Pan Soldering

[digman_41]

Can anyone give me some pointers on seam soldering? I recently bought a set of stainless pans that got hot from a fire not from overheating on an arch. The front end of the drop flues got hot enough to melt the solder out of them. Some of the fittings have melted solder on them also. I have cleaned the pans up and the are looking pretty good. I need to know if I can learn to repair them myself...Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Mark :?:

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Mark,

Don't know anything about that, but if you decide you can't do it yourself, Leader is really good at repairing them from what I have been told.
:?

[digman_41]

Brandon, Your right if they built it they could probably fix it. The only problem is I'm in Michigan and they're in Vermont. I don't know what they would charge, I'm sure shipping alone would be expensive. My biggest concern is that it can't be repaired. I bought it for a very reasonable price so I can put a little in it and not get to upside down. I though maybe I could attempt to repair it myself before I went the professional route.

I'll keep you posted thanks Mark

[brookledge]

Mark,
If the condition of the stainless is still good the they can be repaired. It gets tricky when the metal is fatigued and thin. If you say the solder was melted by a fire and the seams are still together then it should be no different than if it was just being made.
Number one you need a soldering iron a good sized one. Do not try to use a torch directly on the pan. If you get an old iron use a torch to heat the iron or get an electric one but the electric will run around $150 to $200 so I would recomend a forged copper one that you heat with a torch. They come in different styles most common are chissel tip and flat bottom and a 3lb iron would be around $40.
Another idea is to find a used one at an antique shop that has old tools or go to an old farmer.
Get the proper solder and flux. Probably want a silver alloy designed for stainless. You can get 5lb bars. Get a scrap piece of stainless and practice.
Give it a whirl be patient.
Keith

[sugaring42long]

Mark, I just noticed you said the pans were IN a fire not run dry. The Leader/king drop flue ends are very rugged and have several layers of metal folded over and are then soldered on the inside and outside. Are you sure the flue ends are leaking? If they dont leak I wouldn't resolder them even if they look like solder is missing.

They make a small copper soldering iron you slip over the end of a propane torch that works pretty good for repairs. Regular 95/5 solder works well on these pans. The secret to good soldering is cleaning until the metal shines and using the proper flux. Flux is cheap buy a couple different brands and experiment. I like the liquid flux as it seems to have better cleaning action than paste especially when applied to preheated metal, just watch the fumes.

[syrupmaker]

OOOOOPs didn't look far enough down the evaporator forum.

Digman_41..... I found my Iron if you would like to borrow it to try your luck at pan repairs. PM me your address and I'll ship it out to you.

Rick

[ontario guy]

some tips.

i would tape along the edges where you don't want the solder to go. (if looks matter to you) Because when you apply your flux (specified for stainless) where ever the flux touches solder will stick.

second if your pan is 22 guage it will warp faster than you can imagine. Do small sections at a time. Heat only as much as you need to.

if you have never soldered before, the metal melts the solder not the iron. heat the metal up till it is hot enough to melt the solder, it doesn't work the other way.

I soldered two drains and a divider in my pan.

If you have any other questions let me know.

Mark

[digman_41]

Thanks for all the advice, the pan clean-up is coming along very nicely.
It still has some discoloration in the metal I assume it is only cosmetic.
We scraped and melted a 5 gallon pail of charred syrup jugs out of it!
I made new wood handles for the sap pan and found some royal blue paint at the hardware store that matches the leader blue perfectly looks pretty close to the original handles. Also I found an electric and a traditional solder iron at a local antique shop...$5.00 for the pair!
Now alll I have to do is tackle the soldering. I plan on taking the pans to a place that does some pan repairs and get a lesson... possibly have them even do the job if they're interested. He was very cooperative with me I'll keep you posted again thanks for all the advice and offers of assistance.

Thanks Mark