After a reasonable degree of research and trepedation I sweated my first copper joints last weekend as part of a bathroom overhaul. All appears to have gone well as the 6 joints have shown no signs of leaking since connection to the water supply. Everthing worked great the first time which scares me based on some of the horror stories I have read.
Even though everything appears to be fine I am still nervous that two days after I get the walls drywalled, sealed, and tiled that a joint is going to blow.
When working with copper pipe does passing the 'leak test' provide a reasonable degree of confidence that the joint is strong and will last? I am preparing to sweat quite a few joints as part of a Grohe customer shower install and want to do my due diligence in making sure I am doing all I can to provide long lasting joints.
On a separate note, I have read many people suggest that MAPP is much easier to deal with than propane when sweating joints. When using propane I felt like I was leaving the flame on the joint for too long and "burning" the joint yet if I didn't leave it on there I felt like I wasn't establishing enough heat to get the solder going. I am definitely willing to burn another $40 or so and go MAPP if it provides additional ease or benefit. Any thoughts?
Even though everything appears to be fine I am still nervous that two days after I get the walls drywalled, sealed, and tiled that a joint is going to blow.
When working with copper pipe does passing the 'leak test' provide a reasonable degree of confidence that the joint is strong and will last? I am preparing to sweat quite a few joints as part of a Grohe customer shower install and want to do my due diligence in making sure I am doing all I can to provide long lasting joints.
On a separate note, I have read many people suggest that MAPP is much easier to deal with than propane when sweating joints. When using propane I felt like I was leaving the flame on the joint for too long and "burning" the joint yet if I didn't leave it on there I felt like I wasn't establishing enough heat to get the solder going. I am definitely willing to burn another $40 or so and go MAPP if it provides additional ease or benefit. Any thoughts?