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solder flux and stainless steel

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hot_rod
hot_rod Member Posts: 22,142
in THE MAIN WALL
I mixed a bit of water with some C-Flux and smeared it inside this stainless solar tube. Took over a year, but it certainly destroyed the tube.

Be sure to clean and flush your soldered systems well. A simple water flush may not be enough. Stainless boilers dislike chlorides, use a cleaner, hot water if possible, flush well..
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream
Zman

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  • BillyO
    BillyO Member Posts: 277
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    Pro pressing boiler room piping for last 15 years, making boiler rooms great again
    Solid_Fuel_Man
  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 4,845
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    Flux the pole not the hole
  • Pumpguy
    Pumpguy Member Posts: 655
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    @hot_rod, I've been told any chemical ending in "ide" does not play well with stainless steel.

    Can you or anyone suggest what flux and solder works good for stainless steel?

    I'm familiar with the silver solders like like Harris SafetySil 1200, but curious what is being used these days.
    Dennis Pataki. Former Service Manager and Heating Pump Product Manager for Nash Engineering Company. Phone: 1-888 853 9963
    Website: www.nashjenningspumps.com

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  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,142
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    Pumpguy said:

    @hot_rod, I've been told any chemical ending in "ide" does not play well with stainless steel.

    Can you or anyone suggest what flux and solder works good for stainless steel?

    I'm familiar with the silver solders like like Harris SafetySil 1200, but curious what is being used these days.

    LaCo claims to be chloride free, it does turn green on the outside if not cleaned well. It works better than any I have tried on dirty copper. Repair plumbers love it, or those too lazy to scratch cloth the tube.

    The La-Co folks at trade shows spread it on crackers and eat it as a demo?

    I think the key is to use flux sparingly, use a water soluble, and flush EVERY job with at the least with hot water.

    All fluxes will have a cleaner of some sort, ammonia, other, blends.

    I use a Harris brand flux coated rod to braze stainless,
    Safety-Silv 45FC, flux coated I found it on the JW Harris website. It solders copper to stainless very nicely also. It does take a hot torch 1225- 1370° liquid range. I don't know of a soft solder for stainless, I think it requires a braze joint. Harris would know.

    www.harrisproductgroup.com

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,524
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    I always use "Nokorode" on copper and never see any corrosion on the outside. "Utility" flux I hate corrodes copper.

    I think Harris Stay Brite solder and "Stay Clean" flux can be used on stainless.
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,293
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    Hi, It's a touch hard to read, but this is what has worked for me, for soft soldering stainless. B)

    Yours, Larry

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