# close call



## JohnnieSqueeze (Mar 23, 2016)

Solvent welded a trap adapter under kitchen sink. used towel to wipe up/ catch spills. 

Went to solder a tee for dishwasher quarter turn and hw quarter turn. Dripped solder, whoooooooosh!!!!!

Another reason to keep a fire extinguisher close å hand




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## Alan (Jun 18, 2008)

Yikes. That was a pretty dry towel eh? 

I've dripped solder on plenty of rags and never had one catch. Maybe the humidity or air temp is a factor?


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Did you use the extinguisher?

Reading old posts Redwood and some other plumbers thought me some valuable lessons.

I keep a medium sized extinguisher in the bottom tray of my soldering tool box and a full water spray bottle and carbon fiber and an asbestos fire mats.


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## JohnnieSqueeze (Mar 23, 2016)

Alan said:


> Yikes. That was a pretty dry towel eh?
> 
> 
> 
> I've dripped solder on plenty of rags and never had one catch. Maybe the humidity or air temp is a factor?




super wet rag! full of primer! 


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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

I always have a spray bottle of water with me when I solder.
I have an extinguisher in my truck, that I bring out on certain jobs that are more risky.. 

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I seem to be getting more paranoid about fires as I get older when soldering..


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Working for a company I've had to solder near some green insulating fiberboard. Well it ignited a little but I couldn't get rid of the tinder and smoke, it just kept going into the corner above the ceiling. Started to panic, no water on the job in the middle of snow winter.


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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

Now I have to have an extinguisher by me at all times, but in the past I at least carried a spray bottle. One time I was replacing a tub/shower valve and when I Removed the plate everything looked pretty non flammable. No, insulation, dust or any possibility of something igniting. My bottle was empty, but I thought, I could do this quickly. Just as I soldered my last joint , one little drop went to the floor. As I was cleaning up, I turned around and saw a bright light coming from the hole. Something was on fire under the tub! The water was off to the house, so I kind of panicked for a second. 

I grabbed a cup from under the sink and started throwing water from the toilet tank into the hole! After about 10 cups everything seemed to be under control. I took my time putting everything back together to make sure everything was ok. Never again.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

More tips I can provide is to fill a bucket before hand, before shutting the water off.

I sometime spray the inside of the drywall or anything that is dusty and can catch on fire.

There is also a fireproof gel that you can spray but never tried it.

Last you should stay 30 minutes as a firewatch.


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## exclamation (Mar 11, 2013)

That gel works great - as long as I don’t have to pay for it 🙂 it is actually made to keep sensative components cool when you have to solder on/near them but it also works well if you completely cover flamables near your flame area with it


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## Alan (Jun 18, 2008)

I like to flatten out water heater control panels to use as a flame shield in really tight quarters. Usually it ends up getting hot enough to scorch the wood, but no direct flame on it = great news. It's handy to have the holes in em if you need to pop a screw in it to get it to stay somewhere tricky.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Alan said:


> I like to flatten out water heater control panels to use as a flame shield in really tight quarters. Usually it ends up getting hot enough to scorch the wood, but no direct flame on it = great news. It's handy to have the holes in em if you need to pop a screw in it to get it to stay somewhere tricky.


I do this too in those tight spots.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Anyone use carbon fiber blankets?


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

I got a fire retardent rag, helps if i got to solder around insullation, wires etc.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

I don’t remember who makes them, but the flameless soldering machines? Has anyone ever used one. Kinda like a hot shot. Very expensive IIRC.

I’ll try to find it here in a bit.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

This...

http://www.plumberscrib.com/ridgid-...MIsIGg4K-s3AIVTbjACh1-jQvBEAQYBSABEgIQlvD_BwE


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

OpenSights said:


> I don’t remember who makes them, but the flameless soldering machines? Has anyone ever used one. Kinda like a hot shot. Very expensive IIRC.
> 
> I’ll try to find it here in a bit.



I've used one once as an apprentice. We had to solder some copper in a particle board mill where the wood dust in the air and everywhere on the floors, pipes and equipment was so volatile and prone to explosion torches were not allowed. One guy got caught and was banned forever from the mill. It heats up quick enough and does a great job.



Getting back to the mill, the 2nd and 3rd floor had regular tin siding and the dust in the air caught on fire and the explosion busted the walls open like a can left in the fire. They decided to install 1/2" thick steel plating so it could withstand the impact. Big mistake, when another explosion occurred 4x8' steel sheets 1/2" thick blew over the road and landed in the parking lot of the restaurant across the street damaging several cars.

They decided to remove all the walls and use canvass siding and roll some of them up in the summer.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

I have one of the fiberglass mats with the slit sewn in. It's pretty ragged. I prdered a replacement and they sent me a carbon fiber mat, I havent used it yet though I hear they are very good. I always have a spray bottle of water. I wet the surrounding area well. I also use a piece of sheetmetal behind the fiberglass mat. I use bamboo clothespins for holding the blanket/metal where I want it. They dont catch fire like normal wood.

I have an antex pipemaster electric soldering tool with heads for 1/2" and 3/4". It works really well. I have only used it a couple times when it was a really tough spot. For 100$ it was way cheaper than the ridgid version.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

I have a fancy torch setup with all the different size tips but almost never use it. I just use the turbo torch tx torch that screws on and has two tips. I did bust out my 3"/4" copper torch the other morning to kill some mahogany wasps  One of them stung me on the nipple through the shirt the evening before.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> I have a fancy torch setup with all the different size tips but almost never use it. I just use the turbo torch tx torch that screws on and has two tips. I did bust out my 3"/4" copper torch the other morning to kill some mahogany wasps  One of them stung me on the nipple through the shirt the evening before.


I use a shop vac filled with soapy water. I've sucked in thousands of wasps. They had nested in the garage rafters. And still there were more coming everyday until october they froze dead or moved I don't know but I was able to go closer and they were gone! I was able to destroy the nest.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> I use a shop vac filled with soapy water. I've sucked in thousands of wasps. They had nested in the garage rafters. And still there were more coming everyday until october they froze dead or moved I don't know but I was able to go closer and they were gone! I was able to destroy the nest.





This was outback, one of our cardboard dumpsters, the front edge has some channel welded to it. The guys drinking beer outback heard me screaming and knew right away. They got a good laugh when I came back holding my nipple. I walked away pissed off wishing I could take a flamethrower to the little phockers. Then, as I lay in bed, nipple throbbing while I tried to fall asleep for 30minutes unsuccessfully, it finally came to me! I do have a flame thrower!!!! :vs_OMG:


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## JohnnieSqueeze (Mar 23, 2016)

this turned into a good thread. I have an extinguisher in the truck. Im gonna guess thats not close enough. I should bring a spray bottle and I do use flame retardant shields a lot


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## acesfour (Apr 22, 2014)

You are lucky as is your plumbing customer. Always good to have a safety checklist you literally check off as you are doing a job. For example, after using solvent check off the safety list before proceeding. Would have kept you from setting your hair on fire.

Tracy
Aces Four


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

I always have a spray bottle handy and usually spray down 
the whole area in question before I do any kind of soldering in walls or
tight spaces....

catching a house on fire is an intense rush, 
I have only done it one time in my life and I moved out of that crawl space
faster than lightening ...... 

the adrenaline rush goes away once you get the fire out....
I had only minor damages to a carpet and some drapes....
.but it was exciting and really wakes you up.....

they got a free plumbing job out of the accident ..

I think that is one of the reasons everyone carries insurance even 
though the odds of it happenning is rare....


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## MACPLUMB777 (Jun 18, 2008)

I had one while soldering a new shower valve in the wall when the tar paper
caught fire used my spray bottle but still burning one pipe open in wall so ran outside and turned water back on for a minute then back off,
fire out then complete job, !

when started my Co. I carried a 10lb CO fire extinguisher on my truck,
and set up all my other vans with them when added to fleet


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

I carry a spray bottle and do as said above, wet down the area before soldering....I have a 30 minute rule, any spots that were questionable I go back in 30 minutes to make sure nothing is burning..


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## Alan (Jun 18, 2008)

I had one today soldering a toilet line on the exterior wall of a building. Looks like maybe built in the pre-50's and the entire house used to sit on post and pier, but someone has at some point poured a concrete stem wall (if you can call it that) around the outside, and concrete right up against the rim joist and beam connections. Lot of dry rot there. I got it all nice and wet, and never touched the wood with the flame, but after about 5 seconds of having the torch off, I smelled a barbecue going on.

Realized there was a real slow flame on one of the dry rotted boards. I hosed it down with the bottle and everything was OK.

Yeah, it was a little bit of a rush. I need to buy a fire extinguisher.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Alan said:


> I had one today soldering a toilet line on the exterior wall of a building. Looks like maybe built in the pre-50's and the entire house used to sit on post and pier, but someone has at some point poured a concrete stem wall (if you can call it that) around the outside, and concrete right up against the rim joist and beam connections. Lot of dry rot there. I got it all nice and wet, and never touched the wood with the flame, but after about 5 seconds of having the torch off, I smelled a barbecue going on.
> 
> Realized there was a real slow flame on one of the dry rotted boards. I hosed it down with the bottle and everything was OK.
> 
> Yeah, it was a little bit of a rush. I need to buy a fire extinguisher.



How much copper waste line do you work with? Around here no one would even think of using copper any more. In your situation we would just use plastic with two appropriate connectors.


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## JohnnieSqueeze (Mar 23, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> How much copper waste line do you work with? Around here no one would even think of using copper any more. In your situation we would just use plastic with two appropriate connectors.




lol

I dont think he was soldering the poo horn bud


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

water line I would say..


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Yep sounds like the cold water line for the toilet...


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## Alan (Jun 18, 2008)

They are all correct. :vs_laugh:

I figured using the term toilet line and soldering in the same sentence would give the implication that it was a water line based on the fact that like you say : Nobody runs copper waste anymore. It isn't cost effective.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

whenever I do renovation work and there is copper waste I will cut out as much as I can and replace with pvc and save any usable copper and fittings for patch work on other copper wastes, sometimes its easier to keep it copper than use a bunch of transition fittings and or clamps to fix a rotted or damaged copper drain line to pvc, and it looks a 100% better...and any scrap goes into the mongo pile..


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## The Dane (Feb 19, 2015)

Not fire related but I had a close call with a kitchen sink this morning. I was replacing a drop in steel kitchen sink and laying on the floor head half way in under the old sink with my nut driver screwing off the many old sink clips and nothing looked off but with the last screw all of a sudden the whole sink fell down on my head and up top was a full metal ring around the hole. I still have no idea how that was connected but I got lucky and did not get hurt since holding up the nutdriver saved my head.

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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

The Dane said:


> Not fire related but I had a close call with a kitchen sink this morning. I was replacing a drop in steel kitchen sink and laying on the floor head half way in under the old sink with my nut driver screwing off the many old sink clips and nothing looked off but with the last screw all of a sudden the whole sink fell down on my head and up top was a full metal ring around the hole. I still have no idea how that was connected but I got lucky and did not get hurt since holding up the nutdriver saved my head.
> 
> Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk


thats the old type drop in sink that ring if I spell it right was called a hoodie ring, once you take the clips out the sink falls as you found out, its basically an under mount sink and the rink holds it up with the clips.. #3 for you..lol.. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ng-around-it&usg=AOvVaw0chKAcmd_YdJg_Ag7HI-l7


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## Toli (Nov 7, 2015)

The Dane said:


> Not fire related but I had a close call with a kitchen sink this morning. I was replacing a drop in steel kitchen sink and laying on the floor head half way in under the old sink with my nut driver screwing off the many old sink clips and nothing looked off but with the last screw all of a sudden the whole sink fell down on my head and up top was a full metal ring around the hole. I still have no idea how that was connected but I got lucky and did not get hurt since holding up the nutdriver saved my head.
> 
> Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk




I had it happen years ago. 

Lay a 2x4 across the sink, stick a rope through the strainers and tie it off.


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## The Dane (Feb 19, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> thats the old type drop in sink that ring if I spell it right was called a hoodie ring, once you take the clips out the sink falls as you found out, its basically an under mount sink and the rink holds it up with the clips.. #3 for you..lol.. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ng-around-it&usg=AOvVaw0chKAcmd_YdJg_Ag7HI-l7


Sounds about right. I just never dealt with those. I made the mistake and assumed that it was like any other steel sink I have dealt with, and it made a fool of me 

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## Toli (Nov 7, 2015)

The Dane said:


> Sounds about right. I just never dealt with those. I made the mistake and assumed that it was like any other steel sink I have dealt with, and it made a fool of me
> 
> Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk



When installing those, the rim goes on the sink and you bend out these small tabs to hold it all together when you drop it in the countertop while putting the clips on to hold it down. What can happen is those small tabs will rot away from water getting down there. that's when it falls on you when taking it out. 

Reminds me of years ago when we had one to install on a large remodel. The guy I was working with had put the rim in the sink and was laying in the cabinet with a dbl bowl CI kitchen sink on his chest trying to push it up into the counter top and fasten it in. :vs_lol::vs_lol:


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## Alan (Jun 18, 2008)

The Dane said:


> Sounds about right. I just never dealt with those. I made the mistake and assumed that it was like any other steel sink I have dealt with, and it made a fool of me


I'm glad you learned on a steel sink, and not a cast iron one.

I've only ever pulled out one of those, and I was baffled that they made hoodie rim sinks in cast.


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## JohnnieSqueeze (Mar 23, 2016)

Alan said:


> They are all correct. :vs_laugh:
> 
> 
> 
> I figured using the term toilet line and soldering in the same sentence would give the implication that it was a water line based on the fact that like you say : Nobody runs copper waste anymore. It isn't cost effective.




this may be my favorite misunderstanding of any forum thread. lol! 


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Alan said:


> I'm glad you learned on a steel sink, and not a cast iron one.
> 
> I've only ever pulled out one of those, and I was baffled that they made hoodie rim sinks in cast.


 separates the men from the boys..LOL..
.I dont think they make under mount CI inks anymore, you only get one chance to drop it before squashing your mellon and lights out..many of the counter guys cant get a SS sink to stay up non the less a CI one..lol


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

The Dane said:


> Sounds about right. I just never dealt with those. I made the mistake and assumed that it was like any other steel sink I have dealt with, and it made a fool of me
> 
> Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk


only if someone else other than you saw it happen....:wink:


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

dup post


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