How To Solder

Many ambitious do-it-yourselfers shy away from soldering their copper Ceramic Coating plumbing connections, because of frustrating earlier attempts, fear of burning down their house, or someother negative connotation. Use the following steps to experience professional results.
You will need:Roll of lead-free solderCan of soldering pasteFlux brushSand paperPropane torchCloth rag
Step 1Putting the joint together.
After familiarizing yourself with the various fittings, you will find that there is always a male end of a connection (the pipe or a fitting where one side it is the size of the pipe) and a female end (the "hub" portion of a fitting that a piece of pipe fits into).
There will always be a male and female end being soldered together.
If this is not new construction, then you will have to drain the water out of the system, or at least from the general proximity of the area you are going to be assembling Teflon Coating your new installation. If there is water close by, there will be steam present as you are heating your joint, which will make it almost impossible for you to make a water tight connection. The steam can blow the solder right out of the joint and make it very difficult to get the joint hot enough to get the solder to run.
Step 2Prepping the joint.

Using plumber's tape or sand paper, "clean" the male end of your connection by applying the sandpaper to as much of the pipe or fitting as is going to fit into the hub female end. On 1/2" I.D. pipe, 1/2" of the pipe will slide into the female side, so clean off 3/4" of the end of the pipe making it look very shiny.
Next, using a wire fitting brush -- or for bigger fittings, a piece of sandpaper wrapped around your finger -- clean out the inside of the female end of the fitting, also making it look shiny.
Taking your flux brush, dabble it into the can of acid flux, then apply a coating to both of the shiny ends, the outside of the male end and the inside of the female end.
Step 3Applying the solder.
Unwind about 12" to 16" of solder from the roll and make an "L" shape at the end of it so the leg of the L is 3" or so. Push your male and female ends together and then Non Stick Coatings start applying heat from your torch to the hub of the fitting. The amount of time it will take for attaining the necessary temperature will vary, depending on the size of the pipe and the size of the nozzle on your torch, but 1/2" pipe will heat up in 10 to 15 seconds generally. After applying the heat to the joint for a few seconds, you can take your solder and start to touch the end of it to the joint at the opposite side that you are applying the heat to.
When setting the dial on your torch, adjust for a conical light blue flame within the larger blue flame. Apply the tip of the inner blue cone to the joint as this is the hottest point of the flame.