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rbsc wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 10:54 am

squigglefunk wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 7:31 am hey man it looks great, as long as there's no leaks and it's lead free solder you did good.

Hate to say it but I’m almost assuming there will be some leaks. I feel like I used way too much solder because it was dripping and globbing up in some places, but once it dried I could see some tiny little gaps. Oh well, part of the process.

not saying it's the right way, but when I had a few tiny leaks on a couple joints, I put more flux on there and reheated, sealed mine up. You prob already have enough solder in there

worst case you take it apart, sand it down, clean it well and try again!

squigglefunk wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 11:14 am

rbsc wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 10:54 am

squigglefunk wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 7:31 am hey man it looks great, as long as there's no leaks and it's lead free solder you did good.

Hate to say it but I’m almost assuming there will be some leaks. I feel like I used way too much solder because it was dripping and globbing up in some places, but once it dried I could see some tiny little gaps. Oh well, part of the process.

not saying it's the right way, but when I had a few tiny leaks on a couple joints, I put more flux on there and reheated, sealed mine up. You prob already have enough solder in there

worst case you take it apart, sand it down, clean it well and try again!

Well that’s good to know, I thought it was an automatic disassemble and try again. Thanks!

rbsc wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:44 pmI thought it was an automatic disassemble and try again. Thanks!

Lots of ways to patch a crummy joint. If just reheating doesn't get it, clean up what you can get to and get a good ring of solder and it will probably do. Pressure is in range of inches of water not psi.

Cup fittings are pretty forgiving unless you roasted the flux on one they'll be good.

Assemble it on a U and fill it with water if you want an easy leak test.

If you have to redo a joint it's not a mistake, it's a learning experience!

Looks great .
Just make sure you flip the condenser so the hoses hang down . Otherwise the warm water on the exit softens the hose causing it to kink and stop flow .

Can’t believe I didn’t think to do a water test. Tiny little leak but overall I’m calling it a win as it was at the biggest joint (two inch elbow to the reducer) so looks easy to fix. Can’t believe the rest of them held. And thanks for the hoses down tip, great point.

You did an excellent job! Especially with your skill level!
Welcome to the club!

Yummyrum wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 3:09 pm ust make sure you flip the condenser so the hoses hang down . Otherwise the warm water on the exit softens the hose causing it to kink and stop flow .

Or have the hoses hanging higher than the inlet/outlet level. which provides a level of extra safety in the cause of lose of water flow..

Mars

StillerBoy wrote: ↑Sat Oct 08, 2022 12:01 am

Yummyrum wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 3:09 pm ust make sure you flip the condenser so the hoses hang down . Otherwise the warm water on the exit softens the hose causing it to kink and stop flow .

Or have the hoses hanging higher than the inlet/outlet level. which provides a level of extra safety in the cause of lose of water flow..

Mars

Sure you can hang hoses , but they must be supported so they can’t collapse and bend on the thing that is elevating them …. IE hang them over a Large radius .

Mars , what scenario are you thinking about when you say “which provides a level of extra safety in the cause of lose of water flow..”

Yummyrum wrote: ↑Sat Oct 08, 2022 1:03 am Mars , what scenario are you thinking about when you say “which provides a level of extra safety in the cause of lose of water flow..”

If one is using water from a municipal system, then one can be reasonably sure of having a constance water flow going to the condenser.. but there are many who run off reservoir system with an electric pump, and if the pump stops for whatever reason, with the water flow hoses setup higher than the condenser level, the water will not be completely drained out of the condenser if such an event were to occur..

Mars

I know you guys were hoping this thread was dead forever, but I have one more. Lesson learned. That little spot I tried to patch up with more flux and solder was bubbling during my spirit run just now. Craziest thing, just happened to notice it, put the mirror and light right above and below it and there was no condensation. So I’m not even sure it was truly leaking, but shut it all down just to be safe. I guess I have to take the whole thing apart and reflux, question is do I have to completely redo the entire vinegar and sacrificial runs after that? Or is one tiny little patch spot not enough for that? Thanks again, everyone

Edit: never mind. Damn thing won’t come apart but the small one next to it did so, yeah, basically starting over.

Tough luck! It's a chance to get better at fabrication though. Keep at it, as long as you don't give up you will succeed.

rbsc wrote: ↑Sun Oct 30, 2022 12:42 pm Craziest thing, just happened to notice it, put the mirror and light right above and below it and there was no condensation. So I’m not even sure it was truly leaking, but shut it all down just to be safe.

The reason you didn't notice anything on the mirror was because the leak what not an open space directly in the vapor path.. and it was distillate traveling from an open space within the soldered joint which came out as liquid cause it had time to cool down..

Mars

Ben wrote: ↑Tue Nov 01, 2022 6:57 am Tough luck! It's a chance to get better at fabrication though. Keep at it, as long as you don't give up you will succeed.

Man, it’s been quite the journey. I did a crappy job of taking the joint apart, apparently I put way too much heat to it, and somehow changed the damn chemistry of the metals, and they just completely fused. So I had to completely take it apart, cut the column, order a new elbow, and so on. The first few times I got about the same result where I had leaks when I checked it with water. I realized I was using way too much solder, I just thought you had to fill every little crack to where solder was visible all around the joint, and I’m sure I was applying heat to it way too long in order to make that happen. I finally found a video that said for a 2 inch pipe you need two inches of solder and so on, I did that and made myself quit at that point and not use any more. Running now and so far everything looks perfect.

StillerBoy wrote: ↑Tue Nov 01, 2022 10:02 am

rbsc wrote: ↑Sun Oct 30, 2022 12:42 pm Craziest thing, just happened to notice it, put the mirror and light right above and below it and there was no condensation. So I’m not even sure it was truly leaking, but shut it all down just to be safe.

The reason you didn't notice anything on the mirror was because the leak what not an open space directly in the vapor path.. and it was distillate traveling from an open space within the soldered joint which came out as liquid cause it had time to cool down..

Mars

Now that makes sense, thank you for the explanation.

Glad to hear everything is looking up!
Hopefully it will serve you for a long time to come!