I have a slow leak from a joint in a CH pipe (about one drop every minute or
two).

I tried Plumber's Mait (a cheap version a few months ago, the real thing
just now), it still leaks!

Any other easy options to do a quick fix? (Ie. without draining down
everything and replacing or resoldering the joint). Or haven't I used the
Plumber's Mait properly?

(The joint, a solder-ring 15mm equal tee, is in a very awkward place: inside
a cupboard, with one branch disappearing immediately into a wall, another
into a door-frame, and there's a parallel pipe right next to it; it's the
remaining branch that leaks.)

--
Bartc

"BartC" wrote in message ...
I have a slow leak from a joint in a CH pipe (about one drop every minute
or two).

I tried Plumber's Mait (a cheap version a few months ago, the real thing
just now), it still leaks!

Any other easy options to do a quick fix? (Ie. without draining down
everything and replacing or resoldering the joint). Or haven't I used the
Plumber's Mait properly?

(The joint, a solder-ring 15mm equal tee, is in a very awkward place:
inside a cupboard, with one branch disappearing immediately into a wall,
another into a door-frame, and there's a parallel pipe right next to it;
it's the remaining branch that leaks.)

--
Bartc

Plumbers Mait cannot stop the leak from a soldered joint. A plumber once
tried to stop a drip in my old house with some "special" paste. It did not
work.
The pipes can be frozen and the joint made good.
If it is that difficult to get at, ring a plumber.

On 02/02/13 15:28, Mr Pounder wrote:
"BartC" wrote in message ...
I have a slow leak from a joint in a CH pipe (about one drop every minute
or two).

I tried Plumber's Mait (a cheap version a few months ago, the real thing
just now), it still leaks!

Any other easy options to do a quick fix? (Ie. without draining down
everything and replacing or resoldering the joint). Or haven't I used the
Plumber's Mait properly?

(The joint, a solder-ring 15mm equal tee, is in a very awkward place:
inside a cupboard, with one branch disappearing immediately into a wall,
another into a door-frame, and there's a parallel pipe right next to it;
it's the remaining branch that leaks.)

--
Bartc

Plumbers Mait cannot stop the leak from a soldered joint. A plumber once
tried to stop a drip in my old house with some "special" paste. It did not
work.
The pipes can be frozen and the joint made good.
If it is that difficult to get at, ring a plumber.



if you can isolate it try car body filler.

I did a temp repair once by wrapping the thing entirely in PTFE tape..it
turned a gush into the occasional drip

So bit of tape and then smother it with car body filler MAY stop the leak.

It is a frightful bodge of course.



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:47:19 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

if you can isolate it try car body filler.

Or the other epoxy based stuff designed for the purpose. I would expect a
plumbing version to remain a little more flexable than CBF.

I did a temp repair once by wrapping the thing entirely in PTFE
tape..it turned a gush into the occasional drip

Self amalgamting tape is another possibilty, used that to hold in the
stupid little easy to break air vent plug on a TD5 top radiator hose for
many a month. A CH pipe shouldn't be a problem, if you can get it clean
and dry and stretch the tape enough. At a push a good quality electrical
insulating tape might do, but wouldn't last like SA tape.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Feb 2, 2:57*pm, "BartC" wrote:
I have a slow leak from a joint in a CH pipe (about one drop every minute or
two).

I tried Plumber's Mait (a cheap version a few months ago, the real thing
just now), it still leaks!

Any other easy options to do a quick fix? (Ie. without draining down
everything and replacing or resoldering the joint). Or haven't I used the
Plumber's Mait properly?

(The joint, a solder-ring 15mm equal tee, is in a very awkward place: inside
a cupboard, with one branch disappearing immediately into a wall, another
into a door-frame, and there's a parallel pipe right next to it; it's the
remaining branch that leaks.)

--
Bartc

You might be able to make a repair with a bit of soft rubber sheet (or
similar) and a jubilee clip.
Put rubber over leak with some jollop on it,slide jubilee clip over
and tighten down.
May not work as there is a surface irregularity.

"harry" wrote in message
...
On Feb 2, 2:57 pm, "BartC" wrote:
I have a slow leak from a joint in a CH pipe (about one drop every minute
or
two).

I tried Plumber's Mait (a cheap version a few months ago, the real thing
just now), it still leaks!

Any other easy options to do a quick fix? (Ie. without draining down
everything and replacing or resoldering the joint). Or haven't I used the
Plumber's Mait properly?

(The joint, a solder-ring 15mm equal tee, is in a very awkward place:
inside
a cupboard, with one branch disappearing immediately into a wall, another
into a door-frame, and there's a parallel pipe right next to it; it's the
remaining branch that leaks.)

--
Bartc

You might be able to make a repair with a bit of soft rubber sheet (or
similar) and a jubilee clip.
Put rubber over leak with some jollop on it,slide jubilee clip over
and tighten down.
May not work as there is a surface irregularity.


It would appear to be leaking from a badly soldered copper tee.
Of course there is going to be a irregular surface --------------- pipe goes
into fitting.

On 02/02/2013 14:57, BartC wrote:
I have a slow leak from a joint in a CH pipe (about one drop every
minute or two).

I tried Plumber's Mait (a cheap version a few months ago, the real thing
just now), it still leaks!

Any other easy options to do a quick fix? (Ie. without draining down
everything and replacing or resoldering the joint). Or haven't I used
the Plumber's Mait properly?

Alas no - its designed for helping to seal threaded connections - it has
no practical use as a sealing compound on its own.

(The joint, a solder-ring 15mm equal tee, is in a very awkward place:
inside a cupboard, with one branch disappearing immediately into a wall,
another into a door-frame, and there's a parallel pipe right next to it;
it's the remaining branch that leaks.)

Well the proper solution would be to remake it. However you can get
plumbing leak repair sticks that may fix it. These come as a strip or or
bar of epoxy putty - usually about 1/2" wide in two coloured sections.
You rip a bit off, and then mix the two colours together until they are
fully mixed. This gives you a firm sticky blutak like compound that will
stick to wet surfaces etc. Use that to patch your leak, and it hardens
in about 5 mins or so.

e.g.

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Plum...+Repair/p59360


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
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|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

"John Rumm" wrote in message
o.uk...
On 02/02/2013 14:57, BartC wrote:

Any other easy options to do a quick fix? (Ie. without draining down
everything and replacing or resoldering the joint). Or haven't I used
the Plumber's Mait properly?

Alas no - its designed for helping to seal threaded connections - it has
no practical use as a sealing compound on its own.

(The joint, a solder-ring 15mm equal tee, is in a very awkward place:

Well the proper solution would be to remake it. However you can get
plumbing leak repair sticks that may fix it. These come as a strip or or
bar of epoxy putty - usually about 1/2" wide in two coloured sections. You
rip a bit off, and then mix the two colours together until they are fully
mixed. This gives you a firm sticky blutak like compound that will stick
to wet surfaces etc. Use that to patch your leak, and it hardens in about
5 mins or so.

Yes, that's the stuff I used ('plumber's mait quick leak repair putty -
instant repair for pipes, radiators, tanks and cylinders').

There's still some left, so might try again. Otherwise I might try the
rubber and jubilee clip idea; I just need some rubber, and a jubilee clip...

--
Bartc

On 02/02/2013 19:03, BartC wrote:
"John Rumm" wrote in message
o.uk...
On 02/02/2013 14:57, BartC wrote:

Any other easy options to do a quick fix? (Ie. without draining down
everything and replacing or resoldering the joint). Or haven't I used
the Plumber's Mait properly?

Alas no - its designed for helping to seal threaded connections - it
has no practical use as a sealing compound on its own.

(The joint, a solder-ring 15mm equal tee, is in a very awkward place:

Well the proper solution would be to remake it. However you can get
plumbing leak repair sticks that may fix it. These come as a strip or
or bar of epoxy putty - usually about 1/2" wide in two coloured
sections. You rip a bit off, and then mix the two colours together
until they are fully mixed. This gives you a firm sticky blutak like
compound that will stick to wet surfaces etc. Use that to patch your
leak, and it hardens in about 5 mins or so.

Yes, that's the stuff I used ('plumber's mait quick leak repair putty -
instant repair for pipes, radiators, tanks and cylinders').

There's still some left, so might try again. Otherwise I might try the
rubber and jubilee clip idea; I just need some rubber, and a jubilee
clip...

Epoxy is was what I was going to suggest; in the good old days plumbers
mait was a sort of non-setting putty, never heard that term used for an
epoxy. It won't normally set against mains water pressure or against a
pressurised CH system but will set against the sort of pressure you have
in an unvented cylinder. So one fix might be to depressurise the CH, use
the epoxy and give it an hour or two to cure before repressurising.
Rubber and jubilee clip will also work if the geometry is favourable; OK
for a pinhole in a straight pipe run, less likely to work at a joint
because of the "step".

A couple of years ago radiospares was promoting a sort of self
amalgamating tape which would work on 3 bar, if you applied it
correctly. (Needed a double or triple layer, IIRC). Never got around to
getting any to try because my inclination would almost always be to do a
"proper" repair.

But I have used epoxy a couple of times on awkward leaks, typically on
hot water cylinders.

--
For every complex problem, there is a solution which is simple, neat,
and wrong.
H L Menken

Why not try Fernox LSX, my hot water cylinder had a tiny pinprick hole in the top and due to the foam insulation I didn't want to solder it so i smeared LSX on the hole and it's been fine since and that was way back last April