Plumbing question: Leaky copper - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Bill Bumface · 04-05-2011, 03:13 PM

My house is 100 years old and the copper main has a really slow leak at the first T.

I had one plumber tell me that nothing could be done with copper that old, yadda, yadda and it would have to be cut out. He was like 20 years old and had a fancy haircut, so I wanted to see if anyone on here knew whether or not that was true, and what my options are.

If there are any plumbers on here, the handle is also broken off my main shutoff, if this isn't all nearly as expensive as it sounds I might take care of it sooner than later.

DuffMan · 04-05-2011, 03:23 PM

Why wouldn't you cut it out? What else would you do?

the handle you could just put on a new one with a screw couldn't you. I think it has grooves that attach it to the spindle and then a screw to secure.

I'm not a plumber, nor do I have a fancy haircut.

Pinner · 04-05-2011, 03:24 PM

I'm not a plumber but I don't understand why the pipe couldn't be braised. ?

Maybe the material is now too thin ? (wore out) The handle doesn't sound like a big deal.

FlamesAddiction · 04-05-2011, 03:34 PM

He wants your copper.

DuffMan · 04-05-2011, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinner

I'm not a plumber but I don't understand why the pipe couldn't be braised. ?

Maybe the material is now too thin ? (wore out) The handle doesn't sound like a big deal.

but how are you going to do that?
Heat it up and get the T off, braise and put back on?
Or do you mean just leave everything in place and try to capitulate more solder into the joint?
Pretty sure the logical thing to do would be cut out the leaking hunk and replace?
way way way easier.

Pinner · 04-05-2011, 04:03 PM

Oh yeah, leave it in place, that stuff ain't gonna come apart and it would never go back together. A propane torch will get hot enough to braise IIRC. The young guy has probably never braised, it's easy.

Hulk said it was expensive to do it the way the "young" plumber wanted to do it. He probably wants to change everything over to PVC.

Call an older guy Hulk, think small shop type guy. People used to patch things at one time.

Boblobla · 04-05-2011, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinner

Oh yeah, leave it in place, that stuff ain't gonna come apart and it would never go back together. A propane torch will get hot enough to braise IIRC. The young guy has probably never braised, it's easy.

Hulk said it was expensive to do it the way the "young" plumber wanted to do it. He probably wants to change everything over to PVC.

Call an older guy Hulk, think small shop type guy. People used to patch things at one time.

The problem with that is the leak, you need the pipes to be dry so you can apply the flux to the areas you want to braise. All you would be doing is prolonging the inevitable with waiting to cut out and replace.

GoinAllTheWay · 04-05-2011, 04:18 PM

The tap for you main water shut off is broken? so you have no way of shutting off the water to your house if you had to? I'd be far more concerned with that issue tbh. If you have to replace the tap entirely, that would mean water would have to be shutoff outside your home, I think that gets pricey as the city needs to do that.

I'd replace it personally. I don't like messing around with plumbing. Kill two birds with one stone. That slow leek could turn into a really fast leak and you have no way of stopping it. That would be a hell of a mess and would be surprised if your insurer covered the resulting water damage.

Shazam · 04-05-2011, 04:20 PM

It takes like 10 minutes to do this yourself. And you get to play with fire.

Pinner · 04-05-2011, 04:25 PM

Your right Bob, for some reason I was thinking it was a drain.

DuffMan · 04-05-2011, 04:34 PM

Rjcsjc62 · 04-05-2011, 04:47 PM

As far as I know the city wont charge you to shut the curb stop off so that you can replace the main valve. You might have to 3-1-1 that one I am not sure.

The nature of leaks like this is that if left undisturbed it could very well hold for years, but as soon as you start cutting out pipes and making repairs more problems and leaks can surface easily.

At the very least you should cut out the fitting that has a leak and replace with new.

I think the kid with hair cut has the right idea.

I wouldnt want to give you a quote telling you what you want to hear that it is a quick fix, and as soon as the plumber starts cutting and moving pipes, more leaks surface, and before you know it, you will blame me and my plumber for trying to fix it the first place.

Pinner · 04-05-2011, 05:05 PM

and the shut off

Bill Bumface · 04-05-2011, 09:28 PM

The shut off is still usable via wrench, so I could dry things out for repair work.

Interesting about the handle, I may try tackle that one myself, the shaft is still sticking out of the valve, but slightly mangled from having pliers turn it on and off a few times.

Big haircut wanted to use these http://www.sharkbite.com/ but didn't sound very sure on how they work and had definitely never used one before.

I'm going to try find an old school guy to hook me up with a proper copper repair. Anyone have a guy to recommend?

DuffMan · 04-05-2011, 10:04 PM

Sharkbite's are great, but I would only use them as a temporary thing. They're super easy to use, just shove them on your pipe an inch and you're done. You need a little plastic piece to get them off though.
Definitely wouldn't feel safe about using them enclosed in a wall or anything. I've had some sharbites in pex -> pex, and cu -> pex, for a year now with no problems.
A year is temporary in my world.

Bill Bumface · 04-06-2011, 12:15 AM

The main is in a very open area, but if I'm going to fix it, I might as well go more permanent.

Flames_Gimp · 04-06-2011, 12:22 AM

sharkbites are great... quick and easy. and ya call 311 if you need the main line shutoff, it's no charge.

Flames_Gimp · 04-06-2011, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuffMan

Sharkbite's are great, but I would only use them as a temporary thing. They're super easy to use, just shove them on your pipe an inch and you're done. You need a little plastic piece to get them off though.
Definitely wouldn't feel safe about using them enclos ied in a wall or anything. I've had some sharbites in pex -> pex, and cu -> pex, for a year now with no problems.
A year is temporary in my world.

i have a sharkbite connection buried 9' underground

afc wimbledon · 04-06-2011, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

i have a sharkbite connection buried 9' underground

I'm with duffman, don't trust anything that relies on gromets or springs to hold for more than a few decades, copper is forever

Rjcsjc62 · 04-06-2011, 06:49 AM

Shark bites are pretty new to this market, and alot of plumbers love them.

I have a really hard time trusting mechanical joints on systems with static pressure like domestic water. However, I have seen some old school plumbers tell me that these shark bites work great.

For me it would only be for a temporary system.