Pinhole 3/4 copper flex pipe

[TimeBandit]

I have no idea when our house was piped in copper, built in 1969, we moved here in 2000.

They used 3/4 bendable pipe from near the inlet pressure regulator to I have no idea where, it
disappears into the drywall over the water heater.

This is the second pinhole leak I've fixed, the last time was about 10 years ago. Both leaks luckily
were in the garage where I could see/fix them, same pipe about 18" apart.

Both times I drilled out the pinhole with a 1/16" drill, sanded the area, heated it up, fluxed it and
filled the hole with solder. The hole is on the bottom part of the pipe so I'm not sure how much
solder got "up" into the hole, but it stopped the leak.

The first fix is still holding, it would be a tough section to replace, fingers crossed.

 

[NicPaus]

Sounds like soft copper. I would check the meter every other week or so to make sure you don't have 1 you can't see. If you are leaving out of town for a few days or more turn off the main while gone. Start saving fund for a repipe if they start becoming more frequent.

 

[hallett21]

Good time to make sure you have enough insurance coverage as well in the event a pipe let’s go and you don’t catch it

 

[ka0tyk]

Sounds like soft copper. I would check the meter every other week or so to make sure you don't have 1 you can't see. If you are leaving out of town for a few days or more turn off the main while gone. Start saving fund for a repipe if they start becoming more frequent.

ive gotten in the habit of turning off the main and the water heater everytime we leave for more than like 2 days. my dad had a toilet hose burst and it flooded the house for a week. everything destroyed, all drywall, huge blowers to dry everything out, etc. it was a mess.

 

[SoCalDave]

Yep time to start planning for a re-pipe. Most are going with PEX but the old timers still live by L type copper. Never use M and K is a major upgrade.
Good luck.

 

[Mandelon]

Cut a 3/4 couple down the side and slip it over the hole. Solder it on the outside.

 

[boatpi]

When I had my Havasu house I had to do with that hard copper 90° elbow the funky water they’re just want a pinhole right through it after about 10 years

 

[Backlash]

I'm no plumber but I've laid a lot of pipe in my days. From the little I know about it, a lot of problems come from the way the copper pipe was "Prepped" as it was installed. Were the edges reamed where the pipe was cut and all edges smoothed prior to sweating on that fitting? In many cases, I would say "No." I can't imagine every plumber out there takes the time to properly ream every single pipe at every single joint. Leaving even the smallest burr on the end of that pipe can create a disturbance inside the pipe that will cause a pinhole leak over time. At least that's what my Grandpa taught me years ago. Take the time and do it right.

 

[SoCalDave]

^^^This 100%. Turbulence is yore enemy.

 

[DC-88]

Old school Grundfos type re- circ pumps are often a culprit too, causing cavitation /deposits eating through copper .

 

[rivermobster]

I'm no plumber but I've laid a lot of pipe in my days. From the little I know about it, a lot of problems come from the way the copper pipe was "Prepped" as it was installed. Were the edges reamed where the pipe was cut and all edges smoothed prior to sweating on that fitting? In many cases, I would say "No." I can't imagine every plumber out there takes the time to properly ream every single pipe at every single joint. Leaving even the smallest burr on the end of that pipe can create a disturbance inside the pipe that will cause a pinhole leak over time. At least that's what my Grandpa taught me years ago. Take the time and do it right.

So you're saying there was a disturbance in the force...

Noted!

 

[Backlash]

So you're saying there was a disturbance in the force...

Noted!

And here I thought you guys would question exactly how much pipe I've claimed to have laid! Yore slacking!!

 

[rivermobster]

And here I thought you guys would question exactly how much pipe I've claimed to have laid! Yore slacking!!

We Knew you were full of it. No questions required.

 

[rmarion]

our track home built 86....

we lined our pipes with epoxy injection...

50% of the homes in our track have copper pipe leaks....
its not if... its when...

good luck

 

[LHC Kirby]

When … not if. We decided to set the date and have the repipe done. We didn’t want it to determine the date needed.

 

[Spudsbud]

Hope you're getting repiped with Type L copper. Not that hose crap.
(Retired Fitter, 40+ yrs.)

 

[JBS]

^^^This 100%. Turbulence is yore enemy.

Not in our business

 

[SoCalDave]

Not in our business

Nor mine...

 

[Shlbyntro]

And here I thought you guys would question exactly how much pipe I've claimed to have laid! Yore slacking!!

ok. pics or it didnt happen.




video is preferrable.

 

[Member: 71]

Any reliable re-pipe company recommendations in LA, North Orange county area?

 

[Backlash]

ok. pics or it didnt happen.




video is preferrable.

It would be a short film and not worth the price of admission!

 

[Howardflat]

When people roll out the soft copper it can easily get little dents in it. That little dent can cause turbulence and eventually cause a pin hole. Unfortunately your solder fix would eventually cause another one over time.

 

[Yldboyz]

Old school Grundfos type re- circ pumps are often a culprit too, causing cavitation /deposits eating through copper .

This is true only if the pump was not properly sized, most of the time the supply house gives you what's on the shelf and it creates bigger problems.

 

[DRYHEAT]

My question is what is the actual life expectancy of any of this shit? I know it probably depends on the condition of the water.

I’ve had several leaks over the years, all have been on the hard water side in my garage through pipes that get the most flow, i.e. sprinklers, pool filling, etc.

Have been considering re-piping myself with pex and buying the proper tools to do it, but I’ve also heard stories of people that had new houses with pex that re-piped with copper. I fucking don’t know whether to shit or go blind. Probably the best solution would be to just move. But that ain’t gonna happen. I like where I live.

 

[NicPaus]

Add a high dollar whole house filter. It's the water in South Bay. Other areas I am not sure

One of my plumber friends was joking with me. Said we need to go back to galvanized. After going to multiple leaks where the pex is getting small cracks and leaking. Pin holes within 8 years on numerous places with type L.

 

[NicPaus]

Pex

 

[Cobalt232]

We have had 3 pinhole leaks. Around the same time, lots of people around San Clemente were reporting the same thing. I think it is the water. I installed a shutoff just behind our hose bib out front that shuts the water off to the house, but keeps the lawn sprinklers and fire sprinklers good.

Our Havasu house has a shutoff in the garage just before the water softener. I added this thing and tied it in with our alarm system so that when the alarm is on, the water is gets shut off: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DJZCFBH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[rrrr]

,This is true only if the pump was not properly sized, most of the time the supply house gives you what's on the shelf and it creates bigger problems.

Some of the pumps sold as suitable for hot water recirculating systems are rated at 15-20 GPM.

I have a pump with a stated capacity of three gallons per minute. The ½" return from the last fixture on the line has a ball valve that's almost closed, and the recirculation rate is around 1.5 GPM. That produces a fluid velocity of 2.45 feet per second in the hot water piping. The flow rate is just enough to keep the water hot at all fixtures along the line without causing excessive turbulence.

For comparison, the fluid velocity of a pump operating at 17 GPM on a ½" pipe is 27.78 feet per second. That flow rate will produce significant turbulence and erosion in the system and eventually cause leaks.

 

[DC-88]

My question is what is the actual life expectancy of any of this shit? I know it probably depends on the condition of the water.

I’ve had several leaks over the years, all have been on the hard water side in my garage through pipes that get the most flow, i.e. sprinklers, pool filling, etc.

Have been considering re-piping myself with pex and buying the proper tools to do it, but I’ve also heard stories of people that had new houses with pex that re-piped with copper. I fucking don’t know whether to shit or go blind. Probably the best solution would be to just move. But that ain’t gonna happen. I like where I live.

30 years was always a # thrown around. The last 10 or so homes I've built we threw on an Aquapure AP 904 filter looped right after the fire riser and before anything else, which I believe is recommended by Navion . Our water is decent to start with . The Navion tankless with re circ built in have seemed to work well. The last house I built with all copper in it was way back in 2002 , all Wirsbo type pex since then with zero issues on any of them . Zero issues on the old ones with copper to date as well . Having a good plumber is 100% the key for sure. I'd be interested to hear reviews on tankless electric models since that seems to be where things are heading, and I've only built one house with one so far.

 

[Yldboyz]

Some of the pumps sold as suitable for hot water recirculating systems are rated at 15-20 GPM.

I have a pump with a stated capacity of three gallons per minute. The ½" return from the last fixture on the line has a ball valve that's almost closed, and the recirculation rate is around 1.5 GPM. That produces a fluid velocity of 2.45 feet per second in the hot water piping. The flow rate is just enough to keep the water hot at all fixtures along the line without causing excessive turbulence.

For comparison, the fluid velocity of a pump operating at 17 GPM on a ½" pipe is 27.78 feet per second. That flow rate will produce significant turbulence and erosion in the system and eventually cause leaks.

15-20 GPM is a lot of water and circulates at a high rate... 95% of the time I would find these pumps in a system that only required `3-5 GPM at the most. Do you know what you TDH is?

The pump can state the max GPM it will produce however, pumps run off the curve and nothing else.

 

[rrrr]

15-20 GPM is a lot of water and circulates at a high rate... 95% of the time I would find these pumps in a system that only required `3-5 GPM at the most. Do you know what you TDH is?

The pump can state the max GPM it will produce however, pumps run off the curve and nothing else.

I did those calculations, but it was years ago. I don't recall the specifics. I agree those larger pumps won't make rated GPM on a residential piping system, but the flow rates will still be excessive.

My situation was fortunate. I had all of the walls opened up, and that allowed an accurate assessment of the system and the changes I needed to make. Some assumptions were made by measuring ∆P for flow numbers, but I'm confident it'll be many years before any problems create the need for repairs.