I have some piping in my shower that appears to have been bonded with somthing
other the solder. head does not affect it, almost looks like epoxy. Any
suggestions on how to break bond?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...e-1159834-.htm

On Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 1:44:07 PM UTC-5, David S wrote:
I have some piping in my shower that appears to have been bonded with somthing
other the solder. head does not affect it, almost looks like epoxy. Any
suggestions on how to break bond?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...e-1159834-.htm

Depending on what and where it is, why not just cut the pipe and remove
the bonded part.

On 02/20/2018 01:07 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 1:44:07 PM UTC-5, David S wrote:
I have some piping in my shower that appears to have been bonded with somthing
other the solder. head does not affect it, almost looks like epoxy. Any
suggestions on how to break bond?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...e-1159834-.htm

Depending on what and where it is, why not just cut the pipe and remove
the bonded part.




Good advice. That is what I'd do.


Though you could replace the section with copper and solder it, a few
years back I used SharkBite and saved myself a bit of work. It was
absolutely leak free,

On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 13:28:35 -0600, philo wrote:

On 02/20/2018 01:07 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 1:44:07 PM UTC-5, David S wrote:
I have some piping in my shower that appears to have been bonded with somthing
other the solder. head does not affect it, almost looks like epoxy. Any
suggestions on how to break bond?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...e-1159834-.htm

Depending on what and where it is, why not just cut the pipe and remove
the bonded part.




Good advice. That is what I'd do.


Though you could replace the section with copper and solder it, a few
years back I used SharkBite and saved myself a bit of work. It was
absolutely leak free,

Yea, they do make an epoxy for copper pipe. I have never used it, but
hear it works. I'd rather solder the pipe and know it will come apart
(when needed), with a torch.

If you need to go back too far, to cut out the piece you want to repair,
just cut the pipe and solder in a coupler. Just dont solder it too near
an epoxy joint. The heat could cause that epoxy to fail or maybe even
flare up.

Soldering copper pipe is not hard, as long as you use a good torch and
use the correct flux and solder. Plus make sure the copper is very
clean.

I have to strongly disagree with them sharkbites. I have seen them fail,
and it's no pretty scene. All it takes is having that sharkbite fitting
too close to a stud or other object that puts some pressure on the
locking sleeve and you got a wide open pipe. Not worth the time savings
and they are very costly as well. The best thing to do with them, is to
leave them fill shelf space in the store. Plumbing codes should not even
allow them, except for temporary use, (meaning not longer than 24
hours). They do provide a means to temporarily cut out a leaky pipe, and
connect a new section of pipe overnight, until the pipe can be repaired
properly.

On 2/20/2018 5:17 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 13:28:35 -0600, philo wrote:

On 02/20/2018 01:07 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 1:44:07 PM UTC-5, David S wrote:
I have some piping in my shower that appears to have been bonded with somthing
other the solder. head does not affect it, almost looks like epoxy. Any
suggestions on how to break bond?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...e-1159834-.htm

Depending on what and where it is, why not just cut the pipe and remove
the bonded part.




Good advice. That is what I'd do.


Though you could replace the section with copper and solder it, a few
years back I used SharkBite and saved myself a bit of work. It was
absolutely leak free,

Yea, they do make an epoxy for copper pipe. I have never used it, but
hear it works. I'd rather solder the pipe and know it will come apart
(when needed), with a torch.

If you need to go back too far, to cut out the piece you want to repair,
just cut the pipe and solder in a coupler. Just dont solder it too near
an epoxy joint. The heat could cause that epoxy to fail or maybe even
flare up.

Soldering copper pipe is not hard, as long as you use a good torch and
use the correct flux and solder. Plus make sure the copper is very
clean.

I have to strongly disagree with them sharkbites. I have seen them fail,
and it's no pretty scene. All it takes is having that sharkbite fitting
too close to a stud or other object that puts some pressure on the
locking sleeve and you got a wide open pipe. Not worth the time savings
and they are very costly as well. The best thing to do with them, is to
leave them fill shelf space in the store. Plumbing codes should not even
allow them, except for temporary use, (meaning not longer than 24
hours). They do provide a means to temporarily cut out a leaky pipe, and
connect a new section of pipe overnight, until the pipe can be repaired
properly.




I can't speak from experience other than talking with a few plumber
friends who've use the Sharkbite, but they have nothing but good things
to say about them and the longevity thus far. They said if they fail,
they weren't correctly installed.

My only personal experience is moving my outside faucet to another
location on my house. I used Sharkbite to connect copper to PEX about 12
years ago and I've yet to have a problem.

On 02/20/2018 04:17 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 13:28:35 -0600, philo wrote:

On 02/20/2018 01:07 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 1:44:07 PM UTC-5, David S wrote:
I have some piping in my shower that appears to have been bonded with somthing
other the solder. head does not affect it, almost looks like epoxy. Any
suggestions on how to break bond?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...e-1159834-.htm

Depending on what and where it is, why not just cut the pipe and remove
the bonded part.




Good advice. That is what I'd do.


Though you could replace the section with copper and solder it, a few
years back I used SharkBite and saved myself a bit of work. It was
absolutely leak free,

Yea, they do make an epoxy for copper pipe. I have never used it, but
hear it works. I'd rather solder the pipe and know it will come apart
(when needed), with a torch.

If you need to go back too far, to cut out the piece you want to repair,
just cut the pipe and solder in a coupler. Just dont solder it too near
an epoxy joint. The heat could cause that epoxy to fail or maybe even
flare up.

Soldering copper pipe is not hard, as long as you use a good torch and
use the correct flux and solder. Plus make sure the copper is very
clean.

I have to strongly disagree with them sharkbites. I have seen them fail,
and it's no pretty scene. All it takes is having that sharkbite fitting
too close to a stud or other object that puts some pressure on the
locking sleeve and you got a wide open pipe. Not worth the time savings
and they are very costly as well. The best thing to do with them, is to
leave them fill shelf space in the store. Plumbing codes should not even
allow them, except for temporary use, (meaning not longer than 24
hours). They do provide a means to temporarily cut out a leaky pipe, and
connect a new section of pipe overnight, until the pipe can be repaired
properly.







In my situation I replaced a section of galvanized between two copper
runs. It had multiple leaks. It's on the unfinished basement ceiling and
no chance of anything disturbing it. If anything would go wrong though
it's above the basement drain and all that might get wet is the wash tubs.

On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 16:17:20 -0600, wrote:

On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 13:28:35 -0600, philo wrote:

On 02/20/2018 01:07 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 1:44:07 PM UTC-5, David S wrote:
I have some piping in my shower that appears to have been bonded with somthing
other the solder. head does not affect it, almost looks like epoxy. Any
suggestions on how to break bond?

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...e-1159834-.htm

Depending on what and where it is, why not just cut the pipe and remove
the bonded part.




Good advice. That is what I'd do.


Though you could replace the section with copper and solder it, a few
years back I used SharkBite and saved myself a bit of work. It was
absolutely leak free,

Yea, they do make an epoxy for copper pipe. I have never used it, but
hear it works. I'd rather solder the pipe and know it will come apart
(when needed), with a torch.

And stay together when you need it to. I used "just for copper" once
- never again. And it WILL release with (a lot of) heat.
I found my soldered joints leak less -

If you need to go back too far, to cut out the piece you want to repair,
just cut the pipe and solder in a coupler. Just dont solder it too near
an epoxy joint. The heat could cause that epoxy to fail or maybe even
flare up.

Soldering copper pipe is not hard, as long as you use a good torch and
use the correct flux and solder. Plus make sure the copper is very
clean.

I have to strongly disagree with them sharkbites. I have seen them fail,
and it's no pretty scene. All it takes is having that sharkbite fitting
too close to a stud or other object that puts some pressure on the
locking sleeve and you got a wide open pipe. Not worth the time savings
and they are very costly as well. The best thing to do with them, is to
leave them fill shelf space in the store. Plumbing codes should not even
allow them, except for temporary use, (meaning not longer than 24
hours). They do provide a means to temporarily cut out a leaky pipe, and
connect a new section of pipe overnight, until the pipe can be repaired
properly.


They have their place, even for permanent repairs - but they are not
the solution of choice for every, or even most, jobs.

On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 20:50:11 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote:


And stay together when you need it to. I used "just for copper" once
- never again. And it WILL release with (a lot of) heat.
I found my soldered joints leak less -

How long do you have to wait for that stuff to dry before you can turn
on the water? I never used it. With solder, by the time you walk to the
water shutoff, the solder is hard. I did sort of think heat would
release any epoxy, but I bet it would not be possible to solder to
either the pipe or the fitting, because that epoxy would be near
impossible to remove entirely.

I bet JB Weld would also work on copper plbg, but why bother, and have
to wait for it to harden. Just solder it and be done.

If you need to go back too far, to cut out the piece you want to repair,
just cut the pipe and solder in a coupler. Just dont solder it too near
an epoxy joint. The heat could cause that epoxy to fail or maybe even
flare up.

Soldering copper pipe is not hard, as long as you use a good torch and
use the correct flux and solder. Plus make sure the copper is very
clean.

I have to strongly disagree with them sharkbites. I have seen them fail,
and it's no pretty scene. All it takes is having that sharkbite fitting
too close to a stud or other object that puts some pressure on the
locking sleeve and you got a wide open pipe. Not worth the time savings
and they are very costly as well. The best thing to do with them, is to
leave them fill shelf space in the store. Plumbing codes should not even
allow them, except for temporary use, (meaning not longer than 24
hours). They do provide a means to temporarily cut out a leaky pipe, and
connect a new section of pipe overnight, until the pipe can be repaired
properly.


They have their place, even for permanent repairs - but they are not
the solution of choice for every, or even most, jobs.


I acquired a small pile of them, when I helped a guy replace some
plumbing. Someone had used a bunch of them sharkbites and we replaced
all the plumbing, so the owner was gonna toss them in the trash along
with some old copper pipe. I took the copper for recycling and I saved
those sharkbites for temporary repairs. I did use them when I was making
up a solar water heater. for temporary connections, so that I could
determine the best way to run the pipes, but that was just until I got
around to soldering the copper. I keep them handy though, for
emergencies.

The one I had separatre was inside a wall. After applying the sharkbite,
they strapped the pipe in such a way that the sharkbite was tight
against a stud. Over time, probably from expansion and contraction of
the pipes, the pressure of the wood agaisnt that thing, caused the pipe
to come loose and flood the whole place. A huge mess. That wall had to
be removed, and a lot more damage repaired.

On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 17:13:54 -0600, philo wrote:



In my situation I replaced a section of galvanized between two copper
runs. It had multiple leaks. It's on the unfinished basement ceiling and
no chance of anything disturbing it. If anything would go wrong though
it's above the basement drain and all that might get wet is the wash tubs.

I guess that's fairly safe as long as the sharkbites are not stuck
against any wood, but if you do have a pipe come apart your water bill
could be huge. That galv pipe probably sprung leaks because of the
dielectric corrosion between the copper. Sometime when you got nothing
else to do, solder in that new piece of copper and do it right. Sounds
like you only need to solder in two couplers. Thats simple when it's
right out in the open.

I just helped a friend replace all his pipes. It's an old victorian
house and it had sections of steel pipe, rigid copper pipe, soft copper
tubing, PVC, and CPVC. All mixed up. There was around 170 ft of pipe,
but he only needed about 80 ft. It went across the basement and came
back again. There were spots that looked like they had moved the water
heater at least 3 times, and two washmachine hookups. The pipe to the
outdoor spigot was cut off and plugged. There were at least 5 places
dripping when I first saw it, one filled a 5 gallon pail every day.
Another spot had rolls of electrical tape around the pipe, and he had
just clamped a piece of rubber around another spot that was shooting
water across the basement.

I took one look at it and said "lets rip it all out and start over".
That made him nervous, but he soon learned that was the easiest way. I
took a sawsall and cut that old **** in pieces and got rid of it. He
wanted CPVC, so thats what we used. By the end of the day it was all
connected except the bathtub because he wants to change to a shower. We
just put some shutoffs there. and also put a shutoff for an outdoor
spigot, because it was too cold outside to install that spigot. What a
huge difference that made. His water pressure doubled, and you no longer
got a bath walking thru his basement from dripping pipes.

On Wed, 21 Feb 2018 03:55:16 -0600, wrote:

On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 20:50:11 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote:


And stay together when you need it to. I used "just for copper" once
- never again. And it WILL release with (a lot of) heat.
I found my soldered joints leak less -

How long do you have to wait for that stuff to dry before you can turn
on the water? I never used it. With solder, by the time you walk to the
water shutoff, the solder is hard. I did sort of think heat would
release any epoxy, but I bet it would not be possible to solder to
either the pipe or the fitting, because that epoxy would be near
impossible to remove entirely.


The stuff flashes off pretty quick - when it works it works in 3
minutes or less. Basically you can't take it apart after 30 seconds -
but the copper needs to be CLEAN!!!!

Getting the crap off to redo the joint with solder is virtuallu
impossible. You need sandpaper and a lot of patience - and forget
about re-using the "female" part of the joint - it AINT gonna
happen!!!

It reacts withcopper ions to cure.

SNIPP

The one I had separatre was inside a wall. After applying the sharkbite,
they strapped the pipe in such a way that the sharkbite was tight
against a stud. Over time, probably from expansion and contraction of
the pipes, the pressure of the wood agaisnt that thing, caused the pipe
to come loose and flood the whole place. A huge mess. That wall had to
be removed, and a lot more damage repaired.
That wasn't the sharkbite's fault, it was the fault of the guy who
installed it. I had a joint that had to be made up in the framing of
the main floor in the basement of my daughter's condo when putting in
the basement washroom. Up behind the ABS stack, above the
foundationwall, between the last joist and the sill-plate onthe OTHER
foundation wall (in the top corner). No way in HELL I was soldering a
joint up there, even IF I could have reached it with the torch. I'd
have burned the place down for sure, and likely had a leaky joint. In
went the shark-bite. 15 seconds and it was DONE. No chance of it
hitting lumber and being disconnected.(and it allowed me to turn the
pipe assembly to line up perfectly at the bottom to connect to the
last peice. The "assembly" was about 6 or 7 parts soldered together
"on the bench"" so I didn't have to do it "blind" behind the existing
wall, and I didn't need to open it up. The "last part" was another
"assembly" run in through the drilled studs from the other end. That
sharkbite likely saved me 2 or 3 hours of cursing..

On 2/21/2018 6:42 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Wed, 21 Feb 2018 03:55:16 -0600, wrote:

On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 20:50:11 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote:


And stay together when you need it to. I used "just for copper" once
- never again. And it WILL release with (a lot of) heat.
I found my soldered joints leak less -

How long do you have to wait for that stuff to dry before you can turn
on the water? I never used it. With solder, by the time you walk to the
water shutoff, the solder is hard. I did sort of think heat would
release any epoxy, but I bet it would not be possible to solder to
either the pipe or the fitting, because that epoxy would be near
impossible to remove entirely.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HX6ahDqoY4