Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Would this be good enough to use??, also is 85g enough for a shotty and 2 90 degree bends with a few reducers with one 90degree bend being soldered to my existing T500 column which is stainless steel ?

Bunnings description is follows...

This Tradeflame Solder wire and flux kit brings both Silver Bearing Solder and Lead Free Flux together in one handy package. The kit includes 85g soldering wire, and self cleaning soldering paste flux and flux brush and cloth.

Suitable for a range of plumbing applications including Copper pipes and hot water heaters.

3mm silver bearing soldering wire
Ideal for copper pipes and hot water heaters
Complete with Plumbing Solder, Plumbing Flux, Brush and Cloth

That crap is pretty average, I wasn't a fan of the paste, it burned a lot on me
Bakers/eziweld 801 liquid flux and aquasafe solder is the best combo I found
Also if you're going through a learning curve and wasted a bit like I did, I went through 2 of those small rolls quickly and eventually just bought a big one of Aquasafe and it should last me ages

I can't tell you if that stuff is any good cause i haven't used it but it does say lead free so i guess it's ok (I think it was mentioned in one of the soldering threads but can't find it at the moment ). I've been thinking of changing to it because the bernzomatic stuff is getting harder to find but if you look hard enough you can still get it. I found my last lot at "home" hardware if you have one of those close also i saw it at a tool shop the other day.

It's personal preference but i prefer the paste flux over the liquid by a long way cause the solder follows the flux so i find i end up with a mess when i use liquid. For a beginner i would definitely recommend the paste. If you find the flux is turning black it generally means it is too hot. Avoid putting the flame directly on the flux, heat the pipe either side of it.

Good luck mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Cheers guys. I might give it a go. if it doesn't work the best then Ive only lost $27 and my time

woodduck wrote:I can't tell you if that stuff is any good cause i haven't used it but it does say lead free so i guess it's ok (I think it was mentioned in one of the soldering threads but can't find it at the moment ). I've been thinking of changing to it because the bernzomatic stuff is getting harder to find but if you look hard enough you can still get it. I found my last lot at "home" hardware if you have one of those close also i saw it at a tool shop the other day.

It's personal preference but i prefer the paste flux over the liquid by a long way cause the solder follows the flux so i find i end up with a mess when i use liquid. For a beginner i would definitely recommend the paste. If you find the flux is turning black it generally means it is too hot. Avoid putting the flame directly on the flux, heat the pipe either side of it.

Good luck mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Have a look at this link, they sell a fair few bernzomatic products and deliver by post for bugger all :handgestures-thumbupleft: https://www.masters.com.au/product/900001632/bernzomatic-water-soluble-plumbing-flux-brush-kit-28g.jsp

Ive read a lot about people using Bernzomatic so i looked on masters. I have one of those just as close as Bunnings at tingalpa so that's good. Ill need the flux and solder so Im wondering if i can get a thumbs up for Bernzomatic Plumbing Soldering Kit which is silver bearing and lead free.

This is also a learning curve for me so i would like to go the easiest product to learn with. I have a pinpoint propane torch so i don't think ill burn much once i learn.
Sorry for asking so many questions. Just want to get my information right the first time for my shopping list :wave:

:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks woodduck :smile:

Ok so I have started on my 2" RC with 5 inner 1/2" tubes. Thought i would put it together a different way this time to try and maximise the length of 1/2" i have and to have the outter pipe longer than the inners with the ends. I had a limited suply of 1/2" and to get 5 1/2" tubes i had to cut them all at 107mm for a 100mm RC.

First go on the first end i did looked awesome to me. Solder all around the joints. Felt easy to. Then last night i tried the other end and had a problem. It seems that all the joints worked but one. Tried refluxing and soldering but this didn't work and i took blondchaps advice from his soft solder tutorial and gave up until i clean it. Considering i have it all together and just have one inner end joint to solder, is there another way i can solder the join without taking the pipe out completely to re-clean the edges. I figure this will be hard as the other end has already got a good solder joint so if i take it out i have to heat up both ends and remove it. Is this what i should do or is there another way to solder it?

Just dont want to destroy any other joints. Thinking now, should i just remove the whole end with the one bad joint and just start again on this end? hmm what a waste of solder if i do this :angry-banghead:

Its been sitting in citric acid since 11:00pm last night to clean it up before i get to it

Any advice is MUCH appreciated :D

Here you can see the end with no solder flowing through it


Cheers
WTD

Just pulled the whole thing apart to start again. Couldn't knock of an end without distorting the whole thing :angry-banghead:
All the solder from both ends loosened up, prob because its so close

Has anyone used this solder in their copper stills?
with this flux?

Just looking at what to buy when i run out of bernzomatic

That's the usual combo everyone uses and what I suggested earlier in the thread
Admittedly using the stick is a little more difficult because it's a largeish diameter, so it's a little hard to get small amounts into corners and whatnot
This stuff is a little more easy to work with, but 4 times the price, the upside is it will last you a LONG time
http://www.bunnings.com.au/consolidated ... -_p5060362

I use a glass eyedropper with the liquid flux, that way I can squirt/drop it exactly where I want

Thanks sp0rk. I realized after i posted that it was mentioned up and i checked but it was already past my edit time. Ill try the bakers and maybe the stick. Id prefer the roll but dont think the minister if finances will let me buy that :-x

Strange their first pic is a roll of soft solder and not a stick 8-}

Ive got some white out/liquid paper so if i get the stick ill make sure i use this to save on wasting the stick. I haven't run out yet but if i make another mistake then i will most likely need more solder. Strange my flux has lasted longer than my solder 8-}

Start with tight joins
Only clean where you want the solder to go
Be meticulous
Mask off with liquid paper to limit the spread of excess solder
The thickness or width of the finished solder does not indicate a good join just wasted solder
Lap joins (the type we use mostly with solders) get their strength from flowing from one side/edge of the join to the other, pulled as it were, by the canny application of heat. "Sweating" the solder was how my tradesman explained it to me
If your "solder" type requires flux only put the flux where you want the solder to go ie the part you prepped earlier
Do not direct your flame directly at the prepped area as you will immediately have flux blowing around. let it heat up from conduction
Go slow at first until you understand how copper conducts heat and the quirks of your heat source
This applies to hard solders as well

Is the same solder used for copper-stainless as copper-copper? And just the flux changes with soft solder?

That's right, same solder different flux :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks :handgestures-thumbupleft: Also what sort of shelf life does flux have does it become non viable quickly or last for ages in a sealed container? wondering what size container to get...

I'm not 100% sure but i wouldn't imagine it would go off. The paste will dry up if you leave it open but the liquid would last for years i suspect.

Got some bakers flux and a roll of the aquasafe had a play today and got done what I can waiting to hear from mac about some stuff i need so i can place an order before I can proceed got my leiberg condenser and couple of joins on the 2 inch pipe done. Im still rough as guts but slowly getting the hang of it...My flux for copper to stainless is on the way from boc gas

what flux is needed for copper to stainless? i need to soft solder a ring to my T500 column for a flange. Will Bernzomatic flux do the job of do i need something different?
Should i just braze a ring on to ss column :think: