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Posted by Steve B on December 23, 2006, 3:25 pm
>>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>I've noticed a pinhole leak in a copper "T" joint in our basement. The
>>>leak is coming from the bottom of the "T" and it appears to be the
>>>solder that's leaking, not the copper. Is it ok to just "sweat" some
>>>more solder into that joint to stop the leak or should I be replacing
>>>the entire "T"? Cutting the "T" out and redoing everything to get rid
>>>of the leak seems painful ...
It is difficult to get all the water out of the pipe to get a good solder
job. Try it. It may work. Then again, if not, the thing to do is cut it
out, and DON"T sweat in another T, but use compression fittings. Cut, cut,
cut, put in the new pieces, and wrench them tight. Be sure to get good
straight cuts, and don't smash the pipe. You may have to use one of the
mini cutters. Just cut slowly, twisting the tensioner one turn at a time,
then three rotations around the pipe.
Steve
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Posted by EXT on December 23, 2006, 12:54 pm
It doesn't hurt to try. First drain all the water out of the pipe. Sometimes
I have had to hook up my wet/dry shopvac to a lower area and open all the
valves in upper areas to get the water out. Keep it running for 15 - 20
minutes, the water will want to move slowly. You may not succeed in removing
it all from the "tee", if not you may have to cut the pipe and fit new pipe
and fittings in.
Second, clean about 1 inch of the pipe, the full end of the "tee" paying
particular attention to the edge of the "tee" where the pipe fits in, you
must have clean copper or shiny solder showing. Slather on some flux. Then
heat it with your torch. If the water is out of the fitting it will heat up
until the existing solder melts, at this point add some more, try to build
up a fillet over the edge of the "tee" and along a bit of the pipe. If you
succeed, you will have sealed it. Sometimes the lead-free solder will not
work well, I find adding some older lead/tin solder will help seal the
joint. The inside of the joint is full of lead-free solder, so little will
ever come in contact with the water.
Let it cool, close all the valves and turn on the water, open each valve one
at a time to let the air out. Check your joint for leaks. Hopefully you will
have none.
> I've noticed a pinhole leak in a copper "T" joint in our basement. The
> leak is coming from the bottom of the "T" and it appears to be the
> solder that's leaking, not the copper. Is it ok to just "sweat" some
> more solder into that joint to stop the leak or should I be replacing
> the entire "T"? Cutting the "T" out and redoing everything to get rid
> of the leak seems painful ...
>
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Posted by on December 24, 2006, 2:35 am
On Sat, 23 Dec 2006 12:54:09 -0500, "EXT"
>It doesn't hurt to try. First drain all the water out of the pipe. Sometimes
>I have had to hook up my wet/dry shopvac to a lower area and open all the
A wife with a big mouth usually sucks out the water faster than a shop
vacuum. Especially if you draw a picture of a penis on the end of the
pipe.
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Posted by NickySantoro on December 24, 2006, 10:34 am
wrote:
>I've noticed a pinhole leak in a copper "T" joint in our basement. The
>leak is coming from the bottom of the "T" and it appears to be the
>solder that's leaking, not the copper. Is it ok to just "sweat" some
>more solder into that joint to stop the leak or should I be replacing
>the entire "T"? Cutting the "T" out and redoing everything to get rid
>of the leak seems painful ...
Often the cause is insufficient cleaning prior to soldering. Over the
years I've had good luck draining, heating and pulling the joint apart
then recleaning and resoldering. You may have to cut the tubing to the
left or right of the T to get it to drain completely but you can
rejoin the cut sections with a coupling. BTDT.
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Page 2 of 2 << first < 1 2
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