wrote in message
oups.com...
A few months back an outside copper pipe developed a leak longitudinal
split on a 90° bend. This pipe is probably 40 years old, installed
when house was originally built.

Since plumbers charge more than doctors (probably not in the league of
lawyers however who charge like wounded bulls), I had a go at fixing
this myself. I don't have a brazing torch, pipe cutter or grease-monkey
wrenches, so I tried the band-aid approach.

The bottom line is
- Self fusing rubber tape worked well, but several layers and it
appears that allowing a thin layer of water between successive layers
improves the seal.
- Cloth reinforced epoxy worked OK as an interim fix


snip

You are wasting your time...the pipe needs to be replaced.

If you drain the water out...it should not be too difficult to unsolder it
and solder-in a new one...

but whatever you'd pay a plumber would probably be worth it,


Although I'm pretty handy with most things...once in a while I pay a
professional...
and it's money well spent!