What is a soldering iron for plastic pipes - tool features

13-07-2018

Instruments

For each work around the house there are special tools designed for domestic service of the premises and interior items, as well as for repair. Construction tools are divided into universal, as well as specialized, endowed with a certain narrowly focused function. In this article we will talk about how to choose a soldering iron for plastic pipes, and why it is needed.

Equipment with a temperature controller is the most practical, but for a one-time use this function is not fundamental.

Equipment for soldering plastic pipes

One of these devices is a soldering iron used to connect elements of plastic piping. The purchase of this equipment is a very important matter. And so that it would be successful, it would not be superfluous, before picking up the appropriate tool, first deal with the principle of its work.

Plastic pipe welding technology

Anyone who has experienced the practice of laying plastic pipes with their own hands will confirm that the soldering process is rather easy.

Interesting! Complete with a soldering iron for polypropylene pipes is sold a set of nozzles designed for the most popular diameters of products.

Instructions for connecting parts of a plastic pipeline by soldering are simple:

The nozzle of necessary diameter joins a soldering iron. The nozzle has two branches for simultaneous heating of the joined elements.
We put on the end of the pipe on the nozzle, on the other hand, the second pipe or fitting. Perform warming up for the required amount of time.

Note! The accompanying documents to the soldering iron indicate the optimal warm-up time for each pipe diameter.

After the required time has elapsed, the connecting parts are connected and fixed until complete cooling and solidification.I. It usually takes 15-20 seconds.

As you can see, working with this tool will not force you to learn the basics of soldering, and you can easily cope with your goals.

With this tool you can not only lay the pipeline, as well as various crafts for home tinkering

Choice of a soldering iron

Which soldering iron for plastic pipe is better? What is the principle of choosing such equipment?

We note two main ones: the price and the expediency of the purchase, but there are several options:

If you are going to replace the water pipes in your standard apartment, then rather the best option would be to rent a soldering iron for one or two days.
If you don’t like to be dependent on anything (lease terms, the favor of a friend), then it’s advisable to buy an inexpensive soldering iron, which is enough for independent work on building a network of pipelines within your own home. For example, an electric soldering iron for plastic pipes "Brigadier 800" domestic manufacturer.
In the case when you are engaged in the creation of engineering networks on a professional level, then you should buy professional equipment:

With high power, and therefore performance.
The possibility of smooth manual adjustment of the temperature of the heated plastic elements.

Soldering Equipment Performance

So, we come to the basic characteristics of soldering irons for plastic pipes:

The first is the power of the unit. This is an indicator of the heating rate of the soldering iron to the working temperature and the maximum possible number of operations over a certain period of time. Power equipment for domestic purposes is in the range of 600-800 watts. The same parameter in powerful models of professional class reaches 2000 W and above.

The power selection of the soldering iron also depends on the diameter of the pipes with which you will have to work:

For products with a diameter of 16 to 65 mm is enough power in 700 watts.
A 900 W soldering iron will be needed for a pipeline with a diameter of up to 75 mm.
All diameters above and up to 125 mm are soldered on equipment with a capacity of 1200 W.

It is enough to change the nozzle and can be applied on large diameters.

The second is temperature control. Quality soldering iron models have a manually operated temperature controller on the body. The temperature of the soldering iron is regulated in the range from 180 to 280 degrees.

Note! Expensive high-quality models of soldering irons for polypropylene pipes are equipped with an electronic control of the heating temperature and a warning system about a set of a given mode.

Equipment

All soldering irons for plastic pipes are completed with double-sided nozzles (pairs) designed for pipes of different diameters. The more pairs of nozzles attached to the tool, the higher its cost.

Nozzles are made of metal and, as a rule, have a normal or teflon coating. Metallized Teflon significantly prolongs the life of the nozzle, but also requires careful handling during operation and during storage.

Attention! Teflon coating nozzles afraid of mechanical damage. A small scratch on the surface will adversely affect the quality of the connection and the reliability of the pipeline as a whole.

Unconventional method of soldering plastic pipe

In life there are different cases where it is not possible to perform this or another action according to all the rules. But for our compatriots, this is not a reason for rejecting our plans. The “Kulibins” will have a simple home-made analogue for any equipment.

They also invented how to solder plastic pipes without a soldering iron. And this solution is quite simple and affordable for almost everyone. Of course, in almost every house, apartment there is a gas burner, it will also play the role of equipment for plastic pipes.

Note! This method of plastic welding is suitable not only for pipes of small diameter, but it can also cope with large sizes.

So, if it became necessary to urgently repair the heating system or water supply from plastic pipes, you can use this method:

We cut off the necessary piece of pipe of the desired diameter with an allowance of 25 mm to fit the fitting.
We warm (only carefully) with a gas burner at the same time the end of the pipe and the fitting for the connection. The main thing is not to hold the end of the product under the flame for a long time, otherwise irreparable deformation will occur.

The end of the product should be only slightly deformed - “soft”

Then we connect the butt elements and maintain the time for cooling the plastic.

Of course, with a specialized soldering iron the process of soldering proceeds more easily, this is shown in the photo - just hold the elements of the water supply system with your hand

In principle, the same as with a soldering iron. But we advise you to practice on unnecessary pieces of pipe before starting work, in order to understand how much time it is necessary to heat the plastic with a torch.

Conclusion

We have tried to provide you with as much useful information as possible so that you not only realize the theoretical side of the tool, but also become familiar with the workflow. The only thing that I would like to highlight is to choose equipment only in certified stores, where you will be given a guarantee and, in which case, they will serve the tool. In the presented video in this article you will find additional information on this topic.

Included must be a manual and warranty certificate.