Hose adapter soldering on IC

[leviticus]

So, I was soldering up my IC this evening (thanks for everyone who's posted their builds/instructions) .. When I was soldering on the garden hose adapters, they didn't take to the solder.

Is it possible that they are aluminum and aren't likely to take the solder? I was a little disappointed with the selection/price of the things in the plumbing section at HD... so I grabbed two 'repair' ones from the garden section.

Any input would be appreciated...

 

[Walker]

If you bought garden hose connections from the plumbing fittings area, they are made of brass. I believe you need a special kind of flux and solder in order to solder two different types of metal together.

If you bought them from the garden section, they are usually some sort of mystery alloy. I have no idea if you can solder those at all.

 

[DeafSmith]

I soldered brass hose-to-barb fittings to my copper IC using some lead free solder and flux which I had on hand with no problem. I used adapters with the barb ID just larger than the OD of the 3/8 copper tubing. I sand-papered the outside of the tubing and the inside of the barbs, applied the flux to both surfaces with a small brush, slipped the barbs over the outside of the tubing, and soldered with a propane torch - the solder bonded well to both the copper and the brass, making a strong, watertight joint.

The solder was Lennox WS15039 and the flux was Lennox WS78079, both purchased at Lowe's (they came as a kit, along with sandpaper and a brush).

 

[dmfa200]

I soldered brass hose-to-barb fittings to my copper IC using some lead free solder and flux which I had on hand with no problem. I used adapters with the barb ID just larger than the OD of the 3/8 copper tubing. I sand-papered the outside of the tubing and the inside of the barbs, applied the flux to both surfaces with a small brush, slipped the barbs over the outside of the tubing, and soldered with a propane torch - the solder bonded well to both the copper and the brass, making a strong, watertight joint.

The solder was Lennox WS15039 and the flux was Lennox WS78079, both purchased at Lowe's (they came as a kit, along with sandpaper and a brush).

I second that.
My process was exactly the same.
Got all my material and supplies from Home Depot.
The cleaner you get the fittings before applying the flux the better the solder will flow to join the parts.

 

[Walker]

I am more curious about what kind of metal his garden hose fitting is made of. He mentioned buying a garden hose repair kit, and I believe those are made of some mystery metal. The ones at my local Lowe's are really light in weight, so I assume that they are aluminum and maybe some brass (they're kind of yellow-ish in color).

 

[Bobby_M]

I think the ones in the hose area are made of "white metal" with a brass coating. You can definitely feel the weight difference.

 

[leviticus]

Seems Bobby is right... the adapters I got from the gardening section are MUCH lighter than any all-brass fitting would be. Also, once I drilled out the center to .5", it was a very 'silvery' metal - clearly a top coat of either brass or even a chemical compound of some sort.

But today, I learned that A) my Home Depot doesn't even stock the 5/8" garden hose adapters in all brass in the plumbing section & B) Lowe's does, but the one I was at was out of stock on the female one.

Should I expect any difficulty when soldering to the brass connections when I get them? I'm using flux, know the importance of cleaning all the connections, etc...

 

[Catt22]

I think the ones in the hose area are made of "white metal" with a brass coating. You can definitely feel the weight difference.

I'm pretty sure that the "white metal" is zinc or a zinc alloy. IOW, cheap $hit.

 

[dobeluvr]

why not just solder on 1/2 " copper male pipe adapters. You can then buy a pipe to garden hose adapter and thread it on. It is what I did.

 

[leviticus]

why not just solder on 1/2 " copper male pipe adapters. You can then buy a pipe to garden hose adapter and thread it on. It is what I did.

I looked at that option, but decided that I already dropped too much into this project - especially once I realized the price difference in copper tubing between some places. Mine only ended up being a 20', but it's still better than waiting for the wort to chill in a bath of ice water. I'll be testing it out this weekend:

And for the record, I never found the right fittings in stock at any local big box... Ace once again saved me. Turns out the 'repair' garden hose fittings in the outdoor section there are still made with real brass through and through... they only needed a little drilling out and worked great.

One other thing I noticed but have never seen in a posting, video or otherwise: It's a good idea to take the rubber washer out of the female fitting prior to heating it up with a torch!