Wankel
Member
I am trying to join two twenty-five lengths of 3/8" od soft refrigeration tubing to make an immersion wort chiller and am not having much luck.
I clean the ends of the tubing with emery cloth until shiny, ditto the inside of the coupler, apply flux to all surfaces to be joined, wipe excess flux, torch the coupling with a propane torch for about 30 seconds until I get a green flame coming from the other side of the coupling but when I apply solder, it beads and does not run into the joint.
I have gone through six couplers and twelve bum joints and know my limits. Before I take the pieces of tubing to a plumber, are there any other ways of joining tubing to make a leak proof fitting? The only alternative I can think of is a compression fitting which I'm not convinced would be leakproof over time. Plus it has nooks and crannies which might make the joint hard to clean.
Or should I forget about joining tubing to make a wort chiller and just bite the bullet for a 50 foot coil? Even with a good brazed joint, there might still be some twisting on the joint as the cooler is moved.
Thanks...
I clean the ends of the tubing with emery cloth until shiny, ditto the inside of the coupler, apply flux to all surfaces to be joined, wipe excess flux, torch the coupling with a propane torch for about 30 seconds until I get a green flame coming from the other side of the coupling but when I apply solder, it beads and does not run into the joint.
I have gone through six couplers and twelve bum joints and know my limits. Before I take the pieces of tubing to a plumber, are there any other ways of joining tubing to make a leak proof fitting? The only alternative I can think of is a compression fitting which I'm not convinced would be leakproof over time. Plus it has nooks and crannies which might make the joint hard to clean.
Or should I forget about joining tubing to make a wort chiller and just bite the bullet for a 50 foot coil? Even with a good brazed joint, there might still be some twisting on the joint as the cooler is moved.
Thanks...