Repair Leaking Solder Joint Copper Pipe
Start by turning off the main water line to your home and bleeding.
Repair leaking solder joint copper pipe. Dry the outside of the elbow and sand 120 grit paper or cloth around the leaking joint to remove all surface corrosion. Failing solder joints a cracked fitting or a combination of the two will lead to a slow leak around joints in an installed copper plumbing system. This may take longer than you expect because any residual water has to turn to steam and escape through the open faucet before the temperature. This should be your first go to method for fixing a burst perforation or pinhole in any case.
If the leak is small and not from a damaged or inadequately soldered joint a pipe repair clamp also known as a pipe sleeve can be an effective solution. The simpler repair that i use for pin hole leaks is that i wrap the pipe and the leak with gasket rubber which is about 3 32 thick and i cut it about an inch wide. Pull the pipe out of the joint when the solder melts. Copper and pex piping are the preferred alternatives and can be used in place of the leaking pipe by using sharkbite couplings.
Here s a complete guide on how to repair a leaking joint whether it wasn t soldered correctly or it just started leaking in time this guide will assist you. It can also be the easiest as it involves enclosing the damaged pipe in a sleeve of metal with a rubber lining. Both issues repair using the same methods as new copper installation with the exception of removing a damaged fitting. Copper plumbing requires defect free connections to avoid leaks.
I secure the gasket material with a pipe clamp the kind that has slots along most of its length and has a screw type mechanism to tighten and compress the rubber. Starting off with number 1. Shut off the water at the main valve in your home and open up nearby faucets to completely drain the pipe with the leaky elbow. Apply soldering flux around the whole joint and apply heat with a torch until the old solder melts.
Of pipe must be removed you can make the repair by cutting the pipe and soldering sweating on an ordinary pipe coupling. When a copper water pipe corrodes and leaks or bursts from freezing you have to fix it fast.