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Hi,I left a Moroccan style tea pot on the stove by accident and the water boiled out and I suppose the tea pot heated up to the point that the spout fell off. I called around and it looks like it will cost $100 to get the spout re attached After looking on the eHow website a friend and I might attempt to buy a soldering torch and some silver solder and try to re attach it. I will probably cost over $100 dollars to replace the pot. I don't really have any experience soldering except for some assignment in school where I attached I think resisters to a motherboard in high school (about 10 years ago). My friend worked in a factory and did some soldering (but that was also in high school) but I don't think it was anything more technical or complicated than I did which isn't complicated at all. For one I don't remember using a torch. Is it cost effective to do this project? What are good brands?Any replies will be much appreciated.
Reply:Hi you could definetly silver solder it back on and I would use a torch with flux coated silver solder to put it back on. Mack sure it is very clean. Heat it up and keep touching the rod to the pot and when you are getting close to the right temp the flux will start to melt off the rod and will look wet on the pot. Shortly after the flux wets out and starts to flow the silver solder should start to melt and flow around the joint. You should be able to clean up any excess flux with warm water and a ss wire brush. Good luck.
Reply:not sure if you can use a zinc rod and propane torch on stainless. but that might be an optionTiger Sales: AHP Distributor www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P, Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma. For Sale: Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun. Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Hi, having done a lot of stainless steel silver soldering for the aircraft industry, one thing you must know........don''t heat the metal without having flux present in the joint or you'll get a black claggy joint that just won't wet with the silver solder.....EVER.The very first thing though is to make sure that you have practically complete metal to metal contact all around the joint.......if you have any gaps bigger than .010" the silver solder will not bridge them and will make any further soldering and filling attempts almost impossible.Silver solder works with a capillary acton and in a properly prepared joint the heat is applied sparingly but completely and when the temperature is reached in the material the silver solder will "flash" round the joint penetrating into all crevices....the smaller and closer the better......wherever you have flux the silver will follow, so be carefull to apply it carefully.I never found prefluxed silver solder rods to be very practical, although they "do"work after a fashion, but a powdered flux mixed with water can protect the joint in the initial heating stages from oxidation, and ensure that the silver solder will reach all areas you want it to.DON'T OVERHEAT THE METAL........stailess steel is VERY unforgiving once you burn the metal and it has gone black.A small oxy acc torch applied evenly will get the joint to temperature quickly, but it takes a bit of expertise to apply.....Propane could be used, but it has a too broad flame envelope and tends to not get the joint area to the required temperature.For a first time DIY person with little skill and an object of personal value, leave it to an expert with silver soldering experience, or you'll end up with blobs of solder that don't go where they are intended.I would be surprised to know that you could boil a pot dry and melt the silver solder out.....it sounds like the spout was soft soldered in with ordinary lead/tin based solder,( I've never tried soft solder with stainless steel) and if that was the case you will have an almost impossible task to clean all traces of the soft solder out before you can apply silver solder.Just as a thought, perhaps the spout can be Tig welded in using a car battery set up to get the amperage down to very low levels.....disposable Argon bottles would be practical in that case for a limited use situation......never tried it, only heard about it, might work, but you'll still have to be super clean in your preperation and positioning.Ian.
Reply:Weld all, Thanks for replying so quickly. The way you describe it makes this process sound quite manageable. I don't know what flux is and I'm thinking I probably should not attempt this after seeing the other posts. I don't want to possibly blacken her pot (even though it looks old already...I don't want to add to an already bad situation).
Reply:Soutthpaw,Thanks for your reply. My friend suggested finding a welding shop (not sure if that is proper terminology) at a local college and seeing if they can possibly do it at a lower cost. Perhaps we can suggest zinc rod to them and also purchase it for them to hopefully further reduce costs.
Reply:Puddytat,Thank you for your detailed reply. I'm thinking after reading your post that I should take your advice and not attempt to do this. My friend suggested that we find a welding shop on campus. I don't know what in the world flux is. Plus I don't want to blacken anything. There seems like a lot of room for error if you don't know what you're doing :P Apparently, this teapot has sentimental value so it is already bad enough that it is broken. I don't want to create a worse situation from my severe lack of experience.It did seem strange that the spout could just pop off like that. But I don't even know how long it was sitting on the stove after all the water was gone. I think I had it over high heat too. It could have been there for an hour or more.If we find a shop run by students I'll bring up the possibility that it was soft soldered. Also, I can ask them about this Tig thing that you mentioned. Can you suggest any products we can use to try and clean this soft solder off? I know you said it will be almost impossible to remove all the solder but we can try out best before we bring it to the shop. (Actually, we'll probably bring it by the shop so they can take a look at it but if it is in fact soft solder we can take it back home and try to clean it up as best we can)Your reply was very helpful (I'm probably going to copy and paste your post on my phone to bring to them...cause while what you're saying makes sense all this is new to me and I'm bound to mess something up or leave something out).
Reply:Flux for silver soldering stainless is toxic. So are lots of type of silver solder. Some are ok for food contact, some are not. Something to be aware of.Moroccan tea pots are generally not stainless (I've never personally seen one that is, but a quick search on google shows me a handful that appear to be). They are usually plated copper, or perhaps a silver colored copper based alloy. You can expect to ruin any surface finish (plating or enamel, etc) by soldering. Even if it is silver colored through and through, you will need to buff out the surface. That is difficult enough on the outside, even more difficult on the inside where it is critical that the surface be polished after soldering, because rough heat damaged spots harbor bacteria.I'm sorry to say this, but you're in way over your head.
Reply:Originally Posted by raspariseIt did seem strange that the spout could just pop off like that.
Reply:Rlitman,Thanks for replying and adding more insight. Clearly I don't know anything about anything. I just assumed that it was stainless steel. I'll be sure to bring this up to whoever we find to fix it. Hopefully, they will know what the composition is. As far as proper buffering goes I'm assuming since it was soldered on in the first place that it was also buffed or no? Would someone who has skill be able to properly handle this and making sure no bacteria can be harbored? I guess the surface will get destroyed by the buffing which in unfortunate but it is what it is at this point. Thank you so much for mentioning that the flux could be toxic. I will try to look for foodsafe fluxes.
Reply:Originally Posted by soutthpawnot sure if you can use a zinc rod and propane torch on stainless. but that might be an option
Reply:Docwelder,Thanks for your reply! Another poster mentioned that silver solder could be toxic. Do you know of a silver solder (or other solder that will get the job done) that is food safe? Also, they mentioned that the pot is probably not stainless steel, but rather silver plated copper or silver colored copper based alloy.
Reply:Originally Posted by raspariseDocwelder,Thanks for your reply! Another poster mentioned that silver solder could be toxic. Do you know of a silver solder (or other solder that will get the job done) that is food safe? Also, they mentioned that the pot is probably not stainless steel, but rather silver plated copper or silver colored copper based alloy.
Reply:Hi, if it's silver plated copper you have a fighting chance.It will be soft soldered if it's copper and that makes it iffy for boiling water in due to the lead leaching out into the water.As a repair job, I would carefully clean the metal and use a fine piece of emery cloth to clean the immediate area round the joint, both in the pot and the spout......if it shows a coppery colour you can go in with a large soldering iron......not the electric type unless you can get a 100 Watt one, but generally a solid copper one heated on the stove in the gas flame will do the job.Next you need some rosin flux paste which is used to clean the joint as you solder and also some flux cored solder.......you could use the solid stick solder but flux cored works better.BTW, the flux is a cleaning agent that keeps the joint clean and free from oxidation....without it soldering copper is practically impossible due to the oxide build up from the heat.Don't be tempted to heat the job with a torch flame.......you'll get the whole lot heated and the solder will run out like water........use a soldering iron to apply quick hot local heat directly to the joint.DON'T UINDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE ACID FLUX......it's called acid flux because it is derived from acid and the real name is killed spirits, or Bakers fluid.If all else fails a good plumber will be able to do the job easily.When you clean round the spout check to see if the solder is a lead based one or has a brassy colour to it....the lead will go bright and shiny if you scratch it with a blade.If the solder shows a brassy colour when you clean it, then it's highly likely that the spout was brazed or silver soldered in, again an easy job for a good plumber.Once you get the spout attached and the joint cleaned up, you'll need to get it to someone who knows polishing and can source a silver plater.......that is if it was silver plated originally.Ian.Last edited by puddytat; 01-23-2013 at 01:01 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by raspariseRlitman,Thanks for replying and adding more insight. Clearly I don't know anything about anything. I just assumed that it was stainless steel. I'll be sure to bring this up to whoever we find to fix it. Hopefully, they will know what the composition is. As far as proper buffering goes I'm assuming since it was soldered on in the first place that it was also buffed or no? Would someone who has skill be able to properly handle this and making sure no bacteria can be harbored? I guess the surface will get destroyed by the buffing which in unfortunate but it is what it is at this point. Thank you so much for mentioning that the flux could be toxic. I will try to look for foodsafe fluxes.
Reply:You need to remember, a lot of original Moroccan teapots are made for decorative purposes and unless you bought one to actually make real tea in then lets hope your not using one which is for decorative purposes, hence the spout falling off.Morocco is not exactly high on the list of countries with excellent heath and safety. make you wonder what they use to stick it all together with in the first place, i'd stick it with super glue and pop it back on display
Reply:Priced silver solder, lately? plus torch setup $$? Mistakes/time? 100 buck ain't a bad price.Boiling temp sure shouldn't cause failure. Hence, what Gerry said.Last edited by tapwelder; 01-23-2013 at 03:12 PM.
Reply:It seems to me that an empty pot on the stove might have only been 450F or so... I can't imagine it getting too much hotter, with convective cooling of the air all around it. In which case, at best the spout was soldered on, and quite possibly with lead solder. One way or another all that will need to be cleaned off, and you could get a small lead test kit (at Home Depot, for example) to test if any of the rest of the solder on the pot contains lead. What you'd be concerned about is anything that would contact the water. Any non-lead solder could in principle work, but silver solder melts at a considerably higher temp than off-the-shelf non-lead plumbing solder (which is around 450F, typically, but can get up towards 700F). Hence it's less likely to fail. Many different versions of non-lead solder are used all the time for plumbing construction/repair, including (occasionally, due to the higher price) silver solders. Good luck.Miller XMT304 CC/CVBernard TIG coolerSSC foot pedal"It's a poor craftsman who blames his tewls toles TOOLS" (!^$#% keyboard)
Reply:Originally Posted by Gerry1964You need to remember, a lot of original Moroccan teapots are made for decorative purposes and unless you bought one to actually make real tea in then lets hope your not using one which is for decorative purposes, hence the spout falling off.Morocco is not exactly high on the list of countries with excellent heath and safety. make you wonder what they use to stick it all together with in the first place, i'd stick it with super glue and pop it back on display |
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发表于 2021-8-31 23:38:00