What components would you recommend?

**Tom Sawyer** · 03-10-2012, 07:35 AM

The corrosion may be from the water actually leaking through the fitting itself. Us plumbers see a whole lot of this in the past few years and there are a bunch of law suits involved also. The fittings that I see in the photo appear to be the very same ones mentioned in those law suits.

Here, read and become educated: http://knol.google.com/k/anonymous/f...2ug8iz123/116#

**LLigetfa** · 03-10-2012, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by RWL

In the photo below, there's corrosion of the fitting carrying unconditioned water coming from the well, but not after that. Is that normal to see that corrosion? Is that something that needs to be fixed?

With the valve above closed, the flow of cold water goes to the right, so the lower half of that Tee will sweat. It is possible that the Tee is not leaking and that the corrosion is just from sweat. If you stop the flow by closing the valve to the right and blow dry the Tee, it should be easy to see if it is leaking or just sweating.

That said, if I were a betting man, I'd say it is leaking.

**Tom Sawyer** · 03-10-2012, 08:04 AM

It very well might be condensation or a leak at the crimp ring but.....there have been many cases where fittings that look exactly like that have catastrophically failed causing thousands of dollars in property damage so better safe than sorry.

**LLigetfa** · 03-10-2012, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

or..... you could just wrap it with duct tape LOL

or Billy Mays Mighty Putty!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuReA-AGa8

**ditttohead** · 03-10-2012, 08:56 AM

Personally, I have found duct tape to work better than solder, or pex clamps. It works even better if you spray this over it afterwards.

hahahahahahah

**Tom Sawyer** · 03-10-2012, 10:49 AM

I miss Billy

I didn't say conclusively that the fittings have experienced dezincification either but since the issue is known and that fitting fits the description, if it were me I would forgo the duct tape and have it checked out to be safe. This is an example of what happens when non plumbers get involved in subjects that they lack knowledge and experience in. Duct tape, silicone, mighty putty and sheet rock screws are not considered a permanent repair LOL

**LLigetfa** · 03-10-2012, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

Duct tape, silicone, mighty putty and sheet rock screws are not considered a permanent repair LOL

I cannot speak for the Gary and his duct tape (I think he was serious), but I'm pretty sure ditttohead meant his Leak Ender post in jest as I did the Mighty Putty. The reality of it though is that many would consider all three a viable repair.

As for screws, I've seen galvanized tanks that looked like porcupines with screws sticking out of them. Why throw away a big tank just because of a tiny pinhole?

**Gary Slusser** · 03-10-2012, 12:30 PM

Yeah and until I mentioned a leak and the powdery stuff probably being sulfate, it was dezincification and a catastrophy was in the making with tens of thousands of dollars of damage and the plumbers were jumping on replacing all the metal fittings in the PEX lines all over the house.

If the corrosion was due to condensation, the top of the tee would be sweating too, not just the one leg of the tee going off to the right. Plus, if you look close you can see a whitish horizontal line from the right hand tubing end left onto and across the brass; to run down onto the crimp ring below it.

The duct tape is only to keep water off the crimp ring so it wouldn't corrode more if the leak (or condensation) continued. Which I would bet it doesn't.

**Tom Sawyer** · 03-10-2012, 12:45 PM

You need to go back to the beginning of the thread. Nobody say definitively that it was dezincification only that it may possibly be and that it should be considered and investigated. The fact that you have not been in the field for 10 years or more and have little or no knowledge or experience in dealing with the issue in no way means that it does not exist. You can Google the problem and spend the next week or so reading about the causes and effects if you so desire. However enough property damage has occurred that to simply wave the hand of dismissal may very well prove to be catastrophic as you say. You may indeed be right in your assessment and I believe that I address your assessment way back in the beginning of the thread if you would take a moment to re-read before going off half cocked. And further, as it is not your property it is easy for you to dismiss the situation.

Here is a picture of a fitting failure due to dezincification. Look familiar? About 6 years ago a couple that has a 1/2 million dollar or more summer home on lake Winnipasaukee came back from wintering in Florida to find that a similar pex fitting had let go on the second floor of their summer home. Because they have no close neighbors the water may well have run full bore for weeks and in fact it was still running when they opened the front door. Pretty much the entire home was destroyed. All the hardwood floors, sheet rock, cabinets, most of the electrical in the ceilings, their furniture, electronics and appliances. The home had to be gutted and rebuilt all due to one little fitting failure. But hey, maybe it's just condensation.

**RWL** · 03-12-2012, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

Its not so much the crusty stuff on the left that bothers me as the dis colorization on the left side of the fitting right in the middle. Still, it may just be a bad crimp or fitting but you really should cut it out and investigate because the ramification of letting it go could be serious.

The Pex is probably only 3 years old (pH 5.5), so I'm hoping that it isn't in imminant danger of going since it took 20+ years for the first pin holes to devlop in the copper pipe. That's not to diminish the significance of dezincification, since it will be dealt with when I finally figure out what I want to do with my conditioning system.