How to solder a brass samovar at home. Methods for restoring a samovar, useful tips for beginners. Where and how to solder a samovar nowadays

Today, in very rare cases, a samovar is used as a water heating device. If we're talking about about an electric samovar, then it performs its functions to a greater extent, but even repairs will not save the so-called grandmother’s samovars (in the sense that they are unlikely to brew tea in them). That’s right, the samovar today is a luxurious interior element. Both in the kitchen and, in some cases, in the living room, it can become a design highlight. But here it would be appropriate to talk about such a concept as the restoration of samovars, because it is the transformation of these utensils that is consonant with the decorative purposes of using samovars.

If we talk about major renovation, that is, not only decorative, it can consist of many points.

Samovar repair may include:

• Body straightening;
• Elimination of causes of leaking pipes and taps, handles, etc.;
• Elimination of cracks;
• Anti-scale;
• Tinning;
• Replacement of samovar parts with preliminary selection;
• Cleaning the body;
• Final polishing of the case after cleaning.

Restoration is usually carried out by professionals, but if you know some of the basics of the technology for repairing such things, do-it-yourself repair restoration is quite possible.

By the way, if you are the owner of an old samovar with a volume of 15-20 liters, even the most high-quality restoration is unlikely to help him become a functioning tea party item. Well, if you are going to restore small samovars, then it is quite possible to return them to their original functionality.

How samovars are restored (video)

Tinning a samovar: we do it ourselves

Metal utensils have one not very pleasant property - air and ordinary food products act in such a way that over time the surface of such utensils oxidizes. And oxidation entails covering the surface with a film, which human health poses a certain threat.

To prevent such a misfortune from happening to your samovar, you need tinning. That is, the surface of the samovar, the one that comes into contact with water, will be covered with a layer of metal that is less susceptible to external influences. Most often, such a layer is represented by tin, and the process of coating with tin is called tinning. By the way, not only a samovar, but also an ordinary pot, a cast iron pot, can be subjected to this preventive procedure, which is neither particularly expensive nor very complicated.

Tinning a samovar at home:

• Clean off inner surface samovar with sandpaper - dirt and oxidation must have collected there.
• After this, the inside of the samovar must be rinsed very well with water.
• Then you need to rub the inside of the samovar or ammonia, or soldering acid.
• After this, place the samovar on the stove, melt a little tin in it and rub it thoroughly with tow. A layer of poluda (tin coating) should be on the entire internal surface.
• At the end of the work, you must make sure that there is a layer of tin on the entire inner surface, dense and uniform.

If possible, use pure tin for tinning, without harmful impurities such as lead and zinc. Tin can be coated not only inner layer, but also all parts of the samovar that come into contact with water.

Repairing cracks in the body (video)

How to get rid of scale in a samovar: the right method

Without solving this problem, repairing the samovar is not possible. Scale is a sediment that appears as a result of boiling poor quality water. In fact, you can use synthetic products from the mass market designed to remove scale from electric kettles. But you can also make your own anti-scale product or several at once.

To get rid of scale in a samovar, you will need:

• Any store product with a minimum of ingredients (cheap and relatively natural);
• Lemons;
• Lemon acid;
• Vinegar;
• Potato peelings.

The first method is the simplest, but not the most environmentally friendly. Subject the samovar to the actions prescribed by the instructions on the device. Be sure to rinse it with water after all manipulations are completed.

You can easily get rid of scale in a samovar by boiling the carbonated drink "Sprite" in it for several minutes.

Second method: pour a whole bottle of acetic acid into a filled samovar, heat the water in the samovar to 60 degrees, do not boil. Let this mixture sit in the samovar for about an hour, then rinse off. Other acids should not be used, they are more aggressive. That is, their danger lies not only in particles that may remain on the walls of the samovar, but also in toxic vapors during the action of acid.

Do-it-yourself fire samovar (video)

How to use lemon and potatoes to save a samovar from scale

There are a couple more reliable methods that will solve the problem.

You can remove scale like this:

• Lemon acid. Pour thirty grams of lemon into the samovar. You need to boil the water and leave this solution in the samovar for 10-12 hours. Then rinse the samovar thoroughly without any special means.
• Lemons. Cut 4-5 lemons into circles or slices and throw them into the samovar. Fill with water and boil. And then, as in the lemon method, the water and lemons will “work” for 12 hours, after which you drain it along with the scale and rinse it with water.
• Potato peeling. Place the well-washed peelings inside the samovar. Fill with water, boil, leave for 5-10 hours. Then wash the walls with soda and a sponge.

Each method is effective. A forbidden technique is a metal brush or knife. You are simply deforming the walls of the samovar; fighting scale is not worth such sacrifices.

Samovar making (video master class)

Restoration is a big job that starts with such routine little things as descaling and tinning. Well, then you act according to the circumstances - either replace bad elements, or eliminate cracks and carry out final work, decorating the samovar.

Restoration of samovars (photo)

Gramophone 21-05-2009 16:35

Maybe someone can tell me?
We have a copper samovar, everything is fine, we use it sometimes, but there is one problem - a small leak at the place of the soldered seam in the bottom, where the firebox is soldered. There are no obvious cracks visible, it is overgrown with scale, and sometimes it starts to leak, especially after use. The hand doesn’t go through and it’s a bit deep, otherwise I would have found a way to fix the leak - a small 3-liter samovar. Can anyone tell me what can be done if you have experience. Maybe you can fill in something so that this crack will heal.

hohot 21-05-2009 18:52

IMHO, better for professionals trust.
Of course it will cost money, but if the thing is expensive......

Micro 21-05-2009 20:27

You need to solder. The downside is that the place is difficult to access...
Either put up with the leak, or look for the “puddle-solder-fix-pots” guy

Escarabajo 21-05-2009 21:22

And solder with food grade solder

hohot 21-05-2009 21:56

The following problem may arise:
Samovars are usually nickel plated. White shiny coating on top of a brass samovar. If you solder, the nickel plating will be damaged in places where the metal is very hot. Therefore, usually restored samovars have a brass shine. The nickel plating is removed from them, then tinned, then polished.
Naturally, this doesn’t come cheap because it’s done by professionals in factory conditions.
Finding a guy, IMHO, is also expensive, but there are fewer guarantees or no guarantees at all, it depends on your luck. Although there are certainly guys with really “golden hands”, it will be more difficult to find a handicraftsman than, for example, to order a restoration from a factory in Tula. The financial issue, unfortunately, has not been canceled.
...I’m looking for the “guy” myself and digging up information on my samovar

zavarow 21-05-2009 21:57

I guess self-repair should be carried out in two stages:
1. Remove scale
2. Soldering
The first stage - you can use a solution of citric acid (boil it in a samovar or pour boiling water over it and let it sit for a while). Topicstarter is concerned about the safety of the tin on the walls (when removing scale, for example, with “anti-scale”), I believe that citric acid will not do anything bad to the walls. Personally, I clean the kettle by boiling a vinegar solution - it removes scale well, but I don’t know whether the tinning on the walls will remain intact, so I don’t discuss vinegar.
As for the second stage - soldering - I’m not very good, unfortunately. In your mind, you should probably heat the ENTIRE samovar (with pieces of tin in in the right place), the tin will disperse there. It may be possible to heat locally (for example, blowtorch), but I have no experience... Solder doesn’t seem to be needed here - it’s leaking at the old solder joint, maybe just warm up this place, it will be soldered
This is IMHO, I will be glad to receive criticism, because you also need to study, maybe it will come in handy.

Pan horunji 07-06-2009 19:15

They posted the photo, maybe then they would have heard more practical advice.

fabokon 19-06-2009 12:26

Vague memories from childhood. Tula samovar, with a bunch of medals. The leak seemed to be in the same place as yours. One of the handy relatives melted in literally put a tin block in the crucible and carefully poured it through the top neck of the entire seam. Subsequent many years of operation showed that the option was the only correct one, nothing leaked.

Samovar is a symbol home comfort, warmth and well-being, known since the time of Peter the Great. Modern products that run on electricity do not provide much value. Heating devices (coal and kerosene) are of much greater interest. The restoration of samovars will help you feel the life and mood of your ancestors, which will breathe a second life into your grandmother’s dishes. However, prices for this service are not always affordable, since craftsmen consider such items to be antiques. Armed with tools and patience, you can repair your family heirloom yourself.

The main problems that may require restoration are: the appearance of dents, distortions, scale, loss of shine, the need for tinning or replacement of parts. If you purchase a tea maker second hand, you should carefully examine its internal condition. Even with no external defects, the samovar can leak. The cause is barely noticeable microcracks. In this case, you should immediately restoration work metal product.

The brass alloy releases oxides that are harmful to the body. To prevent them from getting into the water, the internal cavity of the device must be coated with special food-grade tin (cleansed of lead and other metal impurities).

In addition, a leaking samovar is dangerous because indelible rust appears in place of the cracks. Its pores contain a large amount of harmful human body bacteria. Iron is also present in high concentrations in water with rust. Regular consumption of such liquid will affect the functioning of the kidneys and liver. Metal in large volumes is poorly excreted from the body, so poisoning is inevitable.

In the old days, they did not know how harmful lead was to the body. The craftsman soldered dishes using this metal, without thinking about the consequences.

Kinds

Restoration of samovars can be complete, partial or museum. In the latter case, the appearance of the product is restored, but its further use for its intended purpose is impossible. Partial renovation provides for subsequent use, but not much attention is paid to restoring the original appearance of the item. When a samovar is completely restored, an update occurs internal parts product and its outer casing.

Partial

Most often, in order to restore the basic functions of the samovar, it is enough to polish the device, nickel plating, tinning, replacing handles, fittings, or eliminating faucet leaks. To polish the samovar, ordinary dishwashing detergent will do.

You can thoroughly clean plaque using tooth powder. This abrasive material will not scratch the surface.

If the key to the samovar tap cannot be turned or removed, then to eliminate this problem you will need special anti-corrosion agents that reduce the adhesion of metal to rust. After treating the part with lubricant, you should carefully remove it from the tap. You can repair the elements of a vessel with your own hands using nickel plating - this is the process of building up a layer of metal on a damaged area. The procedure is simple to perform, but is not applicable for tin, lead and zinc items.

Comprehensive

A service like complete restoration A samovar is not cheap from specialists. However, some problems can be fixed on your own. For example, dents can be easily smoothed out using a rubber hammer. Tap the protruding part of the dent using gentle movements. You can also correct unevenness using mandrels. A metal hammer leaves impact marks. It is not suitable for straightening dents.

A comprehensive restoration necessarily includes such procedures as replacing worn-out fittings, removing plaque, lapping, polishing, tinning, and plating the product with nickel or silver. You can also solder a samovar at home. Important step– find out exactly where the water is flowing from. To work, you need to get a blowtorch or a propane-oxygen torch and copper-phosphorus solder.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Before sealing the dishes, they must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt.
2. Next, prepare the flux: take 1 tablespoon of borax and boric acid, dilute them in 1 glass of boiling water.
3. Cracks are treated with prepared flux.
4. Then problem area heated using a burner. The metal should take on a reddish tint. If overheated, it will be much more difficult to solder.
5. Touch the solder to the heated area of ​​the samovar. The metal will slowly begin to spread, falling into the cracks.

Soldering must be done on a heat-resistant stand. Good materials For this purpose, use a brick or asbestos plate.

Tinning the samovar

In order to protect metal products from oxidation, their inner surface is coated with tin. This method of processing dishes is called “tinning”, and the applied layer of metal is called “half-dish”. To reduce tin costs, bismuth is additionally used. Lead impurities, as well as poisonous salts, are prohibited from being used in the process of preparing poluda.

Tinning a samovar is a simple procedure that prevents the formation of corrosion on metal surfaces. Step-by-step instruction next:

1. In order for the tin to lay down better, the inner surface of the dishes must be well cleaned. It is advisable to use an iron brush - it will quickly remove dirt and oxidation.
2. Next, the metal product is thoroughly washed with running water.
3. The dried internal cavity of the samovar is treated with ammonia.
4. Next, a little tin is placed in the heated dish. The metal should evenly cover all the walls of the vessel. After that you need to wait completely dry and half-grasping.

It's better to tin on the street. If this is not possible, be sure to turn on the hood and open the windows. During restoration work a lot of smoke will be generated.

DIY repair methods

Restoring a samovar is a painstaking and difficult process. If you are not interested in the appearance of the product, you can eliminate some of the causes of broken dishes at home. Only specialists can restore a samovar without losing the beauty of its body. From tools and additional materials To restore the product yourself, you may need: tin, hammer, abrasive, sandpaper, tow.

Stages of repair at home:

• restoration of the hull (patching cracks, eliminating leaks, straightening (removing corrosion);
• cleaning the product from the inside (descaling, tinning);
• replacement of parts (if necessary);
• improvement appearance(polishing).

Hull restoration

If there are dents on the samovar, you can straighten the product yourself. To make it easier to correct irregularities, it is recommended to unsolder the free pipe. This simple technique allows you to freely place your hand, as well as tools, inside the samovar. Wood block V in this case will perfectly play the role of an anvil. To level the body you need to use rubber mallet and measure the force of the impact so that the dent is straightened. It is better to straighten the product by weight, so the pressure will not be transferred to the body of the samovar.

Cracks in the housing can be soldered if a torch is available. Often the samovar splits from the bottom of the flame tube and, as a result, begins to leak. Restorers recommend soldering the body of the product from the inside - this way the seam will be barely visible.

Faucet repair

Grinding in the faucet is quite possible at home. If it leaks from the bottom of the product, it means that the key is located high in it. Conclusion: it needs to be lowered lower, having been treated with lapping paste beforehand. Next, the samovar is filled hot water. Use smooth circular movements to turn the key in the tap until the liquid stops dripping. If it does not open at all, the mounting hole can be treated with a “liquid key”. After the time specified in the instructions, you need to lightly hit the stuck part of the structure with a hammer.

After done repair work It is advisable to rinse the samovar several times with diluted citric acid so that the remaining abrasive does not get into the tea.

Lubricate the samovar key with lapping paste

Then insert the key into the faucet. Fill the dishes with hot water

You need to turn the key several times

Replacing internal elements

Available for sale a large assortment faucets for samovars, so replacing this accessory is quite simple. An important step in this matter is to correctly measure the parameters of the part. After purchase, you should lubricate the faucet vegetable oil or Vaseline. This technique increases the service life of the product.

The grate bars in the samovar often fail. Before replacing the part, it is necessary to desolder the pipe. Her bottom part need to check for cracks. After these steps, a new grate is placed in the pipe and the body is cleaned. Next, the remaining parts of the samovar are installed in their places.

Replacing the faucet

Soldering the pipe

We mount the grate and solder the pipe back

Descaling using traditional methods

To get rid of scale, you can use special means containing organic acids. They effectively remove stubborn limescale without scratching the inner surface of the cookware. If you don’t have a special powder on hand, you can use improvised means, such as vinegar. It is diluted in water in a ratio of 1:5, the resulting mixture is filled with a vessel for some time (until the scale is completely dissolved).

Soda - excellent remedy from solid deposits. For 1 liter of water you need to take 3 tablespoons of loose powder, boil the resulting mixture in a samovar for about 20 minutes, then pour everything out and repeat the procedure, but by adding vinegar essence (1/2 cup of the product per 4 liters of liquid).

Potato peelings – faithful helpers in the fight against scale. The samovar needs to be filled one-third full with them and covered to the top with water. After boiling, the vessel should be left filled with cleaning fluids for several hours. After this, the samovar must be thoroughly rinsed with soda solution. Regular descaling of the product increases its thermal conductivity.

To improve the condition of the body of the samovar, you can use special polishing agents. They will not only return the shine to the dishes, but also cover them protective film which will prevent the surface from tarnishing. When purchasing a polish, you must read the instructions. It is important to find out whether the chosen product is compatible with the metal from which the samovar is made. To treat nickel silver vessels, it is recommended to use Metal Cleaner. You can add shine to your dishes folk ways, for example, by rubbing it with sand, soda or chalk.

Video