View Single Post
Old 09-29-20, 03:52 PM   #8
Bicycle Bob
Suncatcher
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Spiritwood, Northern Saskatchewan
Posts: 42
Thanks: 0
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default Off-grid soldering

My dad used a gasoline blow torch for plumbing. For more delicate work, he'd heat up large lump of copper on a long handle with a pyramid tip. It had plenty of heat for large wires, and was fine for small ones too, clearance permitting.
I like using a jet butane torch where it won't burn things. As always, both parts have to be heated evenly, compensating for any difference in size, etc. Cleanliness matters a lot - watch out for clear shellac and non-metallic fibers in a bundle. Flux only helps if things are very close to clean, but I always use it.
Before Mars connectors, electricians would twist wires together, and leave them hanging down in groups so that they could all be soldered by a small bath of molten solder on a handle. If you see soldered and taped connections in old buildings, that's how they were done.
BTW, silver soldering is actually easier, because the flux is better and you can see the temperatures by the red glow. I once used it to replace the tip of a faucet stem, and saved a whole integrated porcelain sink and countertop that needed the obsolete style.
Bicycle Bob is offline   Reply With Quote