electric soldering iron

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My DH has a big electric soldering iron and says it will heat 1/2 inch copper pipe enough to solder (for in house water supply line). Is this going to work or do I need to go get a propane torch before we even start this project?
 
I'd side with Mike. Soldered all my life and even big Bertha, my 500 watts iron, could not properly heat copper pipe well enough. And 500 watts is a lot, never seen a bigger version.

Regards, Joerg.
 
Thing to remember is that you have to heat the pipe and fitting to the point that the solder will flow when touch to the hot copper. I seriously doubt that there is an electric soldering iron that will do that, and even if there was, it would be extremely slow.
 
solder

They make electric soldering devices, but they are a lot bigger than any soldering gun. They also heat from both sides of the fitting, which a soldering gun will not, and cannot, do. I hope that joint is not buried in the wall, because it might be very marginal as far as its integrity is concerned.
 
I wish you luck with the joint, but I sure wouldn't bet the cost of a torch and a trip to the hardware store that the joint will hold. Murphy's Law is likely to kick in, probably when you are gone on a 3 day trip, and you will discover that the solder didn't flow deeply into the joint.
 
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