Thanks. I think the op is just a lousy solderer. Congrats to all you guys who can handle these things. Would you like to be notified via email when somebody replies to this thread? Good Luck. and possibly a "cluster" of fittings (elbows and couplings)it takes far more heat to solder the pipe. The volume of steam is 1700 times the volume of water. I know you say no pex, but honestly this sounds like an easy pex fitting. Did you drain enough water out of the line so any water/air that turns to steam and expands has a place to go? Thanks.

This was an inlet to a water heater and I opened the drain valve on that heater to help with expansion and also on the water heater next to it. A shop vac can be used to suck out residual water. (for drainage) or is there some reason that installing it "right side up" would make more sense? As a plumber, when soldering on a large size diameter pipe, such as installing a 2" shut-off valve at a water heater, I add a "Tee" to the line next to the valve. Awesome tip Robert J (CA)!! Some valve have a small cap/drain on them to allow air to escape when open. It will dissolve in water. Another thought Jac (OH)If it was close to the H water heater (3/4"pipe?) Ball valves cant be "disassembled" (unlike traditional shutoff valves) but they can be unscrewed and opened, to aid in the release of pressure/steam. Always buy the "metal type' of ball valves. Whole new technical, confusing info. Avoid like the plague. :-) It takes practice. Maybe one of our member contractors would offer. A couple of things I noticed after rereading my post.

Therefore you couldn't complete the solder joint. There must by some water in your lines. Also..Make sure the valve is open, during soldering. I want to try again but I'm thinking screw fittings.

I'm not sure I quite understand the nuances yet, but you've given me something to think about. The bottom would not get hot enough to pull in the solder and I burnt out the internals because it would not seal when using the valve after turning the water back on (yes it was also leaking from the bottom). Keep life simple. If the water problem is particularly stuborn.Take the non crust part of a piece of white bread and roll into an over sized doe ball.cram into pipesolder fitting quickly. :). Use copious amounts of paste flux(my plumber friend gives me a lot of grief for thisso be it. I don't mean to be a broken record, but since I switched to map gas, this has been less of a problem. Gotta appreciate my plumber. This is why some plumbers purchase a "press system" and crimp in a ball valve in seconds or go to shark bit fittings. It is really worth giving it a try, no way to beat it for time invested.

All water was off and any water above the pipe I was working on was completely drained from the system. If problems w steam "blowout" continuedo as others have sugested w blowing out or shop-vacing line. Robert, Do you install the fitting w the female thread facing down? In the past I have stuffed bread up in the pipe to stop the water flow. Took me about 15 minutes to replace a 10 foot run of pipe that had frozen and burst. Plumbing Ninjas need your help. All Greek to me. :-).

WoW- Interesting.

I don't mean to hijack your post but I do have a couple of "nuance" questions for Robert J (ca). I was thinking I was going to sweat in two male copper screw fittings on each copper pipe side but I don't think it will work.

It would be nice to have a demo at our landlord meeting. I think Robert's suggestion of adding a cap-able Tee before the shut off is brilliant. I think I'm going to try the sharkbites.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. This would help keep the heat away from the ball valve. So if your pipe system is completely sealed , this won't work. I use a regular BBQ propane tank with a hose and modified tip so I can get hot fast and don't have to worry about tank position or running out of gas. Whole grain wheat etc, will clog. I like to install the tee sort of sideways to allow the slow accumulation of water to continue to drain but leave an area for an air pocket to allow me to solder the pipes and allow for steam release. I have also blown the lines out, open all faucets on that side and blow from the one you are trying to work on.. They come in 1/2, 3/4 and 1 inch. There is an expansion tool that stops the water while you solder. Make sure you open the valve while soldering & you could even use a wet rag wrapped around the ball valve to further help keep the heat away. Good question 1gr81. Shut off water to home..open faucets and hose bibs (leave them open)..Disassemble the ball valve (remove internal parts).. Prep fittings and pipe by sanding down to shiny copper.use an excessive amount of flux (The non water soluble (paste?) Also consider, disconnecting other parts of the system, and blowing out all water with compressed air. Also, you should use Wonder Bread to plug pipes. I can't figure out how the screw fittings work and of course no one at Menards knew anything. Where I can I use male nipples and threaded unions so I can easily change valves in the future. Personally, I would be going for compression or a Sharkbite. No health food here! For years I have messed with sweating in copper fitting and after a whole bunch of practice I still have problems with it. I like to heat the bottom, when it's hot enough the solder will flow into the joint and you're done! type works best in wet situations)on both, pipe and inside of fitting.Prepare solder wire by bending into a hook shape .. Use Map gas (burns hotter).apply heat to pipes (just a bit) and then around the new valveThen focus heat on bottom of fitting.. touch solder wire to top of pipe (opposite of flame) if it begins to run smoothly, rub the tip of bent solder wire around fitting/pipe connection..Immediately repeat on other side. I don't want to use compression fittings or PEX. I'm trying to put in a shut off valve in a couple of lines. The valve doesn't have a reverse thread on one side so when I screw it in both sides won't tighten. You may need to remove the aerators, to clean out sink lines, but this should be done anyway. If so, you must include your valid email address here. I bought the Nibco sweat ball valve and tried to sweat it in but two problems. I will be using that one. (I also try to move the ball valve as far away from the fittings as possible.). Some have plastic "balls".

I also had a sink that was a few feet away opened as well.

You could also use a male adapter to which you solder a piece of copper pipe B/4 you thread it onto a ball valve Then use a copper coupling to attach it to the water line. When the water is turned on, the bread will dissolve. I was in the plumbing department and found the screw end (not compression) ball valve. An old time plumber convinced me to try the shark bite fittings. You are trying to solder in the ball valve on a closed system. Any moisture in your pipe will blow out the solder when the water turns to steam. Just had a wild thought. No! What am I missing here? The "Tee" is a sweet x sweet x threaded side that after sweating in the Ball Valve and Tee, I can then screw in a "plug" to close the system and make things water tight. I second shark bite.