Soldering for rain gutters

[Rich P]

I'm going to be starting to replace all of the gutters here at home and have settled on 6 inch half round galvanized steel (actually bonderized) material (20' sticks). While I intend to consult with the gutter supply company, I believe some of the folks that hang out around here might have a few good thoughts on this. I've soldered lots of copper pipe but never anything as heavy as a 26 gauge gutter.

Any tips, pointers, resources, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Rich P]

Asked and answered...

Finally found some useful links which are listed below and am posting them here in case anyone else is crazy enough to attempt a project like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kbhy...elated&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0crQ...elated&search=

While this demonstrates their product, it is generally applicable to any type of "stick" metal (not aluminum) gutters.

There were also some mildly useful links on Bob Villa's site.

At this point I feel I've got enough info to get started.

I found the above on page 6 of my Google search. I guess the answers are out there someplace but finding them can be tedious.

[mrojec]

Rich,
Thanks for doing the legwork on this problem. Be sure and post how it turns out. I've got to add a piece of gutter below a roof valley to allow it to drain into an adjacent gutter and figured soldering would be the best way to go. the silicone gutter sealants seem to leak a fair bit. My gutters are galvanized. If ever get around to it (#842 on my list of things to do) I'll share my experience.
Mark

[doubleoonothing]

Soldering galvanized sheetmetal

Did you get the job started? I guess you know how to use a soldering copper, blow torch, sal ammoniac, acid flux, and 50/50 bar solder now. I attempted to send directions to you a couple nights ago but my server went down and lost it all. Otherwise ask specifics and I would be glad to help you.

[Rich P]

Almost done

Well, I'm about 80% of the way thru the project and it's going ok. My first few solder results are not as pretty as the later ones but since they are on the roof side of the gutter and don't leak it's not that big a deal.

I tried using the copper iron (borrowed from the gutter supply place) but could not get it hot enough to function properly. Guess you really need a "pot" (which is basically a propane tank with a burner on top) or one of those irons that has an "always on" torch behind it.

Turns out the my old trusty propane/map torch I've used to sweat a lot of copper worked ok. The gutter supply sold me some muriatic acid for flux but I wound up using a zinc based paste...easier to work with. (According to the guy at the plumbing store, gutter guys don't like paste because they have to stop and wipe off the residue.)

There are two sizes of the 50/50 stick solder. The fatter one is not advised...wicks too much heat away from the sheet metal.

BTW, the set of Workforce snips (see post in Bargain Alerts) worked fine for me but I'm not a pro so maybe I'd have been disappointed if I were. Getting five tools for the price of one was enough for me.

Other than the usual learning curve with tackling something new, it's been a fairly smooth project and the half round gutters look great. They add a "craftsman style" element to the house.

[mrojec]

Thanks for the follow up! I'm guessing you clean the metal up nice, apply the paste flux to the mating surfaces, position the pieces to be joined with a little overlap, heat them directly with your propane torch, and sweat the solder between the pieces. Is that how it works? I'd love to see some photos but I imagine you're busy finishing the last 20%... I certainly hope you're not affected by the fires we've been hearing about.
Mark

[Rich P]

Finished

mjorec...

The technique I used is as you stated except I wouldn't call it "sweating" as in copper. The solder will be "sucked" into the copper joint but in the sheet metal joint it "flows". Once you get the metal hot and a puddle of molten solder, I removed the torch and used the solder stick to flow the puddle into other parts of the joint. When it starts to cool and stick, just add a little more heat.

You also want to apply flux to the exposed metal on both sides of the seam. The solder will adhere there as well as in the actual "mating surfaces" and seems to provide additional mechanical bonding and water proofing. The most difficult joint I found to work was the 3" outlets. The curved flange on the outlets did not exactly match the curve in the 6" half-round gutter. Fortunately I had a set of HF large "vise grips" which were able to reach into the gutter and allow me to pull the two pieces together so the solder had something to stick to (other than air).

Unfortunately can't post photos of the joints...finished hanging the gutters about 3 weeks ago. Since I live in the the SF Bay Area (fires were way down south), I am still waiting for the next real storm so I can see how well they are working other than with a garden hose!


Rich