Mike S
New Member
I have read most of the old threads about pinholes in copper pipe and wonder if I have a problem with corrosive water and should replace the copper with PEX? How does a person figure out if it would be worth the considerable expence to replumb a house?
House is 15 years old with copper all through, some of it is rigid and some is flexable but I don't know what scheduld the wall thickness is. Ten years ago I replaced a brass faucet assembly after crushing the brass trying to change a faucet valve. A plumbing store said I probably have corrsive water and should get the proper treatment system installed. Mainly because they were sellling the treatment systems I took the advice with a grain of salt.
Five years ago I got one pinhole in a length of flex copper right in the very bottom of the pipe in the middle of a horizontal a run. I cut the section out and soldered in a replacement piece. I don't know what I am looking for but I couldn't see much interesting looking at the section I cut out. It got me wondering about what the plumbing store had said again.
I had a analysis done on my well water and among other things it said my PH is 7.4 but the corrosivity is minus 1.1 on the "Langerlier Saturation Index". Report said a slightly positive number up to +2 is desired. So how bad is a minus 1.1?
I tried to clean up any copper to galvanized connections, found one maybe. Recently I had some electrical work done and electrictian cleaned up a clamp on the ground rod which had rotten away; don't know how long it has been that way.
I have just gotten my second leak somewhere up in the second story wall . I caped off the copper line to the showers but haven't opened the tiled shower wall to find exactly what was leaking. I am wondering if I should just fix the leak or should I be thinking of replacing all my copper with PEX or what? Code around here recently allowed PEX.
Neighbors around here don't seem to be talking about pinholes in copper but maybe I just haven't heard.
Would a treatment system be in order?
Thanks in advance for any help.
House is 15 years old with copper all through, some of it is rigid and some is flexable but I don't know what scheduld the wall thickness is. Ten years ago I replaced a brass faucet assembly after crushing the brass trying to change a faucet valve. A plumbing store said I probably have corrsive water and should get the proper treatment system installed. Mainly because they were sellling the treatment systems I took the advice with a grain of salt.
Five years ago I got one pinhole in a length of flex copper right in the very bottom of the pipe in the middle of a horizontal a run. I cut the section out and soldered in a replacement piece. I don't know what I am looking for but I couldn't see much interesting looking at the section I cut out. It got me wondering about what the plumbing store had said again.
I had a analysis done on my well water and among other things it said my PH is 7.4 but the corrosivity is minus 1.1 on the "Langerlier Saturation Index". Report said a slightly positive number up to +2 is desired. So how bad is a minus 1.1?
I tried to clean up any copper to galvanized connections, found one maybe. Recently I had some electrical work done and electrictian cleaned up a clamp on the ground rod which had rotten away; don't know how long it has been that way.
I have just gotten my second leak somewhere up in the second story wall . I caped off the copper line to the showers but haven't opened the tiled shower wall to find exactly what was leaking. I am wondering if I should just fix the leak or should I be thinking of replacing all my copper with PEX or what? Code around here recently allowed PEX.
Neighbors around here don't seem to be talking about pinholes in copper but maybe I just haven't heard.
Would a treatment system be in order?
Thanks in advance for any help.
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