My Mom ent her home. The cold water feed Into the water heater sprung a leak in the copper pipe (the ~ 2 foot length connected to the unit). The useless moron of a maintenance guy put a bolt-down clamp with rubber on it, aim it Did not fix it. So now INSTEAD of spraying Against the wall, it’s running down onto the water heater. Supposing I wanted to fix this, what’s the best way? New pipe soldered Into place? Some of fate patch?
February 5th, 2012 on 10:36 pm
cut out the leaking section.
Solder in a new section. Use a coupler that do not has a stop . Regular coupler has a dimple to stop the pipe from sliding all the way.
Since you are repairing a sction that is fixed. you need a coupler that can slide all the way so the new section can fit in.
You also need some sand paper/ sand cloth to buff the copper pipe and couple , Flux , Solder and Propane torch.
OR JUST COMPLAINT UNTIL THE Building management get somebody to fix it properly.
Google how to sweat a pipe . to see what you are into
also google No-stop Copper coupler to see the difference between it and regular coupler
Patch, Epoxy and rubber clamp are only temporary fix.
My advice .
Why deal with problem that is not yours to fix.
Complaint to everybody in the building management.
all the way to city code enforcement
get the people that is responsible to fix the plumbing to fix it. Not you. beside if you mess up . you are responsible for the damage.
February 5th, 2012 on 10:37 pm
As an apartment owner, I concur with the previous answer. This is not your problem, that is why your mom pays rent. Here is a link to a landlord tenant law site:
http://www.rentlaw.com
In most states, after notifying the owner or agent, your mom can pay to have a professional fix it and deduct it from her rent.
That said, if I were you, I would probably fix it myself.
Again, the previous respondant is correct, normally you would sweat in a piece to replace the leaking part. If there is any play in the pipe, you have an option easier than sweating in a new piece – which really can be difficult and requires a torch and other tools (If you had this stuff, you wouldn’t have posted this question.)
You can now buy a push together connector – it seems silly, but they really do work. Home Depot, Lowes and my local hardware store carry them. You could 1) turn off the water 2) cut the pipe – using a tubing cutter not a saw – right at the leak, 3) pull the cut pipe apart, insert the fitting and push the ends together and 4) turn the water back on. Normaly there is some give where the copper comes out of the wall, if not, you could take the connection to the water heater apart to make slack. Either way, it would be easier and cheaper than the traditional approach – a small tubing cutter about $5, and the connector about $3.
Whichever route you choose, you are a great son.