DIY Network

A friend of mine called me last night to see if my handyman knowledge could fix his leaky pipe.

Here's the problem. Under his floor are the 28mm copper pipes for the heating boiler. At one place there are 90 degree soldered elbows. The pipes run almost touching each other. At this bend the inside pipe elbow is leaking so bad that the water drains out of the system. So how do you fic that joint when all the pipes are so close and there is little flexibility in the pipework to replace anything?
Any ideas? Perhaps some sort of sealing putty?

Although this might sound like a lot of work, but to an experienced plumber, it isn't. To re-solder the hard to get to fitting, the pipes in the way will have to be removed, fix the leak, then reassemble the pipes that had to be removed. That putty stuff is just for temporary fixes and don't always work. A plumber should have all this done in about an hour. Here's your chance to learn to sweat solder copper fittings.

yes...as jerry suggests. call one of my fellow plumbing brothers in your area, we are contortionist.and can get it LOL

1 of many things i wish i'd had more time to learn - how to sweat a jnt

Your question has two parts. With the pipes so close they will have to be moved away. Fixing the leak will require heating and separating the parts of the joint. The ends of the pipe will have to be heated and wiped to remove all surplus solder. Use a new Ell. The wiped ends of the pipes will have to be cleaned to bare shiny metal. That includes the wiped solder and any bare copper in the joint. In this case the fitting should be sanded out too. Then apply flux to the ends of the pipe. Push the new fitting on and then heat and solder. You either get the joint soldered in the first seconds after the heating is done or you won't get it. You must solder both sides of the ell in the same operation. Don't do one end and then let it cool and then do the other later. That's a guaranteed leak.

If the copper is clean and shiny and the flux applied to the ends of the pipe, the preparation is good to go. Don't clean and flux and then wait very long to do the solder. The flux is corrosive enough to clean the oxide off the newly cleaned copper. Given time it will lay out a layer of corrosion products. If a joint is heated and not soldered it will have to be taken apart and recleaned.

I prefer to heat one side of the fitting and when the solder melts on the opposite side let it flow into the joint. When the solder melts on the opposite side the entire fitting is ready for solder. Look for a silver line right where the tubing goes into the fitting. When you see that line the joint has accepted all the solder it needs. Instantly move to the other end of the fitting with just a little heat and add solder to the side opposite the heat. Since the fitting is already hot your heat needs to be backed off a lot. An overheated or burned fitting won't solder well. If you see bluegreen flame from the copper to be soldered it has already been heated way above the working temp of the flux and soldering temperatures needed. You will just as well start over.

quote:

Originally posted by grtiya:
It best to contact Phoenix plumbing contractor and ask to book an appointment for their service team, the best option and hopefully a quick repair.

with 28 mm pipes I doubt the Phoenix plumbing contractor will travel overseas to fix this problem. Although maybe he could make a nice vacation out of it for the right price. hey frodo do you need a vacation?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Cutinzs,

The grtiya post was deleted because it was advertising its own business.

i need a vacation..have torch will travel.
where am i going??

althou sweating a pipe sounds easy, well it is
but there are important things to know. watch the torch at all times. know where your flame is pointed. i have cautioned apprentises more than once for pointing ther torch at a wall or studs, while looking at what they were working on. it is easy to get distracted. also watch back behind the flame. paper can catch on fire if the torch's heat hits the paper 6 inch away from the flame. it is imparitive that a fire extinguisher is present at all times..
also the copper pipping must be wiped clean of all flux products when finished
fluxcleans by eatting away a layer of copper
so....if left on the pipe it will eat..munch munch 20 years later there is a weak spot
and there are different ways to solider
cause there are different types of torches
what is good for one is not for all
by different types i mean
the little hand held map gas
the b tank soft flame
and the b tank turbo torch
just remember if heated to long its ruint
put the heat to it, when the solider 'RUNS'
around the pipe in a ring get off of it

I have a question, I know that the main sewage line runs behind my home and I know that there is a sewage line that leaves the back of my home with a clean out, but I Cant find it can you give me advice on how to find it.
John

Hi dnjohn,

Sometimes the clean out is outside and sometimes it is inside. Check the drain stack within your home for a clean out. If you find it there you can rent an plumbing auger which may reach about 125 ft into you line and help open it up. They also have interchangeable heads which allow you to cut through roots etc. If problems continue, you may have problems further down the line. Measure the distance from your home to the back of your property and if after using the auger it reaches the total distance and more, it is possible that the problem is not yours by the municipality. A call will help determine this and may save you a lot of cash depending on how they interpret the problem.

Good Luck!

here is a plumbers trick,to find unfindable pipes..go to plumbing supply house
and buy a i forget the name but it ataches to the end of your garden hose and swells up, and makes a racket..its used fot clearing a stopage
buy the rubber one not the canvas one
slide it down the pipe, so that its in the pipe,
at the area outside the house. turn it on
it makes a loud, bbbrrrrrr noise..listen for it
the pipe is right there!!!!!
or figure out where you toilet is..straight out theback..houses are usually..plumbed. with the main pipe going straight to one of the 2 toilets

help i bought a house a few months ago and i seem to be having a reoccuring problem in basement bath .i changed the wax ring in the toliet on toliet because water was leaking out of the base of the toliet, the wax ring kept the water off floor and dry for a month and a half. today i did some laundry and the water and soap came up from the base of my toliet and coated my floor any ideas on what i can do with this anyhelp would be appreciated should i try siliconeing the base or is that just a bad bandaid on the problem?

NO NEED TO POST THE SAME QUESTION TWICE, PEOPLE WILL SEE YOUR OTHER POST, AND ANSWER.