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JCDammeyer's 42 projects
- Thread starter jcdammeyer
- Start date
Sincere condolences friend
I've always been taught to practice something before your perform. This was true with my gas welding course at NAIT and true for so many other things from sports to ballroom dancing or music.
So I thought I'd take a stab at silver soldering two pieces of brass just to see how it would go. Ha ha. First of all. Note to self. Do not use your green brazing goggles for doing silver soldering. Impossible under those light conditions to see the end of the silver solder wire.
Next brass that looks red under the welding goggles is already way way too hot.
I then switched to sunglasses and was able to see the welding tip and solder wire and that the part didn't get nearly as hot although with all the corrosion and blackening the solder blobbed. I did get it to smear on the brass a bit.
This will require much more practice before I can do this. I even made sure I had a slight carburizing flame with the light blue extending out from the darker blue on my smallest oxy/acet tip. Not sure about the quality of my flux either. Maybe a trip to KMS to pick up their silver solder kit ($139) is a better solution than some no name stuff someone gave me 20 years ago.
So I thought I'd take a stab at silver soldering two pieces of brass just to see how it would go. Ha ha. First of all. Note to self. Do not use your green brazing goggles for doing silver soldering. Impossible under those light conditions to see the end of the silver solder wire.
Next brass that looks red under the welding goggles is already way way too hot.
I then switched to sunglasses and was able to see the welding tip and solder wire and that the part didn't get nearly as hot although with all the corrosion and blackening the solder blobbed. I did get it to smear on the brass a bit.
This will require much more practice before I can do this. I even made sure I had a slight carburizing flame with the light blue extending out from the darker blue on my smallest oxy/acet tip. Not sure about the quality of my flux either. Maybe a trip to KMS to pick up their silver solder kit ($139) is a better solution than some no name stuff someone gave me 20 years ago.
I've always been a little leery of Silver Soldering. So I confess that it is infinitely better to read about your FUps than it is to do that myself.
Last edited:
Doggggboy
Ultra Member
Blondihacks on Youtube does a lot of silver soldering.
FWIW she almost always puts a piece of silver solder on the joint and then heats it until the solder flows. Obviously depends on the position of the joint, I guess.
Time to entertain @Susquatch with another F-up.
After some thought I came up with a solution that didn't require silver solder and instead I can soft solder. The brass transition went inside instead of turning down the threaded part to fit inside the 1/4" T fitting.
Then I cut a short length of 1/8" tubing that I was going to cramp and solder the end for now and leave the sensors for later.
One tiny problem... Or maybe not so tiny. The fitting I soldered in appears to be for 3/16" copper tubing.
Now I wonder what exactly is coming via Amazon tomorrow. I could heat up the joint, remove the larger one and replace it with a proper 1/8" or find some 3/16" copper. Don't really like the idea of reheating.
Sigh...
After some thought I came up with a solution that didn't require silver solder and instead I can soft solder. The brass transition went inside instead of turning down the threaded part to fit inside the 1/4" T fitting.
Then I cut a short length of 1/8" tubing that I was going to cramp and solder the end for now and leave the sensors for later.
One tiny problem... Or maybe not so tiny. The fitting I soldered in appears to be for 3/16" copper tubing.
Now I wonder what exactly is coming via Amazon tomorrow. I could heat up the joint, remove the larger one and replace it with a proper 1/8" or find some 3/16" copper. Don't really like the idea of reheating.
Sigh...
Found this place.
ohcanadasupply.ca
They sell it by the foot. But it's now a weekend. I need a local in Victoria supply. Or wait until tomorrow and see what Amazon delivers.
Ohcanadasupply CT316 3/16OD .030 STD COPPER TUB | uuuct316
Ohcanadasupply CT316 3/16OD .030 STD COPPER TUB Bright annealed copper, Sold by the foot, : Shop and save at ohcanadasupply.ca
ohcanadasupply.ca
Thanks for that John. I actually need the humour right now. I had my 3yr colonoscopy this morning...... My plumbing sure as heck isn't 3/8 right now! And the valve is leaking too.
Well playing around with washers and gaskets still resulted in the tap leaking. Since I didn't have 3/16" soft copper and I didn't want to try harder brass which might still leak I went the 3D print direction. Made a plug that duplicated the 3/16" tube and the compression piece except the tube was solid.
No leaks.
Compressor ran until the tank was full. Using my IR temperature detector the actual compressor was at 125C. The tube outlet was at max about 45C. On the other side of the radiator 29C although by hand it didn't feel that hot.
No leakage at the T with the 3D printed simulation of a 3/16" tube with compression fitting. Clearly if the compressor reads 125C and the outlet tube is 45C the air must be closer to the 125C?
No leaks.
Compressor ran until the tank was full. Using my IR temperature detector the actual compressor was at 125C. The tube outlet was at max about 45C. On the other side of the radiator 29C although by hand it didn't feel that hot.
No leakage at the T with the 3D printed simulation of a 3/16" tube with compression fitting. Clearly if the compressor reads 125C and the outlet tube is 45C the air must be closer to the 125C?
OK, don't think I ever heard that one. Or maybe I just wanted to forget badly enough that I did.....
IR temperature detector can give bad readings some times, seems Color of material, surface angle, and reflectably (?) shineyness(?) of object can throw a reading sometimes. Does the cooling air go directly on to the discharge of the compressor head, might be why out let reads less then compressor itself.
@Bandit The only possible issue with @DavidR8's and my system is that the compressor pulley with built in fan blades is being used to pull air through the radiator before it is blown over the compressor pump.
This means instead of ambient air it's now warmer air. But if the ambient temperature was 35C instead of 20C then that temperature air would also be blown over the compressor pump even without the air cooling radiator. I guess the question is how hot should the compressor run before potential damage. Likely 125C is not over the top. I'll bet the lawn tractor runs hotter.
This means instead of ambient air it's now warmer air. But if the ambient temperature was 35C instead of 20C then that temperature air would also be blown over the compressor pump even without the air cooling radiator. I guess the question is how hot should the compressor run before potential damage. Likely 125C is not over the top. I'll bet the lawn tractor runs hotter.
FWIW I had a 16-pass transmission oil cooler on my last truck. It was mounted in front of the main radiator. Even on long inclines pulling a trailer I didn’t notice any difference in engine temperature even though part of the air was preheated by the transmission cooler.
Main tubing is finished. Once the fittings arrive this afternoon I'll look at adding the T into the hot air line.
Interesting observation. Last night after I 3D printed the plug I was able to run the compressor till it shut off automatically.
Now granted I'm running a dehumidifier in the shop to combat that rust issue from a few years ago and the RH is around 46% when I drained the tank this morning there was nothing to drain. No water came out the bottom at all. There had been some from the water separator.
Once the sensors are in place I'll add the electronics and some software and produce more detailed information. But at the moment I'd say this has been a successful project.
And now of course I've jinxed it.
Holy moly, that looks like you know what you're doing, nice job. I think I'll have to do mine now but maybe I'll bolt it down first so it stops walking around the shop. I also need to hook my power up so it will only run when the shop lights are on, apparently my sweeties sense of humor is in the off position between 10 and 7.
Well other than the left over plumbing to add a spot for the radiator inlet air temperature and a fitting for the tank pressure the electronics gets more interesting.
Two Thermisters (the little black blobs) for temperature sensing the air in the tubes. CDS cell for measuring ambient light. That will be used as a go-no-go that then drives the relay that controls power to the compressor.
Thought I'd also measure the ambient air and RH near the compressor air inlet using the AM2303 module. https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/datasheets/Digital+humidity+and+temperature+sensor+AM2303.pdf
The second small relay could control a pneumatic valve so that I don't have to remember to shut off the shop from the compressor. I have minuscule leaks in the various locations that result in the compressor cycling. Of course if i remember to shut the main valve then I don't need to worry about the compressor leaking and starting in the middle of the night.
I'll tie in some sort of display so I can see the values at a glance but it will also connect via CANOpen to the LinuxCNC machine and maybe even something that ties into the house network. Haven't decided that yet.
Anyway, I have enough bits and pieces for a new project #42.
Keep your eye out for bonded rubber isolation mounts in the surplus section at PA, they’re the cat’s meow. My 60 gal vertical used to roam around until I put it on isolators.
Funny, my S.O. is like that too, I wonder why?
I like the shop light trick but my compressor supplies both the basement shop and the detached shop so maybe a WIFI controller is in order? Not that it would happen any time soon, lol!
D