Soldering on a hookah stem...

[SyndicatedChaos]

Alright, I got a quick PM about setting up a topic for people who need to fix leaks in their hoses and stems. I know this is a common problem, and everyone seems to have their own homebrew (if not carcinogenic) ways of fixing this! So, I figured that I would give me own input into this thing. Being new to the forum, I figured I might as well make an alright first impression...Problem Number 1: Leaky hoses. Alright. This is going to get messy, but it is well worth your time and lung power to fix this before it gets out of hand. From what I know, many leaks are usually right at the top or bottom of the hose, just before the handgrip or stem insertion. This is mainly caused by the rotation and movement those two pivotal points recieve. I found a surefire way of solving this problem, and most of you should take it to heart even as a preventive method and "Tune-up" if you will... All you need for this part is a small amount of dish soap, and some water. To find leaks in hoses, I take approximately a tablespoon of sunlight dish detergent, and mix it with half parts water. A 2:1 ratio. It should be very nice and thick. Dab your finger in the solution, and spread around in the edge of the handgrip and insertion piece along the hose. After a VERY THIN layer of the filmy soap is applied, block off one end, and blow hard into the other. Should there be any leaks in these areas, bubbles will form. That also applies to the rest of the hose, but I'm sticking to basics. Now comes the wonderfully (hard) part. As of late, I have turned to Band-Aid Liquid Bandage to solve my problems. It is airtight, and water proof, as well as flexible. A small (VERY SMALL) amount of this should applied to the hookah hose in the trouble spots. Let it dry for at least 24 hours. Then apply a second coat, this time a larger spread. After another 12 hours, you should be all set to get back to smoking! Unless of course, if your stem leaks...Problem 2: Leaky stems. Here's the fun one. Go to the hardware store, and buy yourself a nice canister of solder flux. Please be careful, and do not get it on your skin. After the flux has sat for about 2 minutes, proceed to wipe all of it off. And I mean ALL OF IT. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!! *Cough. Then you must heat up the stem, and being to solder. Please, be careful. Do not burn yourself, or (THIS IS THE OTHER IMPORTANT PART) get any of the solder down the stem. Take the proper precautions and plug the stem with something first, like an old rag. Also, make sure that you aren't breathing the fumes either. Now, people say "The Solder will not stand up to the heat!" Yes, Yes it will. As long as the smoke has been cooled through a proper amound of water, the smoke will not have ANY effect on the solder.
I hope this has been somewhat helpful. Besides the waiting time on the glue, these repairs take a novice anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to complete. And really, that's not that bad for keeping all your equipment in tip-top shape! Let me know what you think...

[SyndicatedChaos]

EDIT----> Please people. If you do not know how to solder, get someone who does. There is no point in attempting this only to lose a good hookah. Anyone who knows about soldering will get my instructions...thank you, and good night.

[cypress]

Its simple to solder on a hookah because its not like doing this on a
pc board. The main thing is not to clump the solder. Its easiest to do
this with a mini torch because you can heat up the area quicker than
electric iron. Also if you have some sort of vise to hold the hookah
while soldering it would be great. If not get your best bud to hold the
hookah with a wet rag to ensure they wont get burned.

As far as the fumes, well they are poisonous but if you did inhale it
you are not going to die or get cancer right off. Prolonged fume
inhalation is where you have to worry about.  There may be some
irritation if you are allergic to it. In either case if you are that
worried just get a paint mask from you local hardware store (probably
the same place you will get solder) in the paint section.

[HookahCulture]

Yeah I got a small section on stem soldering on the site.
I successfully did it! I was lucky I think, but check out the site to see how it went and how you can tackle a cracked weld.

Good luck!

[brother812]

nice guide syndicated. one thing i am wondering though is your advice about the flux. most fluxes i have ever worked with you need to apply heat to them for them to clean the area you are going to solder. their are fluxes out their that don't need the heat but they are a strong acid based flux and i would not recommend using them on a hookah you are going to be smoking. for working on a hookah i would get a plumbers flux non acid based. it is used on water lines and is easily cleaned out and wont hurt you if you drink/smoke a bit of it.

[Sean]

and it you are concerned about the look remember that plumbers solder doesnt stay pretty.  I reccomend using jewlers solder.  Any art supply store has it.  You can get it in silver or gold.  Both are actually made of high contect silver so completely non toxic and can be polished and cleaned like the rest of your stuff.  Much better flow and control as well.  But hey maybe that is just the art teacher in me talking.

[brother812]

very true sean silver solder will look alot better but the only problem with silver solder is that it takes alot more heat to work it. with more heat you risk doing more damage to your hookah than before you started. what i was sugesting in my last post was useing plumbers flux not solder. it is nontoxic and you need flux to clean the area you are soldering. for the solder i would use a thin electronics solder you can get a good flow with lower temps and it does clean up well.

[HookahCulture]

Be careful when using a torch because the weld is LOW TEMP and you can
heat that stuff up really quickly and it disappears inside the stem! I
also heatblued my stem a tad with the torch and had to buff it off with
a dremel. Use a soldering iron, you have much more control over the
process.

[MR Bubble]

Hey HookahCulture, how are you getting it hot enough with an electric iron? Once, I must have held the iron on the spot for 20 minutes (cramps were developing) and it wasn't hot enough to eve melt any solder.
MR Bubble

[brother812]

Mr. Bubble- you can get high wattage soldering irons that would probably do the job. like i said earlier use flux this will prep the metal so the solder sticks to it. if you are going to use an iron lay the iron in the crack you want to fill leave it heat for a few moments then start you solder flow by putting the solder directly on the iron tip move around the crack letting the tip of the iron do the melting letting it flow behind the iron as you move it. go slow and don't use to much solder. if it looks bad use the iron to smooth it out once you have a bead of solder in the crack you want to fill.
like Hookahculture said a torch will turn the metal blue if you like the way a Harley tail pipe looks you may want to do your whole hookah like this . both of my larger hookahs are braised at the joints and braising has a higher melting point than solder but a torch will create enough heat to melt it so if your going to use a torch be very careful. personally i would use a torch because it will make the job much easier and i don't really care how it looks as long as it works well.

[MR Bubble]

Thanks brother812. Oh gee, our badass accountant  moved this way now
MR Bubble