introduction
Soldering joints is a great idea; it makes strong, leak proof joints, and once mastered it's fairly straight forward and produces consistently good results.
But it is tricky to master, requires some expensive materials, precise technique and specialist equipment, so let's break that down into sections and reflect on each in turn.
But it is tricky to master, requires some expensive materials, precise technique and specialist equipment, so let's break that down into sections and reflect on each in turn.
MATERIALS
Soldering stainless to stainless requires some specific materials, which are very different from that you may use to joint brass/copper parts of your brewery.
- The flux needs to be stainless specific. Stainless flux is very aggresive , its role is both to remove the oxidation that forms on stainless and promote flow of the solder into the joint. It's unpleasant to use, aggressive enough to eat away at stainless and eye wateringly expensive.
- The solder needs to be lead free and contain 4-8% silver, so clearly expensive!
- You also need a COMPLETELY stainless rotary wire brush or a dedicated flap wheel
- Much cheaper are single use pippettes - you generally have to buy in bulk, but at 3p each it's good news!
- Joints need to be spotless and grease free; acetone is required here. 5l costs £15-19 off Ebay and is great for cleaning components before applying liquid PTFE too.
Silver Solder Kits
This kit contains all you need to make silver solder joints.
It comprises 100ml of stainless steel specific flux, 100 cm of 1.2 mm thick silver solder, 30 cm of 1.6mm silver solder, five pipettes and 100ml of acetone.
This amount is sufficient to make all the connections in a large three vessel build.
It comprises 100ml of stainless steel specific flux, 100 cm of 1.2 mm thick silver solder, 30 cm of 1.6mm silver solder, five pipettes and 100ml of acetone.
This amount is sufficient to make all the connections in a large three vessel build.
