Tags:Ratchet Wrench    Socket Set    Combination Ratchet

When soldering valves to copper pipe, thicker walls require more heat to sweat. Sweating copper is all similar, where you scour the pipe's exterior and the "cup" of the fitting to be soldered. Flux both of them and heat the area all around the cup. Then place a torch flame in one spot, applying solder to the opposite side until the heat causes the solder to flow toward it. Solder will flow to heat without exception. But overheating is a possibility, so remove the torch from the pipe once the solder flows to the heat and immediately clean it with a wet rag.

Cutting Cast Iron and Plastic/Cast Connections? Cut the case iron with a reciprocal saw, maybe a Milwaukee saws-all. Cast iron is very strong, so you want to use heavy metal blades. I like the Lenox 614R and start with six-inch blades. It will take some time to penetrate the side of the pipe, but it will go quicker once there is a hole there. Longer metal blades are necessary to finish the job. It might seem like it won't cut it, but trust me, it will. To connect the plastic and cast iron, use Mission or Fernco No Flex couplings. Be sure not to forget the vents.

Add: When going after iron waste pipes I like to use a rigid ratchet cast iron cutter. Sometimes the area is too confined to use that tool though. In this case I use a mini-grinder and a diamond wheel to cut as much as I can. The diamond wheel is $100 but one will last you forever. I'd finish with a saws-all and a grid-edge blade. BTW the grinder with the diamond wheel is great for cutting tile, concrete and brick. It will be pretty dusty cutting through these things.

Adding a New Drain to Cast Iron Pipe Where There is a Cleanout? There are a couple of ways to go about this. The brass "little rect. box" is a cleanout plug. Unscrew it if you can, but if not then cut off the square with a saws-all. Then cut from the center out to the threads in pie-like sections. Peel the plug out of the female threads. Ideally it will be three inches. Screw in a three inch male adapter. But it might be 3 ½ inches, which is no longer in production. Use a 5x3" Fernco bell with the 5" over the cleanout hub. Push down with a 3" by 2" bush in the 3" end of the Fernco. Another way to do it is to take a section out of the cast pipe and use Fernco around a PVC or ABS Sanitary Tee. The 6" iron pipe is most likely 4" cast. It can be cut with a saws-all or snapped with a ratchet cutter designed to penetrate cast iron. You might want to rent or borrow one, as they usually cost more than three hundred dollars. When taking sections out of the pipe, it is important for safety purposes that the pipe's upper section is supported. Otherwise the entire pipe could fall down violently.The news come from http://www.bossgoo.com/