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Pin holes in copper pipes
My house is about 18 yrs old and I'm starting to have pin hole leakes in my copper piping. Plumber says I need to replace all my pipes due to corrossion but the only corrossion I see is where work has been done such as adding a split of value. Any way to fix pin holes without replacing the piping? I read somewhere where a piece of rubber like a tire patch and a ring clamp will work for a LONG time. Any such luck?
That would be something some of the repair fittings I see.
Some are sleeves that are rubber lined, that clamp up.
I don't see why a hose clamp and rubber wouldn't work too.
As a tempory patch.
If you are getting pin hole leaks, then it's only going to get worse.
Last edited by Terry; 02-22-2007 at 09:05 AM.
My experience is that they work okay but I wouldnt' put one in a customers house because they're not pretty and not professional...IMHO....
The other things you should do whether you replace the plumbing or not are; get a water test for pH and check the ground for the building and any ground wires on the copper tubing. If the pH is low you need an acid neutralizer filter. It should be a backwashed type, not an upflow.
You can also check for dissimilar metals corrosion from brass and galvanized and copper plumbing.
If the pH is not low, less than 7.0, although the acceptable range is stated as 6.5 to 8.5, then call in a water treatment dealer with experience in aggressive and/or corrosive water treatment.
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If the pinholes are located downstream of fittings and joints, you also might want to think about the installer not reaming the pipe - that will cause just that...
Like a river bottom with a rock on it, the turbulence caused by the un-reamed ridge at the cut end of the pipe will cause pitting and pinhole leaks downstream of the ridge after a few years...
If this is the case, you might be looking at a re-pipe if it gets bad enough...
I would put my money into the electrical side of things. A loose ground or a missing ground / bonding jumper will cause this. But if you’re on a water system (not a well) then I would go with a bad negative connection. Not every electrician is going to be able to help find the issue.
As far as the pitting caused by not reaming out the pipe before installing this will normally only pit the pipes with in a foot or two of the bad reaming.
As far as the PH there are test kits for about $5.00 but your local pool store can do it for free. A fish store can also do the PH test for free. Where I’m at the water is as hard as rock.
100 bucks says its type m tubing.... change it as it leaks
It doesn't matter if it is K L or M, they all corrode and the thicker walled just takes longer to leak. ITMT copper is being added to the water and that can be a serious health problem.
Click Here to learn how to correctly size or program a water softener.
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