Leaking Solder Joint Need Suggestions

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Need help/ suggestions...

I installed a new water softener to replace an old one yesterday. All the copper pipe joints held, but today I have a small leak in one elbow. The leak is at the connection to the old plumbing that had some water in it. I thought I got the water out before soldering, but I guess not. Of course this joint is trapped with water with no easy way to get the water out to drain it. So any suggestions to make a repair, do you think JB weld will work, how about a clamp, this is 1" copper pipe with about 60 psi well pressure on it.

Thanks

 

[Robert_in_NY]

If there is no easy way to drain the water then just cut the line, take your time draining the water and re-do the line. Don't waste time trying to reuse the connection, just replace it.

You might want to try and lift the pipe that is holding water to help drain any water in it. They also have little water plugs that are suppose to keep the water back but I have never used them before and don't know if they have one for 1" pipe.

I know from experience that the best way to fix the leak is to just tear it all apart as much as you don't want to. Good luck to you.

 

[DocHeb]

Fix it right, because if you don't it will pick the worst time to fail.

I remember the old advice of wadding up some white bread and jamming it up the pipe, then sweating the joint as fast as possible. The bread will burn/dissolve, and give you twenty seconds to get the joint set.

I've never used this advice, however.

 

[randy41]

i agree with robert. anything you try to apply on the exterior of the pipe (like JB Weld) is not a sure thing to hold. if you have trouble getting the water out of the elbow to unsolder it then drill a hole through the elbow so it can drain and then burn it off.

 

[EddieWalker]

You have to replace it, but if you are not comfortable with sweating it back together with new fittings, you can redo it with compression fittings. I've had good luck using the ones that go from copper to CPVC on some water heater jobs where it was faster and cheaper for the client. In several years of using them, I've never had a call back for a leak or any other problems.

Eddie

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Hey I kinda thought you all would say to redo it, was just hoping for new product, or something, thanks.

 

[Bill Barrett]

As a 35 year plumber, your advice so far is correct start over, clean with sand screen, and steel wool, when clean, clean some more LOL. Your best friend in a case like this is a wet & dry vacuum, you can use it to pull the water out. Then if you still have water coming open a faucet, or open the system up stream and put the wet & dry there as you solder. Also a union close to the problem is help full, you can solder with the union apart, then connect after it's soldered, if you have a problem you can pull the union apart again and start over soldering. Not a real fan of sticking stuff in the pipe, ie. bread ,toilet paper, etc.
Good Luck!

 

[Soundguy]

Need help/ suggestions...

I installed a new water softener to replace an old one yesterday. All the copper pipe joints held, but today I have a small leak in one elbow. The leak is at the connection to the old plumbing that had some water in it. I thought I got the water out before soldering, but I guess not. Of course this joint is trapped with water with no easy way to get the water out to drain it. So any suggestions to make a repair, do you think JB weld will work, how about a clamp, this is 1" copper pipe with about 60 psi well pressure on it.

Thanks

Turn off water.. drain lines, leave faucets open so air pressure don't blow solder out of joint while it tries to wet / tin.... hit it with alotta paste flux, then start waving your magic propane torch around and have your silver solder ready..

No wat to shortcut this one with goop or clamps..

soundguy

 

[Bird]

Fix it right, because if you don't it will pick the worst time to fail.

I remember the old advice of wadding up some white bread and jamming it up the pipe, then sweating the joint as fast as possible. The bread will burn/dissolve, and give you twenty seconds to get the joint set.

I've never used this advice, however.

Doc, I, too, had heard of but never used the white bread method. However, this summer, my son-in-law used it on an outdoor hydrant on a house he's remodeling and it worked fine. But then one day when I was over there helping a little, he had to try it again on another outdoor hydrant. The only trouble was that we had no white bread, but we did have some cinnamon rolls I had bought on the way over there. It did work, but we began to think we were going to have to take everything apart and start over before the water pressure finally blew that that stuff out of the line.

 

[hockeypuck]

You have to bake off the water if you can not drain it. Use MAP gas instead of propane. It is hotter and the pros use it because it takes less time to swett joints. I had a 1 1/4 " fitting give me fits when i was cutting in a heat exchanger. I had to completely remove the 90, fully clean and paste, then solder. It is very hard to just reheat the joing and add solder. So take the extra time to fully remove the fitting clean and resolder.

 

[kenmac]

Need help/ suggestions...

I installed a new water softener to replace an old one yesterday. All the copper pipe joints held, but today I have a small leak in one elbow. The leak is at the connection to the old plumbing that had some water in it. I thought I got the water out before soldering, but I guess not. Of course this joint is trapped with water with no easy way to get the water out to drain it. So any suggestions to make a repair, do you think JB weld will work, how about a clamp, this is 1" copper pipe with about 60 psi well pressure on it.

Thanks

Take it apart & start over. Get as much water out as possible. If there's too much water in the line map gas won't be hot enough You'll have bring in the big guns

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I went with PVC, fast, much cheaper, and NO LEAKS. Took it back to a section that I could drain and just re piped it. Should have used the PVC in the 1st time. Thanks for all the suggestions, TBN a wonderful place.

 

[BTDT]

One way to drain a copper pipe is to get one of the screw type puncture fittings for adding an ice maker. Clamp it to pipe, screw in to puncture pipe, unscrew so water can leak, drain out. When your done with your solder repair, just close off the valve.

 

[heehaw]

i've been using pvc for 20+ years with great results: i got talked into putting copper in my house when i built it, 1986: have changed the first 10ft out to pvc recently so i could add an electric shut-off without all the soldering: the only pvc pieces i will not use, are the threaded female fittings: i have had many many of them split. now when i go somewhere for a night or two, i flip a switch and the water is off to the house, no worries about coming home to a flooded house: i did this after the water heater burst, luckily while we were home and we caught it immediately.
heehaw