Plumbing Help

[Jim Young]

Seems that I have a copper pipe that has developed a small leak. The hole is located in a spot covered by the AC ducting. Under normal circumstances I would just replace the bad section but this tearup just to get to the pipe has me a little worried. Is there a way to patch the pipe for the outside? i'm thinking of some type of tape. This could get me to the summer till I have more time to remove the ducting.

[C Scott McDonald]

I would be worried about mold starting if the leak isnt completly sealed. Is your ducting like 6 inch round pipe? You might be able to loosen up surrounding duct pipes and pop the piece out.

Small leaks have a habit of turning into big leaks quickly :(

Thanks,
Scott

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jim,

Is the pipe leaking at a joint or just in the middle of a run?

You might try using epoxy to temporarily seal it. I see some stuff advertised on TV for that and it appears to me to just be epoxy puddy.

[Joe Pelonio]

You can seal it with a clamp and rubber, actually a hose clamp and hunk of old inner tube works, though they make a special clamp for it, or you can use a self piercing tap as used for icemakers and poke it in where the leak is and just keep it shut off.

[James Jaragosky]

lets see, over the years i have temporarily fixed leeks with epoxy putty (this will set up completely submerged) i have use the clamp and rubber trick i have used the store bought clamp and rubber trick i have used fiberglass and resin and i once used a sheet metal screw that i ran through a piece of rubber first. they also make a epoxy tape that should work. hope that helps
jim j

[Tom Godley]

If the hole is in the fitting itself (not leaking at the joint) the whole fitting may be thin in that area - so be careful with the rubber under the clamp. I have used the rubber under the clamp for temp fixes and it does work -- so does the plumbers epoxy that you mix together from the sticks -- this works better at a drain joint.

I bought an old place that I use on some weekends -- lots of old plumbing -- I have used a thick clear tape that comes in a roll just for this type of problem. You wrap and pull the tape around the pipe -- it works~

look in the plumbing area -- you will find something. Even electrical tape can work for a few weeks on a drain line

[Harry Hagan]

Do it the right way. Drain the pipe: Shut the water supply off, open valves above and below repair area. Make sure water isn’t anywhere near the repair location—even if you have to blow compressed air throughout the entire system. Shield surrounding ducting and floor joists with aluminum foil to prevent heat damage from your propane torch. Solder a small cross section of copper pipe you’ve formed to fit the damaged area if it’s a small hole or re-solder/replace joint. Sleep well knowing you’ve made a solid repair.

[Chris Padilla]

I hate (fixing) plumbing....

It seems strange that a leak would develop "all of sudden" doesn't it? Usually, if you sweat up copper and it doesn't leak in the first 10 seconds of repressurising, you should be good to go for a long, long time.

Finding a leaky water source can be tricky some times.

Try this one on for size: a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a couple of bulges in my first floor ceiling in my den. The paint was "bubbling" or "blistering" in a couple of spots and upon further inspection, a noticeable sag had developed in the drywall. I'm thinking: water leak...great. Is it somehow related to the rain storm and our new roof that isn't quite done yet??

Once I cleared the furniture away and layed down plastic, I got a step stool and poked a hole into the ceiling with my drywall saw...and immediately made a dash for the nearest bucket as water begain POURING out of the hole. We didn't know if it was a pressurised leak or not but I made a dash to the kill switch on that.

After the water finally stopped or slowed considerably, I started cutting away soggy drywall and promptly exposed massive drain plumbing for my two upstairs bathrooms along with plenty of copper pipe, too. Everthing was wet and so I thought it might be a copper pipe leak...I'd even removed one of the toilets upstairs during all this and it appeared to be fine.

Conclusion to all this: One of the vents in my roof that wasn't done yet wasn't protected from the weather (actually, none of them were...had leaks in other places as well) and enough rain came down in and around the vent and pooled on the ceiling drywall in this area...probably sat there for a couple of days before it was able to soak through well (5/8" drywall over 1/2" took more time I guess). The roofing company ended up fixing the drywall and repainting some stained drywall in other areas.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

No~!!

I say that emphatically because I rather suspect that the leak is caused by hard and probably acidic water.

I lost most the pipes in my house to this. The pipes would spring little pin hole leaks here and there where the copper got etched away. The etching is in the shape of a Cone with the wide part inside the pipe. There will be hundreds of thousands of little etched out cones that won't have burst through all over the place.

Epoxy will seal only that one. A clamp will compress the pipe and possibly cause it to fail.

I had pipes that were almost paper thin for substantial lengths throughout the house from all the etching and galvanic action. When I tore them out I was appalled at how many were on the verge of bursting. They were fragile. Crushing in my hand was easy.

The pipes that got the most use were in the worst condition.

Take it our and replace it.

Then get a water softener.

[Chris Padilla]

Wow! Even copper doesn't last forever, eh? ;) Makes me want to use K type everywhere so the etching will take my liftetime. ;)

I do have a water softener on the house and the previously occupants also had one so hopefully my pipe is safe.... :)

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Replacing the section is the best way to go. If you don't want to, or can't solder, take a look at using Shark Bite fittings. You simply cut the section out and slip on a repair coupling. That's it. And no further stress is put on the pipe.

However, you may not have a systemic problem. Sometimes pin holes develop in copper pipe because the pipe had a tiny defect when made and takes years to become evident. Also, old wrought copper or brass fittings often corrode with no rhyme or reason which is evident by excessive green tarnish build up on some fittings and not on others. The solution is usually to just replace the fittings in question. But further examination is warranted.

-Jeff :)

[Chris Padilla]

As I understand it, the green tarnish is most likely from flux not cleaned from the outside of the pipe. Or, certainly, it speeds the tarnishing....

[David G Baker]

Water leaks can be very expensive. If I had a water leak I would fix it as soon as possible rather than take the risk of serious water damage. If it is a pin hole leak it could be just the beginning of a much worse problem. Some things can be fixed with a band-aid method but water leaks probably shouldn't be one of them. IMHO

[Jim Becker]

Pin-holing in one place on the cooper pipe most often portends to more leaks soon to be on the way. I have been there, believe me...and even had to totally gut and replace our powder room as a result. (Insurance paid for some of it) For that reason, I agree with David...it may be better to do a proper fix now, even though it will be a pain in the you-know-what to do so. The damage that additional pin-holes can make may be substantial, especially if they are not discovered right away and/or if they affect critical areas and systems of your home.

[Rob Russell]

I don't think that the OP is questioning whether the right thing to do is a "proper" repair long term. His question is "how do I make it to summer".

I'd think that the aluminum tape used for sealing ducts would work for 6 months. In that short period, you shouldn't have to worry about electrolysis. I wouldn't leave aluminum tape on copper pipe for a long period of time because I'd guess you will get electrolysis.

The tape just might be an easier way to seal the leak than the epoxy idea or rubber idea.

There may also be sticky rubber sheets you could use which would work.

[Chris Padilla]

There may also be sticky rubber sheets you could use which would work.

That reminds me of the underlayment I used around my skylights before it was flashed.

It was a sticky, tar-like substance and man was it every sticky. Once you peeled the backing off and stuck it down, it was tough to move it again because it would mostly just stretch.

[Tom Godley]

Is this a pressure line?

I come from an area where a lot of drain line is copper/ cast iron -- so I was thinking this was DWV line.

I must agree -- if this is a pressure line -- be careful if it actually is a pinhole.


You really need to take a look

[Greg Funk]

I would be suspicious of any fix involving rubber or tape unless it was mechanically clamped as well.

I bought some fancy silicon tape a while back and when a racoon punctured one of our outdoor hoses I had the bright idea of using this silicon tape to fix the leaky hose. I spent about 10 minutes carefullly wrapping the hose and turned the water on. Within a few minutes the tape started bulging out due to the water pressure and pretty soon it popped.

If it was me I'd bite the bullet - replace the pipe and cut it in half to see if the problem is systemic or isolated to one spot. If the pipe showed no signs of decay anywhere else then you won't need to worry.

Greg