Im a beginner with soldering.

I did some 3/4 elbows. I realize I may have made a mistake.

Everything was cleaned and fluxed and it appears I have no leaks after a few hours.

However, I soldered between two shutoff valves in the off position. The water was drained between the two stops. But I imagine I should I have kept a valve (and a fixture open) to allow steam or air to travel.

Do you think I jeopardized the integrity of my joints by soldering in a closed run of pipe like this?

Also, whats a fair amount of time to give to say I was successful??... would I be more likely to see a a leak upon pressurization... or do I have to stay vigilant, checking for leaks for days or weeks?

Thanks for being patient with my beginner questions here... I realize this forum is geared toward the pros.



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The biggest problem that most beginners have is that of water in the lines creating steam and burning the pipe and fittings in my experience. If you didn't have any water in the lines, I wouldn't worry too much about leaks that might appear after the fact. If you were soldering multiple areas between shutoffs and no leaks have appeared, the only question I would ask is if any particular area gave you problems while soldering. If something was problematic, then I would check it every day for the next few days. It can take a few days for minuscule leaks to appear, but that doesn't normally happen if there wasn't a problem and the joints were cleaned and fluxed prior. Make sure to use a couple of soapy rags and a dry rag to clean excess flux and residue from around the joints and dry them afterward. If they don't leak after the pressure was initially applied, then hopefully all is well.

sometimes you are lucky, and the air that expands and creates pin holes, also contracts as it cools and sucks the solder into the gaps. IF it is not leaking now, you have a good chance of it not leaking later, but then there are no guarantees, because "poor joints" CAN take a long time before they fail.

post a up close pic of your solder joints and I would say if I would be concerned.
a picture tells a thousand words. Did you put 100 PSI on your system for testing?

He could have a "perfect" fillet on the surface and absolutely NO solder inside the joint and it would look like a "good joint'.