On Fri, 18 Mar 2016 21:30:16 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Friday, March 18, 2016 at 11:47:44 PM UTC-4, Vic Smith wrote:
On Fri, 18 Mar 2016 18:34:12 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

A long time ago I needed to cap a pipe, so I decided to try a SharkBite End
Cap just to see what they were like. It worked so well that I said to
myself, "Self, maybe you should toss a couple of End Caps in the plumbing
drawer just in case you need to cap a pipe in an emergency."

So, here it is, 9 PM on a Friday night and I walked down into the basement
to find that the pipe from the water heater has developed a pin hole leak.

So, off with the main, a couple of quick cuts to remove the bad section,
push on 2 caps and back on with the main.

No showers tomorrow morning, but at least we have water tonight. Tomorrow,
I can take my time replacing the bad section.

...and that's why I keep SharkBite End Caps in the shop.

What do you think caused the pinhole leak?

I don't know. The pinhole was on a short (4") section of pipe between
a T and a 90. I cut the pipe exactly at the pin hole, leaving about
1" sticking out the T. (That left me enough room to put the cap on. I'll
need to replace the T and the 90 tomorrow)

Anyway, after I cut the pipe I noticed that the pin hole had begun to
turn into a slit, I assume from the pressure of the cutter. That tells
me the leak was about to get much bigger.

As I said, I cut the pipe exactly at the pin hole and this is what I found
inside the pipe right at the cut. (Ignore the outside of the pipe. I had
cleaned the outside before cutting it.)

http://tinyurl.com/CutPipe

Full Link:

http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...psl6dtvfep.jpg

I can't tell if the "scale" that you see is buildup or what's left behind
from disintegrating copper. It extends down about 1/2" but it is all around
the inside of the pipe at the cut, not just on the side where the hole was.

I have a plumbing supply house that I like, so I may take the piece over
there and have them tell me what's going on. In any case, the rest of that
short piece of pipe will be gone first thing in the morning.

Let us know what they say. I'm curious. I'll be repiping my
galvanized soon with copper. Because I don't have my threading
tools anymore, copper pipe is cheaper, and it might make a difference
in the house's resale value.
The piping is 58 years old. No leaks, but the flow is getting
restricted enough that it's time to do it.