How to Solder Pipes with water and in them: Everything you need to know

 

Do you want to know how to sweat pipe with water in it using a Jet Swet tool?

 
When you have a little bit of water flowing through a pipe, you cannot sweat the pipe.  Further upstream there is a leaking valve that will not shut off completely to stop the water.
 
If you have ever tried to sweat a pipe with water in it, it simply will not work.  The water will heat up, turn to steam and the pipe will never get hot enough to apply solder.
 

The Bread Trick

 
An old trick is to use some white bread and jam it in the pipe to stop the water flow.  If you are fast enough, the leak is small and can solder on a connection, you may be in business.  Also, it helps to be a seasoned plumber with 20+ years of experience. For everyday DIY’s, the rest of the bread eventually breaks down and flows through the pipe.  
 
 

Jet Swet Tool

 
For pipes where water is flowing a little too much, the Jet Swet tool is the perfect solution.  This tool is about 12” long and has a compressible rubber stopper at the end of it which expands inside the pipe to stop the water.

Be Prepared to get a little wet

 
This can get a little messy, but in the end it will all work out.  Start by making sure you have all of your tools in place along with some rags and towels.  Read the rest of this article through so you know what to expect.
 
Things you will need:
  • Towels and Rags
  • Torch
  • Solder, Flux, emory cloth 
  • A Full Port Valve (same size pipe you are fixing)
  • A couple of adjustable wrench
  • Pipe Cutter
 
Start by turning off the valve upstream of where you are working on the pipe.  Hopefully you will have a small amount of water coming through and not at full pressure.
 
Once you turned off the water, cut the pipe you are going to replace.  The water will come out steadily. 
 
 

Stopping the water

 
Insert the Jet Swet Tool in the pipe, flip the handle to 90 degrees so you can grip it with one hand and tighten the bolt at the end with an adjustable wrench. 
 
The little rubber stopper at the end will be compressed and create a temporary stopper. 
 
From there, straighten out the handle and prep clean the pipe with an emory cloth and flux.  Slide over the full port valve.   and sweat the joint.
 



Remove the Jet Swet Tool

Once the joint is cleaned and cooled, you can loosen the nut on the tool and remove it from the pipe.  You can now shut the water off with the ball valve you just installed.

Mission accomplished.  When I did this with an existing leak, I was really concerned that this would not work as expected because I had a fairly steady stream of water coming through, but once I used this Jet Swet tool and stopped the water, I was really impressed at how simple this thing worked.

Hopefully you learned a little something from this article.  Good Luck.

Thanks for Reading,

Scottie

 

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Remove the Jet Swet Tool

Once the joint is cleaned and cooled, you can loosen the nut on the tool and remove it from the pipe.  You can now shut the water off with the ball valve you just installed.

Mission accomplished.  When I did this with an existing leak, I was really concerned that this would not work as expected because I had a fairly steady stream of water coming through, but once I used this Jet Swet tool and stopped the water, I was really impressed at how simple this thing worked.

Hopefully you learned a little something from this article.  Good Luck.

Thanks for Reading,

Scottie

 

Home

 

 

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