OT plumbing issues

David G · Nov 21, 2015

I had the bronze fitting near the pressure tank get a pinhole leak about a year ago, I now have a ball valve near the same spot with a pin hole leak near the threads. The house is 11 years old, this is on the cold water side, it is plastic into the house, then steel, brass/bronze near the pressure tank, then copper through softener water heaters, then PEX. The water is fairly soft coming into the house, even though wife forced me to get softener.

I am copying a picture of the pressure relief for the water heater.

I do not know if there are any anode rods in the heaters.

JD Seller · Nov 21, 2015

The copper around the softener is your issue the salt in the softened water will slowly corrode the copper pipes/fittings.

Your wife sounds like a woman I would not get along with for long. LOL Better you than me it seems.

IaGary · Nov 21, 2015

We installed 3000 feet of plastic water line in 4 hundred foot rolls back to the pasture. All brass connectors.

After 20 years the brass fittings all got holes in them. Replaced with plastic connectors 30 years ago and no leaks since.

Our water eats brass. Holes are always from the inside out.

Gary

David G · Nov 21, 2015

Here is a picture of the piping near the pressure tank, the paint tray is catching the leak

David G · Nov 21, 2015

The fittings that have failed have fresh water in them.

David G · Nov 21, 2015

The green on the brass fittings it the pipe dope.

JD Seller · Nov 21, 2015

Some thing is still corroding them. Also how old is your house plumbing??? There was a batch of bad copper fittings 10 years ago or so. I have been reading about the trouble they are causing in fairly new homes from that period.

I was a slow adaptor of PEX and or plastic plumbing. I have now switched most of the plumbing over to it. It just seems to have fewer problems than the low quality copper we can buy these days.

David G · Nov 21, 2015

Gary, What is your water like.

I am also in Iowa, but have water from 100' layer of shale that is actually pretty soft.

David G · Nov 21, 2015

11 years

Steve@Advance · Nov 21, 2015

How's the electrical system in the pump area? Any chance of a bad neutral, water pipes serving as a neutral?

Check for voltage between the ground and neutral with a heavy 120v load, check various places on the metal piping. If you break the pipe for repair, check for voltage across each end of the pipe.

IaGary · Nov 21, 2015

My well is 45 foot deep right on top of the shale in sand. Water is also very soft.

john in la · Nov 21, 2015

What is the PH of your water.
Low PH water will leach metal from the pipes and cause pin holes.

I live in a area where we can not use any metal water pipes.
Lots still use copper anyway because of marketing but it does break down after years of use.

David G · Nov 21, 2015

I have never checked the pH of my water, just assumed it was neutral.

notjustair · Nov 21, 2015

I agree. I have gone PEX and won't ever plumb with anything else. I don't use the expensive fittings - I use the bands and crimpers. I still have an easy time and never a leak.

I'd be slowly switching it over to PEX.

CenTex Farmall · Nov 21, 2015

I think Steve is getting at the right idea in that you may have some stray electrons. I too have noticed less than stellar quality in the cast brass fittings that are available these days. I don't know what's in the alloys but it's probably tweaked toward the cheaper end. Our water has a lot of salts in it and is hard on plumbing. Good brass and copper will last but our water does eat plastic. Plastic toilet and faucet parts last a year or two at best. The original copper lines in the house are now over 60 years old and still going.
I haven't used any PEX for repairs but people seem to like it.

john in la · Nov 21, 2015

Then you may want to have your water checked.

Another thing is you do not need electrical wires hooked to your water system to have stray voltage.
High amounts of dissolved minerals in the water will generate its own electricity as a result of a galvanic cell.
This will eat at the pipes where ever two different metals touch.

The link is a good read and explains it much better than I can.
Drinking Water Problems: Corrosion

Geo-TH,In · Nov 21, 2015

My son has same problem near a sweat joint. He has city water and a softener. He says his neighbor's water heaters are lucky to last 5 years. Just my opinion, you remove lime with softener, the chemicals in the water to kill bacteria are acids causing oxidation. Green copper is a sign of oxidation. Also shortens life of water tank. Think about it, lime, calcium, neutralize acid. So your problem could be your softner.

Janicholson · Nov 21, 2015

Were it mine, I would replace the valve. I would also connect every section of copper/brass/iron with a solid wire ground (bare is OK) this should be then connected to an earth grounding rod, or the ground buss in the main panel. Copper is poison. If corrosion is eating the fittings, where is the copper/Zink/tin going? Jim
EPA info

Bob · Nov 22, 2015

Whatever other plumbing issues you may have had, I don't see how they are related to the TPR valve on the waterheater weeping a bit???

4520BW · Nov 22, 2015

If the copper is directly touching metal it can cause pin holes and leaks even away from the area that's touching. Make sure there's no metal hangers or copper going to steel pipe with out a dielectric fitting. You can use brass fittings as a go between also

MarkB_MI · Nov 22, 2015

Your fittings are BRASS, not bronze. Brass has a lot of zinc in it, and in corrosive environments the zinc becomes a sacrificial anode to the copper and erodes away, leaving a honeycomb of copper. That's why brass fasteners are never used in salt water.

It's pretty obvious that galvanic action is eating up your brass fittings. But why? If it was simply a problem of soft water and low alkalinity, every brass fitting in the house would be failing. Stray electrical current is a possibility, although I can't imagine what the source might be.

Bret4207 · Nov 22, 2015

(quoted from post at 23:08:07 11/21/15) The green on the brass fittings it the pipe dope.

Yup. Whoever soldered the pipe didn't go through and clean the joints with a neutralizing wash, even soap and water work.

Scott 730 · Nov 22, 2015

(quoted from post at 09:08:56 11/22/15) Stray electrical current is a possibility, although I can't imagine what the source might be.

If there is more wiring in the house that looks like the the connection of the Romex to the pressure switch you could be right.

Billy NY · Nov 22, 2015

One thing I did not see posted, or I have missed below, or maybe its been said differently. If you transition from steel to copper, you definitely need a dielectric union between them because you have dissimilar materials (metals) and they will react and you'll get galvanic action, which can look just like what you have there. Copper does have some advantages, I like it vs other alternatives, but well water can be tough on things for sure.

fixerupper · Nov 22, 2015

A bunch of homes with copper plumbing had that problem in our county seat town a few years ago and if memory serves me right most of them had newer plumbing. I never did hear how the problem was resolved.

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