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Tips for replacing soldered angle stops

674 Views | 17 Replies | Last: 17 hrs ago by jograki
jograki
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AG
We are swapping out a sink faucet and our previous supply lines were soldered on. Was thinking to cut the pipe right behind it and replace with a compression angle stop. Just wanted to check if that's feasible or is it possibly not enough pipe since we also need to account for the escutcheon? Or any other approaches that I'm not thinking of?

Thanks for thoughts
Ribeye-Rare
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AG
Quote:

Or any other approaches that I'm not thinking of?
If you're comfortable with using a torch and spending a little money (but less than you would for a plumber to just "roll the truck"), I would suggest buying a small welding blanket, a bottle of MAP/Pro gas and a self-igniting Turbo Torch.

You can heat the joint up in a jiffy, twist off that valve, and then either go with the compression coupling you want or choose to solder on a replacement, or as I like to do, solder on a threaded adapter to receive a new valve.

Some Oatey silver plumbing solder and No. 95 tinning flux always worked well for me.

Keep a fire extinguisher around 'just in case', but with the welding blanket folded up behind that joint and the concentrated flame of the Turbo Torch, you should be good.
Kenneth_2003
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AG
Are those valves leaking?

If it ain't broke there no reason to fix it.
jograki
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AG
Thank you for the details! I don't know if I'm
comfortable with that but will show my husband your info.
jograki
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AG
No leaks but can't connect the new supply lines so it needs replacing anyway.
Kenneth_2003
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AG
Other option would be to explore whatever adapters to make the supply line fit
jograki
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AG
I was thinking that too since we did that with another copper pipe, but for this one with the hose being the one with ridges (not sure what it's called) I didn't think that sharkbites adapters would work? Do you know?
ABATTBQ11
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AG
jograki said:

Thank you for the details! I don't know if I'm
comfortable with that but will show my husband your info.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.instructables.com/How-to-Desolder-and-Clean-Copper-Pipe-and-Fittings/%3famp_page=true

There's a video here where he removes a soldered on valve with a torch a few minutes in. He's holding the pipe, but you could do the same thing with yours if you put a welding blanket between it and the wall. You might not even need it, TBH. I've soldered near a wall without one with no issue. Just keep the torch pointed away. Once the solder is melted, you can just pull the valve off with a welding glove or pair of pliers. Drop it in a bucket of water or have somewhere to put it because it'll be HOT.

I would turn the water off and try to drain it. Just turn off the water main and open any faucet lower than this point. Then heat up the joint until the solder melts and pull off the valve. To solder back on you'll need to clean up the pipe and old solder, but this method preserves pipe and will allow a better connection in the long run. As someone else said, just solder on a threaded fitting and then thread on a valve.


If your you're nervous about doing it, get a short length of copper pipe, some fittings, and some solder and just practice a few times. It can be a little nerve racking to just do it, but if you practice on some scrap or test pipe first, you can build confidence and get the motions/process down before doing it for real. I did this a couple of times before I started messing around with my actual pipes, and I was at ease when I went to actually do it. It helped me a lot to go through everything and then see that I'd done it right not just from the outside but also the inside of the pipe where I could see the proper amount of solder had filled the joint.
Kenneth_2003
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AG
jograki said:

I was thinking that too since we did that with another copper pipe, but for this one with the hose being the one with ridges (not sure what it's called) I didn't think that sharkbites adapters would work? Do you know?
If I had to guess that flexible tubing is fixed onto that valve with a "compression" fitting. I put it in quotes because that's the name of it. It's a VERY standard fitting used in residential and commercial plumbing.

Here are 3 examples, all compression fittings, and can all screw directly onto the same valve despite their different appearance. The seal is made when the nut is tightened down and compresses that ring. In the example on the left, it's all built into the fitting on the end of the tubing.


If your new fixture uses a 3/8" (actually that might be 1/4" as I'm 90% certain the size is based on the inner diameter of the tubing) compression fitting then I will almost guarantee that it will mate up to that valve without any necessary adapter. If you need to step up or down a size, Blue, Orange, Red, or any other hardware store will have what you need.

FYI Compression fittings are designed to seal without any Teflon or putty.
ABATTBQ11
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AG
It looks like the hose and valve are just one assembly. I've seen that before, and it sucks.
jograki
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AG
This is great info, thanks so much for sharing. And yes you are right in the above comment, unfortunately it's one assembly. I'll look into this further. We already got a quote from a plumber and it's $250 to replace the pair, so let's see what we can do first. Appreciate it!
jograki
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AG
Dad to the rescue...I showed him your video and he said he can do it. Thanks dad!

Appreciate everyone who commented!
Kenneth_2003
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AG
Interesting about it being a single piece assembly.
Never seen those before. Good info to have! Thx!

Glad you've got a plan forward!
YZ250
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The only thing else I would recommend is to get shutoff valves that only require 1/4 turn between off and on.
jograki
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AG
Thanks! Agreed, already picked up quarter turns.
YZ250
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Just one more thing if looks are important. Might put on an escutcheon plate to cover up the hole before putting the valve on.
ceenAg05
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AG
They're terrible because the flexible hose isn't all that flexible once they get older, so if you move it much the hose can easily crack. My whole house was full of them but luckily they were threaded to the wall pipe.
jograki
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AG
All done! Thanks again TexAgs.

If anyone is looking to follow these steps, we got this torch and it was great.
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