Pro Handyman Blog

Unsweat A Copper Plumbing Fitting

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Copper plumbing is great to work with…clean the fittings, flux and heat them up to solder them in place. But what about removing a copper fitting?

There really aren’t many surprises here. It is a matter of heating up the fitting to remove it.

Turn off the water and drain the area so that the piping and fitting do not have water in them. If there is water in them, the fitting will not get hot enough to turn the solder back into molten liquid which will allow you to pull it off. Instead, the water will turn to steam. Once the water has been drained from the pipes, get ready to fire up the torch.

Have a bucket of water nearby in case things go badly. It’s also a good idea to use a fire cloth to protect the area just beyond where you will be applying the torch. Apply the torch to the fitting and move the tip of the blue flame back-and-forth over the surface so that the entire fitting gets hot. Use large channel locks, pliers, etc, to periodically pull on the fitting. As soon as the fitting is hot enough the solder will liquefy and you can pull the fitting off and turn off the torch.

Remember that heat transfers through metal very quickly. Don’t hold onto the hot pipe or fitting for too long with a metal tool or you will feel the heat in your hand. Once the fitting and the piping has cooled you can make your repair.