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COPPER PIPE, WASTE

Description: Copper waste pipe is standard copper color and comes in various large diameters and in 10-foot and 20-foot lengths. For home use, 3-inch diameter is common.

Buying information: Copper pipe, also known as DWV tube, is expensive, but it is better looking than most other pipe. It is a thinner gauge than copper water pipe.

How-to hints: Copper pipe is commonly joined to fittings by sweating, a process using hot solder. Soldering seems difficult, but is easy once you get the hang of it. One key is cleanliness. When the pipe is cleaned and properly heated and fluxed (flux is a salvelike preparation used for cleaning), the solder is readily sucked into the joint. Another key is to heat the copper directly, not the solder, and to heat evenly: Keep the torch moving over the surface being heated.

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