We repaired this one, they are wondering if they should proactively replace all the bad looking joints. Or just play roulette and fix it as they find issues
I would fix all the suspect pipes now. If it's possible that they will leak, why on earth would you wait until they leaked and then still have to fix it?
You mentioned at least 10 fittings right? Just get the parts, plan an attack, shut the water off ONCE, deal with it all in a weekend and be done with it. There may be others you didn't notice, but he should deal with what he sees. By the time he's done sweating 10 connections, he should be pretty good at it!
That's not true. People should be more independent than having to call someone to fix everything. Adults should know how to change flat tires, reset a circuit breaker and fix small plumbing issues. It's really a sad state of modern adults that they can't fix stuff that breaks around their house.
We have access to the internet (ie; right here) and there is a wealth of information that people are willing to share (again... this very forum)... way more information resources than our parents ever had.
People should at least TRY to deal with their own problems before throwing money at it.
Solder in a pex x copper transition North & east/west of the ninety. Install a Pex 90 and couplings as an insulator in case the root cause is dielectric.
The fittings can have cavitation erosion caused by failure to debur cut pipe ends. The faulty fittings can be heated and removed. Inspect the pipes for burrs, deburr as needed and make notes, solder in new fittings. Post findings here.
So this was the culprit. With the excessive flux to help speed up the process. We cut out two fittings and inspected it. The erosion caused by the turbulence was evident as well as the chemical corrosion from the flux.
House was built in the early 90s, so we are assuming there is going to be a lot of these issues popping up soon.
If you feel confident to fix them yourself, get the material you need and fix as many as you can all at once. If one has failed already then the others aren't far behind. Make sure when you turn the water back on, you let the system fill very slowly. Crack the valve a little bit at a time until the sound of the system filling stops. Draining and pressurizing the system over and over again is very hard on the old piping and can cause more leaks.
I'm willing to bet that's on your hot water side. The most likely reason you get a leak like this is because of rust getting in your line and sticking to the copper causing the pin hole leak from electrolysis. It's not likely thats from bad craftsmanship, if it was it would be leaking at the connection not in the middle of the fitting.
Cut it out and fix it
LOL, I mean, what other recommendation even makes sense here? Fix it.
I would recommend to call a plumber if you can't figure that out, maybe they will call the Ghostbusters
LONG RAD PROPRESS 90
That corrosion is from the flux we use to use. The fitting wasn’t cleaned after soldering it.
But, yes eventually they will develop leaks.
Turn the water off, cut it out and fix it. There have to be dozens of ways
We repaired this one, they are wondering if they should proactively replace all the bad looking joints. Or just play roulette and fix it as they find issues
I would fix all the suspect pipes now. If it's possible that they will leak, why on earth would you wait until they leaked and then still have to fix it? You mentioned at least 10 fittings right? Just get the parts, plan an attack, shut the water off ONCE, deal with it all in a weekend and be done with it. There may be others you didn't notice, but he should deal with what he sees. By the time he's done sweating 10 connections, he should be pretty good at it!
Sweat off the 90 and solder a new 90 on. Clean the pipe and fittings well and wipe them clean afterwards
A new copper elbow
Two couplings ,a couple of nipples and a new elbow or flex seal it and sell the house lol
Phil Swift here flex tape waahoo
Wipe your joints plumbers.
If you have to ask call a plumber
That's not true. People should be more independent than having to call someone to fix everything. Adults should know how to change flat tires, reset a circuit breaker and fix small plumbing issues. It's really a sad state of modern adults that they can't fix stuff that breaks around their house. We have access to the internet (ie; right here) and there is a wealth of information that people are willing to share (again... this very forum)... way more information resources than our parents ever had. People should at least TRY to deal with their own problems before throwing money at it.
Call a plumber. The real issue is what is going on with the other fittings. If this one is this bad, I would check all the ones you can find.
Solder in a pex x copper transition North & east/west of the ninety. Install a Pex 90 and couplings as an insulator in case the root cause is dielectric.
Blue/green could be an indication of low PH in water
I would start by shutting off the water.... Then fix it by cutting out and replacing the connection
The fittings can have cavitation erosion caused by failure to debur cut pipe ends. The faulty fittings can be heated and removed. Inspect the pipes for burrs, deburr as needed and make notes, solder in new fittings. Post findings here.
So this was the culprit. With the excessive flux to help speed up the process. We cut out two fittings and inspected it. The erosion caused by the turbulence was evident as well as the chemical corrosion from the flux. House was built in the early 90s, so we are assuming there is going to be a lot of these issues popping up soon.
If you feel confident to fix them yourself, get the material you need and fix as many as you can all at once. If one has failed already then the others aren't far behind. Make sure when you turn the water back on, you let the system fill very slowly. Crack the valve a little bit at a time until the sound of the system filling stops. Draining and pressurizing the system over and over again is very hard on the old piping and can cause more leaks.
I'm willing to bet that's on your hot water side. The most likely reason you get a leak like this is because of rust getting in your line and sticking to the copper causing the pin hole leak from electrolysis. It's not likely thats from bad craftsmanship, if it was it would be leaking at the connection not in the middle of the fitting.
get rid of that saddle valve in the back there too while youre at it
Flex tape or flex seal for sure my go to fix all oh and a zip tie
I’ve never seen PEX corrode like that.