Posted: 7/3/2010 12:33:07 PM EDT
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It seems like every other year I have a leak in my pipes. A small hole like this one. Whats up with my plumbing? 
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Are they usually at or around the fittings? Only on the 1/2" pipes? Could be: Corrosive soldering flux when installed. Aggressive water (Acid pH). Constant high velocity water flow. (Like a circulating hot water line) Substandard quality copper pipe/fittings. Or a combination of any of the above |
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Corrosive soldering flux when installed.
That is almost funny. ALL flux is corrosive, that is how it cleans the surface for the solder to stick (despite the copper being at many hindreds of degrees F). Flux corrosion is a limited precoess. Each molecule of flux reacts one time and the process quicly grond to a halt when the flux is 'consumed' in the reaction. It make noce white/green/blue corrosion on the surface if not wiped off. Whomever did that soldering was pretty sloppy. |
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Quoted: Corrosive soldering flux when installed. That is almost funny. ALL flux is corrosive, that is how it cleans the surface for the solder to stick (despite the copper being at many hindreds of degrees F). Flux corrosion is a limited precoess. Each molecule of flux reacts one time and the process quicly grond to a halt when the flux is 'consumed' in the reaction. It make noce white/green/blue corrosion on the surface if not wiped off. Whomever did that soldering was pretty sloppy. Sorry, I should have said "nasty, overly corrosive, cheap, made in china, soldering flux"  There is aways "unconsumed" flux left inside the pipe and fittings that remain and can eat thru copper if not properly flushed out at installation. We use Nokorode™ brand flux. http://www.rectorseal.com/index.php?site_id=1&product_id=239 |
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Quoted: Are they usually at or around the fittings? Only on the 1/2" pipes? The last one was in the middle of a 12" piece of 1/2" Could be: Corrosive soldering flux when installed. Aggressive water (Acid pH). Constant high velocity water flow. (Like a circulating hot water line) This one was the line for the fridge icemaker. Substandard quality copper pipe/fittings. Or a combination of any of the above |
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Substandard copper piping?? Another reason to go with PEX!! 
It is possible that the copper was off. Has the pitting only happened in the fittings? I've been to houses where the copper was very thin as if the installer cheaped out and put in something thinner than "M" grade pipe. If the fittings were from a bad batch, it could have been several, or all of the 90s. I've seen fittings that had holes in the casting. All in all there is no way to directly explain the cause from here. Pex is not a fully tested material. When I started, we were still putting in Qest and very soon after taking it out again. Sure pex may be a better product than qest, but I'm going to need to see at least another 30 years of field testing to decide on pex. I've examined the earliest copper pipes and they hold up very well. ETA: Was the pipe fully inserted into the fitting? Those are not very pretty solder joints, and someone that doesn't take the time to wipe the joints probably isn't putting the care into the work that I do. The solder and flux could have been low quality stuff that could have contributed to your problem. |
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My hood had a major pinhole problem a few years back. We called on Virginia Tech to try to analyze the condition and found that it is a nation-wide condition that manifests itself in some areas and not at all in others.
The best anyone can come up with is that the "Goment" has demanded less bacteria and NOM (natural organic matter) in our water systems. NOM actually acts as a pipe protectant and probably may even coat the inside of copper pipe to help prevent pin-holes. Bacteria was supposedly solved by an increase in chlorine. Together the less NOM and higher chlorine seems to create the formula needed to cause pin hole leaks. The potential solution was an addition of a substance called hexametaphosphate. This type of chemical is often used in drinking fountains from what I am told but for what reason, I don't know. Anyhoo, the problem seems to have diminished. Now all new construction is with pex plastic and I am sure, in time, that will cause problems of one sort or another, of its own. I personally installed a whole house filter that has charcoal and KDF media (a mix of copper and zinc) to kill bacteria and remove chlorine and potentially prevent pin holes. |
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Quoted:
It seems like every other year I have a leak in my pipes. A small hole like this one. Whats up with my plumbing? http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r211/fishkiller98579/IMG_9793.jpg I'd guess galvanic corrosion. Is it it near a big bronze valve or stainless fitting? If so, the copper pipe is your anode. Maybe take a look at the zinc anode in your hot water heater also. If it's corroded away, I'd bet your frequency of pinholes goes down if you replace it. |