Brazing - how hot?

[The Other PaulG]

OK so I know nothing about this.

I need to repair a very small hole (2mm dia) in the flat, steel, side of an oil cooler. I am thinking that perhaps brazing with a bronze-based rod will do the trick. I am hoping that a soldering style flame will be enough to get the temperature high enough....

Now, tell me all about how I SHOULD be doing it...

PG

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

have a read here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazing

depends how much experience you have - a blob will seal it but won't bond to the base metal.
Too hot and you'll distort it.
Too cold and it won't bond.

 

[Shep]

In my experience (mostly vehicle radiators) the best way is to give the job to a specialist repairer, However if its a "stuck on the side of the road" senario, be very careful as the rad/cooler matrix is often only soft soldered together and often all falls apart just as the repair is getting upto temperature to solder/braze

Try to sit the cooler matrix area in water to help protect it, and be very careful, we used to use a specialist gel to surround the repair area this protected the surrounding area from the flame 'splashing' onto surrounding brackets/fixings.

if its only a temporary repair needed, a large headed self tapper has worked well for me in the past, combined with araldite/gasket goo as a sealer

Good luck!

Specialist Job really

Shep

 

[cookie]

be very careful as the rad/cooler matrix is often only soft soldered together and often all falls apart just as the repair is getting upto temperature to solder/braze

that's my experience of soldering up rads.

 

[Vern]

Are you sure it's steel to start with?If it is just the steel side,it's got nothing to do with the actual core of the radiator,so just get someone to drop a spot of MIG on it.In fact,if it is just the steel side plate,leave it as it is.

Is it copper core,or ally?is it leaking?

 

[The Other PaulG]

Hi Vern,

I will check tonight and get a better sense of what the material is. (This isn't a GS, by the way).

It's kind of seeping, rather than a full-on leak.

Paul G

PS Vern, dog still for sale/exchange for decent G/S

 

[Vern]

Wrap the dog up,and drop him in the post,and I'll send a GS back by return post(I just want to see the postman trying to get that feckin monster through the letter box )

Give me a bell on my mobile if you get stuck over the weekend

07905 802663

 

[Dickieboy]

OK so I know nothing about this.

I need to repair a very small hole (2mm dia) in the flat, steel, side of an oil cooler. I am thinking that perhaps brazing with a bronze-based rod will do the trick. I am hoping that a soldering style flame will be enough to get the temperature high enough....

Now, tell me all about how I SHOULD be doing it...

PG

Brazing is generally used to join pieces of metal together it's good because you can join different metals together, copper and iron, cast iron and steel etc. I haven't seen it used to fill a hole but I can't see why it shouldn't be but you'll have to control the heat carefully.
If you are going to braze as opposed to solder the job, You will need at the very least a blow lamp as used by plumbers, better still a gas welding torch which is smaller and more accurate for a small job, a brass rod, and plenty of flux. The metal surfaces that are to take the brass need to be heated so that the surface 'sweats' put a blob of flux on the tip of the rod and place the tip onto the join, if you've got the temperatures right it works beautifully using capillary action.

And ditto what Moto says to cold it won't work, too hot and you can by a new cooler.