View Single Post
Old 04-21-09, 06:03 PM   #28
Hugh Jim Bissel
Helper EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 30
Thanks: 0
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by AC_Hacker View Post
Regarding temperature levels, all I have to go on is what I've read, and the suggested heat of the heat iron is Minimum = 400°F; Optimum = 425°F; Maximum = 450°F.

But in your experience, you had good results with 500°F?
I'll have to look when I get home to see what the recommended temp was, but it was in the 450-500 range. From issues we had with the socket iron it seemed the temperature could vary a good bit as long as the time was adjusted: ie higher temperature & shorter time within limits (that was the issue we had: I think the thermostat died, so the heater was always on and went up to like 650+. we replaced it as soon as we could, but as I recall we still could do the welds, just had to drop the time down)

That 425 should be fine. Your time will be a bit longer, but as long as it's a good bit above melting temperature (which sounded like it was about 300 from your previous posts) you should be fine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AC_Hacker View Post
I'm making pretty good progress with my welding tools. It looks like butt welding equipment isn't going to be so difficult, but I don't even know what a socket welder even looks like yet.
There's not much to a socket weld kit: the iron has "socket faces" bolted to it: basically a female end the pipe goes in, and a male end that goes in the socket joint. the only other special equipment is "cold rings" basically vise grips with a half circle the size of the pipe welded to each jaw: this is basically a depth stop on the pipe to keep it from going too far into the face on the iron or into the joint. The overall idea is similar to gluing PVC together, the differences are that instead of gluing, you put both parts on the iron for the specified time, then pull them off the iron and push them together. The theory sounds easy, but when you're trying to get a 2" fitting off the iron and onto the pipe, two people or something solid to push against are mandatory!

In your case, you're probably just going up and down each borehole in series: therefore you won't need any tees, whereas all our wells were in parallel (since each was 250' down), so each well teed off a horizontal line. Loooots of fittings. My friend and I drove each other crazy welding endless fittings in the bottom of 4' trenches in the heat of Texas summer! Its a miracle I'm still sane (though that could have been debated even before that ordeal)
Hugh Jim Bissel is offline   Reply With Quote