During the operation of gas columns, leaks often occur, which can be eliminated on their own. If you do not want to pay the master and know how to handle the soldering iron, you can self-seal the column by closing the formed micro-holes.
Heat exchanger( radiator)
Most often, the reason for the gas column flow is damage to the copper heat exchanger. This is usually due to the low quality of the copper from which this part is made. In places where impurities are present, the walls of the heat exchanger oxidize with time, which leads to leakage.
Required tools and materials
For soldering the column with your own hands, prepare:
- Soldering iron or gas burner.
- Fine grained sandpaper or metal brush.
- Solder. For copper parts, use wire PIC-61, which is an alloy of lead with tin.
- Duster.
How to solder with soldering iron
The easiest way to solder a copper heat exchanger is to use a soldering iron.
However, its use has its limitations:
- Use of the soldering iron is possible only with minimal damage to the heat exchanger.
- You will only have a thin-walled element to use this tool.
Drain the water before soldering. Also for this work, a certain preparation of the surface must be carried out, which acquired a greenish shade at the oxidation site. Using sandpaper or a metal brush, clean the surface to remove any unevenness or burrs. After wiping all the dry cloth, gently cover the heat exchanger in the right place with special solder, and then use a soldering iron, ensuring that the solder uniformly fills the damage site.
How to Seal with a Gas Burner
If your column has a massive heat exchanger with high thermal conductivity, it is recommended to solder it with a burner. Preparatory work in this case will not differ from soldering by soldering iron - the surface should be thoroughly cleaned, smooth and dry. Further, soldering is carried out with a propane burner creating a contact flame with a temperature of up to 2500.
The following video clearly shows the entire soldering process using a gas burner.
