Can a pinhole in a copper pipe be repaired.

[sleepyhead]

Hello

I have a hot water pipe about 6 in long where each end is connected to turns. It's about 30 years old. There are 2 small pinholes near (less than 1/4 inch) from where its soldered into another pipe. Is it possible to repair the pinholes in the pipe or do I need to remove the pipe and replace it.
Tia

[HayZee518]

yes it's possible. shut off the water and drain the line. take a piece of emery cloth and clean the pipe so it's shiny. use some flux, heat the pipe until solder flows [ this is only if the pipe is copper] galvanized pipe you need to replace it.

[Redwood]

I would remove the piece of pipe and sweat in a new piece.

In some cases if the pitting that caused the pinhole is extremely localized the pipe may be cut right over the pinhole and a coupling or, repair coupling can be used to rejoin the pipe.

You may find in many cases that the damage is extensive and much of the copper has been eroded away to the point of where just finding a piece of the pipe that is thick enough to cut without crushing is difficult.

I would not under any circumstances float solder over a hole and expect it to be a lasting repair or, advise anyone to do so.

I would also be interested in why you are suddenly developing pinholes in your pipes after 30 years of no problems. There can be installation issues such as using too much flux or, failing to deburr the ends of the tubing or, excessive flow velocities, which can cause failure but typically in less time than 30 years.

You should find a water test to be a good place to start especially with a look at the PH of the water. Many people are finding that their water supply has moved towards the acid side of the PH Scale and a PH reading just slightly below neutral in the 6.6 range can rapidly eat up the copper in the pipes.

Getting a hold of some professional advice early on is something I would highly recommend as you may be able to save yourself from getting a repipe with fast action in the appropriate areas....

Where are you from? Knowing that may help us understand your water.
Are you on a municipal supply or, a well?

[sleepyhead]

Thanks redwood and hayzee,

Were going to put a patch on it soon. I will get my water tested. I can see in the toilet there's a brown film from the copper. Are water is from a well and I live in central California 50 miles N E of Sacramento in Grass Valley. Perhaps we do need to repipe everything with something other than copper. Thanks for your advice so far and I;ll update when I learn the ph factor.

[Redwood]

Well the Central California location is a good one you are not in one of the traditionally well known copper eating water ares. If you had said East Texas or, Central Florida the prognosis for copper is gloom and doom...

Go ahead with the repair and water testing it may be as simple as adding an acid neutralizer or softener to the system. The brown staining is not a color typically associated with copper which would instead be a green or, blue stain.

I'll alert SpeedBump to this thread he is an expert in the well pump and water treatment field and should be able to help you in that direction....

[HayZee518]

How deep is the well? I'm thinking maybe sulphur for the color of the water.

[Redwood]

For the brown I'll go with a mix of manganese & iron but will just go with a few chips and await the results of the test....

[Speedbump]

Sulphur would be black. It's probably iron or manganese.

You can get the water tested cheaply enough. You could even call your local Culligan man or the Kinetico dealer in your area. They would be happy to test it for you. Of coarse; you will have trouble getting rid of him, cause he's not a water specialist, he's a high pressure salesman. But at least his water tests should be pretty accurate.

[Redwood]

Of coarse; you will have trouble getting rid of him, cause he's not a water specialist, he's a high pressure salesman.

They are a little tough to move towards the door....

[pushkins]

They are a little tough to move towards the door....

Mention "foreclosure" I hear that works well

[sleepyhead]

Hello,

We got a patch on it today and it looks like it's holding. I don't remember how deep the well is. I gave an engineering site a sample of our water and I'll get the results in 10 days. Thanks for all your help and I'll get back to you when I get the results.