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Freshly soldered joint leaks; what now? Mortimer Schnerd, RN 05-01-2008
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Posted by the_tool_man on May 1, 2008, 12:56 pm

>
> Damn. =A0I was really, really, really hoping you wouldn't say that. =A0Tha=
nks for
> answering so quickly.
>
> --
> Mortimer Schnerd, RN
> mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

I just finished installing a hot water recirculation loop, and making
other changes to my copper plumbing, so I know all about the spiders
and other creatures of which you speak. I don't envy you, but it's
worth getting this right.

You can try reheating and applying more solder. This works 1 time in
5, but it's worth a try. Otherwise, you have to take it apart and do
it over.

One thing I have found is that if a solder joint doesn't leak when
new, it probably never will. But if it drips, even a little bit, the
leak will worsen with time, sometimes quite rapidly.

Regards,
John.

Posted by Jeff Wisnia on May 1, 2008, 3:47 pm
salty@dog.com wrote:
> On Thu, 1 May 2008 11:11:45 -0400, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
> <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
>>I spent a good while yesterday after noon with the spiders and snakes under my
>>house replacing some valves that the last plumber had installed in the wrong
>>sequence so that it was impossible to blow the lines clear before the first
>>freeze of the season. The new valves are now in place and seem to be fine but
I
>>found that some very awkward places as I worked towards the outside faucet
leak
>>at the unions.... maybe three out of more than a dozen that I did. So what do
I
>>do now?
>>
>>I can easily blow the lines clear now but I'm reluctant to negate any more
work
>>than I absolutely have to in order to correct the problem. None of these
leaks
>>are gully washers... just drip, drip, drip... but I know I will not be able to
>>live with them. What is the best way to fix the leaks? I'm talking about
1/2"
>>copper lines and fittings.
>
>
> The best and surest fix is the one you are dreading. The leaking
> joints need to be separated, carefully cleaned, fluxed, and
> resoldered.
>
>


Gee, y'mean that Mighty Putty as hawked on TV by Billy Mays won't take
care of those leaks? <G>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mays

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.


Posted by on May 1, 2008, 6:33 pm

>salty@dog.com wrote:
>> On Thu, 1 May 2008 11:11:45 -0400, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
>> <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I spent a good while yesterday after noon with the spiders and snakes under
my
>>>house replacing some valves that the last plumber had installed in the wrong
>>>sequence so that it was impossible to blow the lines clear before the first
>>>freeze of the season. The new valves are now in place and seem to be fine
but I
>>>found that some very awkward places as I worked towards the outside faucet
leak
>>>at the unions.... maybe three out of more than a dozen that I did. So what
do I
>>>do now?
>>>
>>>I can easily blow the lines clear now but I'm reluctant to negate any more
work
>>>than I absolutely have to in order to correct the problem. None of these
leaks
>>>are gully washers... just drip, drip, drip... but I know I will not be able
to
>>>live with them. What is the best way to fix the leaks? I'm talking about
1/2"
>>>copper lines and fittings.
>>
>>
>> The best and surest fix is the one you are dreading. The leaking
>> joints need to be separated, carefully cleaned, fluxed, and
>> resoldered.
>>
>>
>
>
>Gee, y'mean that Mighty Putty as hawked on TV by Billy Mays won't take
>care of those leaks? <G>
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mays
>
>Jeff

Maybe if you put it across his mouth!



Posted by pipedown on May 1, 2008, 7:07 pm

> On Thu, 1 May 2008 11:11:45 -0400, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
> <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>I spent a good while yesterday after noon with the spiders and snakes
>>under my
>>house replacing some valves that the last plumber had installed in the
>>wrong
>>sequence so that it was impossible to blow the lines clear before the
>>first
>>freeze of the season. The new valves are now in place and seem to be fine
>>but I
>>found that some very awkward places as I worked towards the outside faucet
>>leak
>>at the unions.... maybe three out of more than a dozen that I did. So
>>what do I
>>do now?
>>
>>I can easily blow the lines clear now but I'm reluctant to negate any more
>>work
>>than I absolutely have to in order to correct the problem. None of these
>>leaks
>>are gully washers... just drip, drip, drip... but I know I will not be
>>able to
>>live with them. What is the best way to fix the leaks? I'm talking about
>>1/2"
>>copper lines and fittings.
>
> The best and surest fix is the one you are dreading. The leaking
> joints need to be separated, carefully cleaned, fluxed, and
> resoldered.
>
>
He's right. I had a dribbler but in an easy to access location. I tried
reheating, fluxing from the outside and using way more solder than necessary
and it still took 5-6 tries to close the hole. In hindsight, it would have
been easier to cut the tee out and put a new one in complete with three
straight unions to make up for the shortened pipes. The finished joint
looks like crap too but I can't clean it up or it might leak again. Who
cares, it passed inspection.



Posted by Pete C. on May 1, 2008, 7:26 pm

pipedown wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 1 May 2008 11:11:45 -0400, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
> > <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote:
> >
> >>I spent a good while yesterday after noon with the spiders and snakes
> >>under my
> >>house replacing some valves that the last plumber had installed in the
> >>wrong
> >>sequence so that it was impossible to blow the lines clear before the
> >>first
> >>freeze of the season. The new valves are now in place and seem to be fine
> >>but I
> >>found that some very awkward places as I worked towards the outside faucet
> >>leak
> >>at the unions.... maybe three out of more than a dozen that I did. So
> >>what do I
> >>do now?
> >>
> >>I can easily blow the lines clear now but I'm reluctant to negate any more
> >>work
> >>than I absolutely have to in order to correct the problem. None of these
> >>leaks
> >>are gully washers... just drip, drip, drip... but I know I will not be
> >>able to
> >>live with them. What is the best way to fix the leaks? I'm talking about
> >>1/2"
> >>copper lines and fittings.
> >
> > The best and surest fix is the one you are dreading. The leaking
> > joints need to be separated, carefully cleaned, fluxed, and
> > resoldered.
> >
> >
> He's right. I had a dribbler but in an easy to access location. I tried
> reheating, fluxing from the outside and using way more solder than necessary
> and it still took 5-6 tries to close the hole. In hindsight, it would have
> been easier to cut the tee out and put a new one in complete with three
> straight unions to make up for the shortened pipes. The finished joint
> looks like crap too but I can't clean it up or it might leak again. Who
> cares, it passed inspection.

It is indeed far less work to take two minutes to clean and flux all the
joints before soldering and then be sure you use enough solder, that it
is to rework even one bad joint.

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