Freddy's Coffee House 4May2024 "No Tipping Required..!!"
- Hambden Bob
- Member
- Posts: 8775
- Joined: Mon. Jan. 04, 2010 10:54 am
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Blower Model Coal Chubby 1982-Serial#0097
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman 1998 Magnum Stoker
- Coal Size/Type: Rice-A-Roni ! / Nut
- Other Heating: Pro-Pain Forced Air
All's Well That Ends Well..!! I Really Appreciate Everyone Who Stopped By,Contributed Some Great Updates And "Da' Contents"..!!
We'll all see what "Mularkey and Breakfast Materials" We can come up with as We "Grind It Out" towards The Memorial Day Weekend..!! Stay Tuned,Stay Loose And As Always:"Take Great Care Of Each Other"..!!
We'll all see what "Mularkey and Breakfast Materials" We can come up with as We "Grind It Out" towards The Memorial Day Weekend..!! Stay Tuned,Stay Loose And As Always:"Take Great Care Of Each Other"..!!
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12749
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler, Mitsubishi MSZ/MUZ-FS12NA mini split
AMEN to that, Bob!
I've been torso-deep underneath the sink doing some plumbing.
Hopefully I can finish that project today. We'll see! 

I've been torso-deep underneath the sink doing some plumbing.


- freetown fred
- Missed and Always Remembered
- Posts: 30264
- Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
- Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut
- Hambden Bob
- Member
- Posts: 8775
- Joined: Mon. Jan. 04, 2010 10:54 am
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Blower Model Coal Chubby 1982-Serial#0097
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman 1998 Magnum Stoker
- Coal Size/Type: Rice-A-Roni ! / Nut
- Other Heating: Pro-Pain Forced Air
Of course,Smitt's,You realize that We're going to need a "Full Report" on the "Arthritis Attack" resulting from being a "Under Countertop Contortionist"...
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12749
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler, Mitsubishi MSZ/MUZ-FS12NA mini split
Oh yeah, just finished! 14 hours of battle! I'll have all the pics & more details next Saturday, but yeah, the right hand (the one with the plate & 6 self-tappers in it) hurts like hell. No more boozin' to kill the pain, so I gotta tough it out.
Shockingly, no leaks on ANY of my soldering! SWEET! That's a first! I've found the right materials make all the difference. I bought the solder after hearing Steve Lavimoniere's (a MA plumbing guru on YouTube) recommendation in the comments section of one of his vids. He rattled off a brand of solder, and I bought it. Made all the difference! I had been using 20-40 year old stuff, and having leaks galore.
Naturally, I had other leaks. That was with the reverse osmosis system I installed at the same time. Was a Made in USA unit (as far as I know ... maybe some parts are chinese, who knows?), but whoever installed a 90° elbow at the factory reefed it in there a bit too tight, or with too many wraps of teflon tape, and I had the tiniest little bubble forming which would eventually drip down every 30 seconds or so. Tightening it immediately made it worse!
Installed a new 90° that was included extra in the kit, and butchered that one even worse than the factory did! DAMMIT! Ended up installing the old one with 4 wraps of teflon tape, AND some GRRIP sealer. Almost sealed it. About 99.8%. Still get a tiny bead forming there, but it evaporates before it drips. I'm thinking sediment over time might fix that one for me.
I have to share the first glass of water I got out of it.
SWEEEEET! Do shots of this and it'll be just like Woodstock '69 again, with some WILD colors in the air! 
Shockingly, no leaks on ANY of my soldering! SWEET! That's a first! I've found the right materials make all the difference. I bought the solder after hearing Steve Lavimoniere's (a MA plumbing guru on YouTube) recommendation in the comments section of one of his vids. He rattled off a brand of solder, and I bought it. Made all the difference! I had been using 20-40 year old stuff, and having leaks galore.
Naturally, I had other leaks. That was with the reverse osmosis system I installed at the same time. Was a Made in USA unit (as far as I know ... maybe some parts are chinese, who knows?), but whoever installed a 90° elbow at the factory reefed it in there a bit too tight, or with too many wraps of teflon tape, and I had the tiniest little bubble forming which would eventually drip down every 30 seconds or so. Tightening it immediately made it worse!


I have to share the first glass of water I got out of it.


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- freetown fred
- Missed and Always Remembered
- Posts: 30264
- Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
- Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut
Indeed T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

- warminmn
- Member
- Posts: 9049
- Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Riteway 37
- Coal Size/Type: nut ant, lignite
- Other Heating: Wood, wear a wool shirt and sleep under a Hudson Bay Wool Blanket when out of coal
Glad it was you Smitty and not me. I can fix about anything but plumbing is a weakness. How I installed a new well I cant understand as I never could stop a leak under my sink.
Odd about the solder. A lot of people seek out old solder on ebay as they think its better. Sounds like they are wrong, for plumbing anyway.
Odd about the solder. A lot of people seek out old solder on ebay as they think its better. Sounds like they are wrong, for plumbing anyway.
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12749
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler, Mitsubishi MSZ/MUZ-FS12NA mini split
eBay is the LAST place I shop for anything of quality, unless it's something used & built in the 20th century.
I had the same plumbing issues! Thought it was me for years, but it was the cheap crap I bought at Lowe's / Home Depot, and the stuff I found in recycling bins when I had the city route a decade + back. The right solder, and flux, is EVERYTHING. When I'm less pressed for time, I'll snap a pic of the solder and flux I used this time. Zero problems! First time ever.
Thinking back to the boiler I installed in 2008, the one Jim Dorcy gave me before he unfortunately passed, all my problems started after buying a can of flux at Lowe's! Ended up tossing the whole can in the trash after my EFM install in late '22.
On another note. I tested the water out of the RO faucet yesterday afternoon after the 4th flush was complete. Had TWO PPM!! That's crazy! Almost as good as distilled water!
I had the same plumbing issues! Thought it was me for years, but it was the cheap crap I bought at Lowe's / Home Depot, and the stuff I found in recycling bins when I had the city route a decade + back. The right solder, and flux, is EVERYTHING. When I'm less pressed for time, I'll snap a pic of the solder and flux I used this time. Zero problems! First time ever.
Thinking back to the boiler I installed in 2008, the one Jim Dorcy gave me before he unfortunately passed, all my problems started after buying a can of flux at Lowe's! Ended up tossing the whole can in the trash after my EFM install in late '22.

On another note. I tested the water out of the RO faucet yesterday afternoon after the 4th flush was complete. Had TWO PPM!! That's crazy! Almost as good as distilled water!

- gaw
- Member
- Posts: 4390
- Joined: Fri. Jan. 26, 2007 2:51 am
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
- Coal Size/Type: Rice from Schuylkill County
Yup, I have soldered quite a few joints with modern solder and flux bought at the big box stores. Can't recall any leaks, once and done. (there's probably a leak somewhere I can't remember) I spend a lot of time cleaning both pipe and fitting and apply flux to both surfaces. My preferred torch is an oxy acetylene like used for brazing, but propane is OK for a small job. Generally your joint won't show much excess solder, just a thin ring around the joint.
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12749
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler, Mitsubishi MSZ/MUZ-FS12NA mini split
Not mine. They have FAT friggin blobs around them. I don't want to do it twice!
Fairly certain I'm using the same flux I started soldering the EFM with - had several leaks when I was done. Redid all of them with the different solder and didn't have a single leak. Then did this job Monday with the new solder - zero leaks, and I was using ancient DIRTY pipe! I always clean the joints until they're gleaming light bronze. I must've just had some real trash solder on hand. I'll save that stuff for circuit boards & wire.
I use a MAPP torch - been using that for decades. It'll get 'em hot enough to burn green if you let it.

Fairly certain I'm using the same flux I started soldering the EFM with - had several leaks when I was done. Redid all of them with the different solder and didn't have a single leak. Then did this job Monday with the new solder - zero leaks, and I was using ancient DIRTY pipe! I always clean the joints until they're gleaming light bronze. I must've just had some real trash solder on hand. I'll save that stuff for circuit boards & wire.

I use a MAPP torch - been using that for decades. It'll get 'em hot enough to burn green if you let it.