Has Anybody Tried This?

[PARKER MAPLE]

Just wondering if any body has ever tried to solder stainless to copper? if so how was the out come in the long run. i just went to my sugarhouse and relized that i had purchased the wrong fitting, they were copper instead of stainless. so i got out a chunk of scrap stainless and a scrap piece of copper and did a test run, read the back of the flaux bottle and it said for stainless and went to soldering. it seamed to go together good. but want to know if anybody has tried it before. this is going on my home made filter tank and finishing tanks. for draw off valves. so they wont get too hot..

keep me posted hope to knock this one off the ta-do list in the am..
maple rookie
10 days untill tapping time:o :o

[KenWP]

If you read the thread on the drop tube pans you will see where a bunch of use solder copper tube in the bottom of pans for cheap flues. Try and tear one off after you solder it and see how tough it is. Tried that already and had to melt it off instead.

[PARKER MAPLE]

Will they take the heat ok??

[maple flats]

Yes. Did you ever try soldering a pipe with even a little water in it? You can't.
As long as you have sap in the pans/tubes whatever, they can not get hot enough to melt solder. Most solders melt above 700 degrees, some even higher. With sap in the pans they can only reach 219-220 unless you go well beyond syrup on occasion. Even then an extra 2 or 3 degrees is about it. Just watch your level in the pans. However what can happen is if you aren't paying attention, get too low, have a boil over/foam gone wild and then get a spot in the pans with NO SAP OR SYRUP, you can melt the solder. It has happened to most producers or they haven't been doing it very long OR they just lie about it. It is part of what is called burning a pan. There are two catagories of producers, those who have burnt a pan and those who will.

[wcproctor]

so when they say stainless steal pans soldered , it is done like your soldering copper and you use the same solder?

[KenWP]

Oui. Maybe its the producers that say they burnt a pan and those that say they never.
Yes they take the heat. They made old roasting pans with soldered seams in the old days when Haynes was a kid even and they used those in ovens that got over 219 degrees even. The secret was never let them get dry. I soldered up my aunts roaster once and she used it for years after.

[Flat47]

so when they say stainless steal pans soldered , it is done like your soldering copper and you use the same solder?

Yup. Up until the very early '90s when most companies went to lead-free solder (and then to tig welding), they used 50/50 lead/tin solder.

[Grade "A"]

I did a bunch of soldering on a homemade stainless steel pan I had. When I soldered copper to stainless it was a little tricky at first. The hard part is that stainless and copper heat up at a different rate. A trick I found that worked for me was to heat up the stainless steel and put solder on it were the copper was going to be hooked. Then I would do the same to the copper, this leaves you with both the copper and stainless having a good pre-soldered joint. Then you heat the solder up on both parts as you put them together, when the solder melts it will bond the stainles with the copper. You may need to add alittle more solder to the joint for a good seal. Be careful not to over heat the stainless because sometimes the solder will drip away and you will have to start over. Solder does not like to stick to stainless as easy as it does copper, but once it does stick you shouldn't have any problems.

[maple flats]

Usually soldering SS is better if you use silver solder. I'm not sure about std lead free plumbing solder, it might. I have only used silver solder. Don't try to solder with a torch if you can avoid it. You really want to use a soldering iron. Treat the iron with a flux called "Sal Ammoniac" for a good job. To treat it, get the iron soldering hot and rub it on the sal ammoniac, which is a solid. Just google sal ammoniac and you will find several sources, a 4 oz block will last a long time and is fairly cheap. The last I bought was about $3.50 if memory serves me. When you use it on the iron you will get much better distribution and the iron will hold more solder. Likely a site you google will tell about it.

[DanE.]

Guys, What size soldering iron you you using. I'm thinking it is bigger than the normal one you see in the local stores. Dane.

[KenWP]

My electric one is pretty big and older then most of us. I also have the big brass ones that you rotated thru the fire.

[farmall h]

Both my front syrup pan and rear raised flue pan is ss soldered. Purchased new 1990 but I believe it was manufactured in the late '80's.