Analysis of package cracking during reflow soldering process makoto kitano, asao nishimura, sueo kawai. The water has contaminated the surfaces, and there is little chance that you could successfully get solder to flow where it needs to to make a seal. Expert panel responses that solder joint appears to have been defective from the getgo. Soldering vertical copper pipe originally posted by pine. One joint had a pinhold leak, now i cant heat that joint hot enough to separate it, reclean it and try to resolder it. Resolder copper pipe after water leaked plumbing ask. If you are getting sprays of water parallel with the pipe right at the fitting than you have to resolder. Jul 01, 2015 this is one of the most typical failures in consumer electronics devices. Cold solder joints are a failure of the molten solder metal to wet to one or more surfaces. But there are a couple tips to keep in mind to make it work right the first time. Now im replacing it with a new piece of pipe and two standard slip joints one on either end. Ive been fitting some pipe this weekend using presoldered joints, and out of the 20 i fitted i have one that is leaking a crossover. I wanted to try before i did anything in the house. Water has seeped through small holes in the surface to react with the outside layer, causing circles of patina.
You need one hand for the tool and the other for the solder, so put the piece you re soldering into a small clamp or jig so it wont skitter around. Impact of cracking beneath solder pads in printed board. You may have a problem with the leaky joints in the cold water pipe, because once water enters a bad joint it contaminates the copper so the solder will not adhere to it, even though the surface of the joint where you put the solder is no longer leaking. Providing durable and reliable soldered joints in sheet. If the union is leaking from either solder joint, disconnect the union and heat the leaking joint to melt the solder.
Wrap the non leaking solder joint with a wet rag so you do not compromise it. This page introduces major causes and countermeasures of solder crack in mlccs multilayer ceramic chip capacitors. You need one hand for the tool and the other for the solder, so put the piece youre soldering into a small clamp or jig so it wont skitter around. You can even use solder to join copper or brass to stainless steel, you just need the proper flux. With manual hot air soldering, you generally dont want to blow on joints either. I bought a couple feet of pipe, some fittings, and the benzomatic kit which i know isnt the best, but works well for a diyer like me. How to sweat solder copper water pipes for a watertight seal. Apr 21, 2014 if youre new to soldering and even if youve been soldering for years youll likely run into some problems along the way, so lets take a look at some common soldering issues as well as ways of preventing and correcting such issues. How do we fix a leaking pipe that has already been soldered. After soldering, the board may have a rather large permanent warp, but the joints are in an almost stress free condition. What happens if you sweat pipe copper pipe without flux. Application of excess soldering flux during fabrication. Could selective soldering provide more consistent solder joints and thus reduce or eliminate the cracking.
Soldering with a propane torch is the easiest way to join copper and brass. I have a had great success in the past when resoldering joints in hard to get at places and the water will just not stop dripping. Originally posted by pine the key to soldering is heat. Weep from central heating soldered tee joint digital spy. I just cut down the pipe further in and resoldered a new length of pipe on the end. In that case the equipment handles that outright, and you shouldnt be in there altering the process. Application of excess soldering flux during fabrication of soldered joints has been found to be a significant cause of corrosion failures in copper water tube 16. Wave soldering defects cracked joint on a printed circuit board. Spots of green appearing on your copper pipe is an indication of pinhole leaks. While sealants can provide watertight integrity on steepsloped applications. Excessive joint clearance can lead to filler metals cracking under stress orvibration. When a dry joint is found, the solder on the joint should be removed and care taken when re soldering it to ensure that a good joint is made. You probably had just a small whisker of solder making the connection and after a year of vibration in. Id like to avoid this so i dont have to deal with acetone, but i dont want the joints failing for some reason.
The insidious problem with dry joints in soldering is that the circuit frequently performs alright for a period of time, even years before failure. Of course when youre doing reflow soldering, follow the recommended temperature profile. So a good torch with propylene gas is the best starting point to getting good solder joints in plumbing all the time. Analysis of package cracking during reflow soldering. In fact, a proper solder joint is less likely to leak than the rest of the copper. Failing solder joints, a cracked fitting or a combination of the two will lead to a. Failure in solder joints introduction summarising the information in. If youre in a pinch and need to quickly repair a leaking. This area is prone to rust and cracking after it is in service. Soldering, unjoining, and resoldering copper terry. The tool may cool off quickly, but a freshly soldered piece of metal does not. If you have a leaky joint and the joint leaks at the solder connection, you can resolder or. Large visible cracks and the insidious micro crack are usually blamed on the soldering process by component vendors and the components them selves by the users. The most common ways of making architectural sheet metal joints watertight are through the use of sealants or solder.
Mar 28, 2017 spots of green appearing on your copper pipe is an indication of pinhole leaks. So can someone tell me, with what type of solder wire or what product i can get nice shiny solder joints. Cracked sections of copper pipe are typically removed and replaced, or the crack is soldered shut. You can reduce the amount of visable flux by tinning the wires first with rosin flux solder, then solder the tinned wires to the connector terminals. Insert the pipe into the fitting and heat them with the torch. Wrap the nonleaking solder joint with a wet rag so you do not compromise it. Nov 12, 2018 as with many other problems, roger has seen it all before and has a solution, so here is our how to fix a creaking floorboard video and it only takes around. How to fix a slow leak in a copper pipe joint ehow. I recently had trouble soldering some 34 rigid copper pipe joints. I had the torch on that joint for over 20 minutes and the.
Common soldering problems adafruit guide to excellent. I retired over years ago, so i could be out of date on the subject. If youre new to soldering and even if youve been soldering for years youll likely run into some problems along the way, so lets take a look at some common soldering issues as well as ways of preventing and correcting such issues. I have a had great success in the past when re soldering joints in hard to get at places and the water will just not stop dripping. Major causes of solder cracks solder cracks on mlccs developed from severe usage conditions after going on the market and during manufacturing processes such as soldering. The solder should flow, not have to be coaxed into the joint. It must be dry when you do the soldering or it will leak. Discussion in plumbers talk started by dj01, jul 2, 2004. I should mention im soldering to a pcb and its the wire that tends to break, but sometimes i wind up with a sketchy, noisy, connection. Failing solder joints, a cracked fitting or a combination of the two will lead to a slow leak around joints in an installed copper plumbing system.
Resolder copper pipe after water leaked may 14, 2011 10. After soldering, the board may have a rather large permanent warp, but the joints are in an almost stress. This repair is for which many homeowners choose to call in a professional. Repair tiny holescratch in copper pipe home improvement stack. When the solder begins to boil, remove the torch and touch the tip of a coil of leadfree solder to the joint. The actual sources of cracks include both solder processing and to a lesser extent, defective components. Astm b828 describes the proper procedures for preparation and joining tube ends to fittings by soldering. Anyhow i have a question im sure many of you skilled electronics gurus will probably be able to answer. Wave soldering defects epec engineered technologies.
Both issues repair using the same methods as new copper installation with the exception of removing a damaged fitting. Thermal mismatch between ceramic ball grid array cgba components and organic printed boards not only causes fatigue of the solder joints when exposed to thermal changes, but may also cause cracking of the printed board laminate beneath solder pads. You need to get solder into the joint and from personal experience you cant re solder a leaking joint when there is water in the pipe even with a blowlamp, the joint just doesnt get hot enough, it will certainly never work with a tiny soldering iron. Keep in mind, in a 2 bath home there may be over 100 solder connections, most hidden from view. Shut off the water supply immediately to stop the flow of water. Once you do those two things, and provide a hot enough flame and allow for some way for the heated air to escape besides through the joint youre trying to solder then youre almost certain to bat in your soldering. Slip the union off, spread new flux and resolder it.
Troubleshooting brazing joints the harris products group. If you had happened to be using a rosin core silver solder that flux built into the. I had to hold the torch on the joint for 1015 minutes before the solder flowed. The pipe must be drained of residual water, clean the area and put a dab of flux at the leak spot. Hi jeff, i just watched your video about how to fix a copper pipewithout soldering and was wondering if you could enter me into the contest for a home repair kit.
Cracked joint on a printed circuit board wave soldering defects. With christys slickwrap pipe repair kit, you can quickly make permanent repairs without. Because all of these joints are really close together, you will probably have to redo them all. The problem cannot be fixed by repassivation so it is best to avoid excessively heating the parts. Repairs can occasionally be as simple as tightening mechanical pipe joints or resoldering copper pipe fittings, or as complex as removing entire sections of pipe and replacing them. A wetting failure is usually indicative of an oxide layer either on the board. How to fix a leaking brass union home guides sf gate. You wouldnt use hot air to solder two things you have hold still yourself. An improperly cleaned joint may appear to not leak because it is tight or a. Although copper is relatively unreactive, it is not immune to caustic conditions. Jan 17, 2017 cold solder joints are a failure of the molten solder metal to wet to one or more surfaces. Even then, it was not a good clean flow of solder into the joint. Using the emery cloth, sand about an inch up the ends of the copper pipe and make sure there is no dust or grease left.
If youre unfamiliar with soldering, youll be able to solder any. It is not very common for failures to occur today due to the experience and pre testing conducted by many leading electronics companies. Too much heat can melt the rest of the solder and cause a bigger leak. And yes, i now that dull joints were not a sign for a bad or even cold joint. Providing durable and reliable soldered joints in sheet metal. If you are getting pinhole leaks that spray water perpendicular to the pipe this might be the problem. As someone said earlier start soldering the joints furthest away from each other.
To resoldier use solder with flux, keep in mind to heat up a little, the termal mass of the connector needs a little time. The solder bond will be poor and the cracks may develop in the joint over time. Its in a tight spot and im wondering if it would be possible to fix without separating the joint. First just to say great work for those of you who actually show dital pics of installs,tools and fittings. Reliability of solder joints assembled with leadfree solder vmasayuki ochiai vtoshiya akamatsu vhidefumi ueda manuscript received february 12, 2002 to protect the natural environment, we will introduce the use of leadfree solder instead of the current tinlead solder in the assembly of printed circuit boards in electronics equipment. Making repairs to leaking galvanized or iron piping systems can require cutting and threading the pipe. Soldering leaking copper cold water supply line in laundry room. Lead free soldering and bad looking joints electrical. At first glance many solder joints appear to be quite o. Some of the more notable problems related contact soldering irons and solder wire with smt were.
How to fix a leaky copper pipe with putty home guides sf gate. Soldering provides reasonably permanent but reversible connections between copper pipes in plumbing systems as well as joints in sheet metal objects such as food cans, roof flashing, rain gutters and automobile radiators. The water has contaminated the surfaces, and there is little chance that you could successfully get solder to flow. May 14, 2011 re solder copper pipe after water leaked may 14, 2011 10. Architectural sheet metal components such as flatseam roofing and flashings must be joined properly to maintain durable and reliable watertight assemblies photo 1. Reliability of solder joints assembled with leadfree solder. I doubt you are making them too hot, it is too hot if you get the copper glowing orangered or if the pipe or fittings are deforming. Be careful when soldering near wood framing, many a house fire starts this way. Do not reuse your old copper fitting when you resolder the joint. Oct 01, 2014 architectural sheet metal installations are often subject to widely varying temperatures in service, and the resulting thermal stresses will expose any weakness in soldered joints, and will lead to cracking or failure of the joints. Of course you have to clean off both copper surfaces and use flux for lead free solder. Also when soldering them they appear to have a more granular appearance as the solder is melted. The problem is at some time you have to sweat a joint close to.
Ive been working on a lot of chevygmc instrument clusters lately and they tend to all have cracked solder joints on surface mount components, mainly the resistors. Heat up the fitting at the leak site and be ready to dab a small bit of additional solder to the joint. Hi in this article ill be thoroughly explaining how to solder copper pipe to get a nice leakfree joint. After soldering mic cable, do you clean the joints to remove excess rosin flux.
The photos that follow show some common soldering problems, with suggestions for repair and prevention. At a minimum you need to heat up the leaking joints and pull them apart, and then re solder them. However, if this board is then screwed into an enclosure, whilst being firmly forced flat, very large forces are exerted on the joints. Be careful when soldering near wood framing, many a house fire. At a minimum you need to heat up the leaking joints and pull them apart, and then resolder them. Once you do those two things, and provide a hot enough flame and allow for some way for the heated air to escape besides through the joint you re trying to solder then you re almost certain to bat in your soldering. Many cold joints such as the one pictured also suffer from too much solder. Once a joint is fluxed, you can leave it form months before soldering it.
This is one of the most typical failures in consumer electronics devices. Cracking of a solder joint on a plated through joint is uncommon. Do not re use your old copper fitting when you re solder the joint. Would be best resoldering if you know what youre doing. Soldering vertical copper pipe the key to soldering is heat. How to repair cracked or leaking pipes without cutting or. The joint has failed due to expansion and contraction of the lead in the joint. Soldering is used in plumbing, electronics, and metalwork from flashing to jewellery and musical instruments. Soldered copper joints cant stand in your way any more. My question is how do you sweat solder when the joints are vertical. Resoldering a bad solder joint on power connector youtube. How to repair copper pipe soldering home guides sf gate. The black pipes you see under your sink and in the basement are made with a plastic called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or abs. You need to get solder into the joint and from personal experience you cant resolder a leaking joint when there is water in the pipe even with a blowlamp, the.
The copper water pipe in my garage cracked, so i cut out the bad pipe, and got a new small copper pipe with. Cold joints can usually be repaired by simply re heating the joint with a hot iron until the solder flows. If youre looking for more information, we highly recommend stanleys. Spread flux on the outside of the pipe and inside of the fitting when both have cooled down and youve cleaned them. With a little practice it becomes very easy to make good solder joints. Cracking must be prevented to,marantee the reliability of the mounted devices. If brazing alloy does not flow into the joint, even though it melts and forms a fillet. Reheat the joint and add more solder to make a good strong joint. Resolder copper pipe after water leaked plumbing ask metafilter. Also, soldering fumes are definitely bad for your health, so ventilate. I have a major plumbing problem and havent been using the house plumbing. This problem even occurs with manufactured equipment. If the copper pipe you are dealing with is old enough the pipe may be eroded enough to be too thin to solder well. Jun 12, 2006 turn your water off dry it with towel.