tend to think
the folks who write the Code know more about this stuff
than I *ever* will -- so I just trust them!)
Give yourself room to work. Trying to sweat a joint
through a tiny hole in the wall is just not worth the
effort! Make the hole bigger and plan on fixing it
later. This will also improve your visibility so you
can check your work afterwards.
Have a pliers (I prefer needle nose for the sort of thing
you are doing as they don't have as much of "heat sink"
effect as, for example, gas pliers), wet rag (an old
wash cloth is ideal) and flux brush on hand (along with
solder, of course).
Wrap jaws of pliers with masking/duct tape to prevent them
from marring "finished" surfaces -- esp for softer metals
like the castings used for the hose bibbs, etc. I just
use the "wet rag" that I have on hand -- wrap it around
the fixture I am trying to tighten, then let jaws of pliers
or pipe wrench bite into *that* instead of the metal beneath.
Remove all paint first. Ideally, with solvent taking care
not to get stuff *into* the pipe as that's potable water
elsewhere in your house! (also, avoid having open flame
around when using any solvent -- most like to burn brightly!).
If solvent won't do the trick, emery cloth or steel wool
can be used. Just remember that copper is really soft
and it is easy to remove lots of metal without realizing it!
(you want to try to maintain the nominal O.D. of the pipe
for a good fit with the fitting you'll be attaching).
The sweet spot is located at the tip of the inner blue
flame from the torch. Don't be stingy with the propane
(make sure you have a reasonably sized flame) yet don't be
wasteful, either! Too large a flame can blow itself out!
Heat the *fitting*, not the pipe! Fitting will expand
making it easier to remove from the pipe. When soldering,
this action will serve to draw solder into the gap between
the pipe and the fitting. Apply solder to the gap between
pipe and fitting. You may find it helpful to bend the
last few inches of the ROLLED solder into a 'J' shape
so you can apply it to the "back side" of this fitting
(as you will be "outside" looking in). Solder is a handy
tool for telling if the *old* solder has liquified, yet
(when removing old fitting).
Don't use pliers until the instant before you want to
remove fitting as they will draw LOTS of heat away
from the part and cause heated solder to resolidify.
Things cool off quickly so have everything ready before
you get started. E.g., don't start heating the fitting
and *then* go looking for a pair of pliers. Of course,
"cool off" is entirely relative. You'll find that things
cool down to the point where the solder resolidifies
very quickly! But, seem to take an eternity to cool
to the point where they are safe to touch! :<
When removing an existing fitting, you have to pull
"straight" off as if you get it cocked it will bind and
probably cool off enough to reattach itself in this
new orientation (cuz you probably can't keep the torch on
the fixture *while* you are pulling it off). As soon as the
pliers touch the work, it will begin to RAPIDLY cool!
[You want to avoid putting too much heat into that area
because you risk heating the pipe *behind* it and having
THAT come off in the process. Then you have a bigger task:
replacing a fitting that's even further inside the wall!]
When fitting has been removed, you can EASILY reheat the
end of the pipe to reliquify any remaining solder. This
can be brushed off with the flux brush. Or, wiped off
with the wet rag (but you need to use a very fast motion
as the rag cools the pipe very quickly causing the solder
to resolidify). Emery cloth and/or steel wool will knock
down any fine high spots to allow the new fitting to slide
on.
At least once -- probably several times! -- during this
sort of operation, you will be *sorely* tempted to reach
out with your hand and grab the work. Resist this
temptation. You will yield to it AT MOST *once*. Thereafter,
the sound of melting flesh will be indelibly etched into
your memory -- along with the pain that accompanies it
a few ohnoseconds later!
Oh, and did I mention DON'T TOUCH THE HEATED PART(s)? Or,
put them anywhere that won't appreciate their latent heat??
(e.g., don't have your pets snooping around behind you
while you're working)
----
As for your specific situation...
I'd reconsider the choice of "male adapter" in favor of a
*female* adapter and a male hose bibb (or, boiler drain,
as I suggested) to mate with it.
When your house was originally plumbed, the plumber could
easily access the pipe & fitting from EACH side of the wall!
So, he could position the bibb on the pipe *exactly* where
he wanted it (i.e., so the hose bibb was flush against the
exterior of the house -- even if the exterior wasn't in
place, yet!). Then, sweat the joint and move on...
In your case, you are planning to sweat the male adapter
onto the pipe (once you've removed the coupler that is
there, currently). Then, you are going to screw the (female)
bibb onto this.
But, you there is *one* spot where the bibb will be mated
adequately to the male adapter. You'll have to ensure
the male garden hose (MGH) connection is pointed *down*.
And, that the bibb is screwed on "enough" that the join
between bibb and adapter won't leak (leaks INSIDE walls
are big problems).
So, here's the problem: you are going to solder that
male adapter onto the pipe. This will place the end
of the adapter at some point in space relative to the
outer surface of your house. If too far out, then
you won't be able to snug the hose bibb up against the
house "tight" (bibb probably wants to be fastened to
the house mechanically). If not far enough out, then
the bibb will bottom out against the wall of your house
before the threaded connection is tight enough.
You can try to do a dry run of this by threading the bibb
onto the fitting *before* sweating the fitting onto the
pipe. Then, slide this assembly onto the cleaned end
of the pipe to see where things settle out. If all is
well, you can note the orientation of the male adapter
(i.e., if you rotate it 180 degrees, then the bibb
won't fit the same!) wrt "top" and remove it from the
bibb prior to sweating it onto the pipe.
If you have to cut the pipe to get the assembly to fit
flush against the house, then you'll probably need a
"tight fit" pipe cutter. These are very small -- not
the traditional style that requires several inches of
clearance to "swing around" the pipe. But, they are a real
PITA to use -- esp on larger dia pipes!
If you have to extend the pipe to get the assembly to
fully engage the pipe, then you'll have to lengthen the
pipe. Or, hunt around for a different fixture that might
let you kludge a solution!
[If you have to extend the pipe, make sure you debur the
ends of any new pieces that you *cut* prior to adding
them. Otherwise you can end up with an annoying "whistle"
and, potentially, "pinholing" of the pipe itself as
the turbulence eats away at it. Type L pipe is always
preferable to type M -- heavier.]
When faced with this decision, here, I opted to terminate
each pipe with a *female* adapter. Both male and female
adapters look like large hex nuts. This allows you to
put a backing wrench on the adapter to keep *it* from
rotating (or being torqued!) as you screw the mating
device onto/into it -- with another wrench!
For a hose bibb with a "skirt" that hides the hole in the
wall, you can't access this "nut" while you are screwing
the hose bibb onto the (male) adapter. This puts strain
on the pipe and adapter (big deal! just don't go all
King Kong and you shouldn't have a problem)
With a *female* adapter, I could "set" the adapter into the
wall such that *just* the "nut" portion protruded from the
wall. Then, use a *male* hose bibb that I could screw
into this adapter WHILE HOLDING THE ADAPTER IN PLACE WITH
A BACKING WRENCH.
[As I said, I used boiler drains -- which are inherently
"male" (think "hot water heater drain valve") -- so the
knobs ended up parallel to the house instead of inclined
into it (or normal to it!)]
No idea what sort of mechanical issues you will face. A
"hose connection" (bibb, boiler drain, etc.) sees a fair
bit of mechanical stress so you want to be sure the pipe
and "faucet" are supported well. In my case, this is
set in concrete so it's not going anywhere. If you
are dealing with stucco over wood framing, you may want
to look at the more conventional bibbs as they have a
means of mounting the "skirt" to the structure of the
house.
As with most projects, if you get tired/frustrated, stop
and tackle it later when you've a clearer head. You
don't want to burn the house down because you were sloppy!
Or, melt some wires in the wall, etc.
Most important piece of information: plan on doing this
early in the day (but AFTER your main water needs have
been satisfied) so you can make one (or three) trips to
the store before darkness sets in! (or the stores close)
I'll try to find a photo of what I did to give you an idea.
And, of course, you can always *ask* for clarification! :>
(I use lots of words in the hope of being clear -- yet seem
to always take something for granted that leaves others
confused :< )
--don
