I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

IME if you have one pin hole there will probably more you will be better replacing the length rather than repairing just the pin hole area.

Richard

Tricky Dicky wrote:
IME if you have one pin hole there will probably more you will be better replacing the length rather than repairing just the pin hole area.

Richard


Maybe even a bad batch?, is something else that crossed my mind. Ah
well, next time I'm in the mood to get those floorboards up :-)

On 01/10/2018 13:17, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
Tricky Dicky wrote:
IME if you have one pin hole there will probably more you will be
better replacing the length rather than repairing just the pin hole area.

Richard


Maybe even a bad batch?, is something else that crossed my mind.Â* Ah
well, next time I'm in the mood to get those floorboards up :-)


Due to supply problems there was some very dodgy pipe imported into the
UK around 1980 that is prone to pin-holing.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

alan_m wrote:
On 01/10/2018 13:17, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
Tricky Dicky wrote:
IME if you have one pin hole there will probably more you will be
better replacing the length rather than repairing just the pin hole
area.

Richard


Maybe even a bad batch?, is something else that crossed my mind.Â* Ah
well, next time I'm in the mood to get those floorboards up :-)


Due to supply problems there was some very dodgy pipe imported into the
UK around 1980 that is prone to pin-holing.


Well, that's cheered me up no end :-) TBH, I'm slowly discovering that,
as much fun as they were, the 80's may have been something of a nadir in
terms of housebuilding practices.

In article ,
Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

I've seen this on capillary fittings, but not pipe itself. Was told it was
down to an impurity.

--
*Succeed, in spite of management *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

alan_m Wrote in message:
On 01/10/2018 13:17, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
Tricky Dicky wrote:
IME if you have one pin hole there will probably more you will be
better replacing the length rather than repairing just the pin hole area.

Richard


Maybe even a bad batch?, is something else that crossed my mind. Ah
well, next time I'm in the mood to get those floorboards up :-)


Due to supply problems there was some very dodgy pipe imported into the
UK around 1980 that is prone to pin-holing.


I made the mistake of trying to reuse some copper pipe from this
era. Not a good idea

Tim


--

On 01/10/2018 12:25, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void).Â* The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds.Â* Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

When this house was built in the 1960s copper pipe was being imported
from S America. The result was that during the 1990s I had to replace
the whole of the central heating system; every single bit of pipe. There
were pin holes appearing all the time. Strangely the ordinary water
pipes were unaffected.

Bill

I'm not aware that the water does this. Our house is older than that. The
main places where I've had pin holes are those grotty bendable convoluted
pipes often used for the final couple of feet to the tap when sink tops are
changed to a different tap spacing.
Brian

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Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Dan S. MacAbre" wrote in message
news
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small, but
annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via the
ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of which
the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm wondering about
the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old. Is this just a bit
of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to break through (we have
soft water), or is it likely to start happening elsewhere because this is
what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with soft water?

Yes but how far do you go with that logic?
Brian

--
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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Tricky Dicky" wrote in message
...
IME if you have one pin hole there will probably more you will be better
replacing the length rather than repairing just the pin hole area.

Richard

Go on so what on earth can be wrong with copper pipe to make it prone to
this. Surely if its very thin walled or has somehow been damaged are the
only issues. As crud builds up in a pipe one might suppose it would be less
prone.
Brian

--
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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"alan_m" wrote in message
...
On 01/10/2018 13:17, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
Tricky Dicky wrote:
IME if you have one pin hole there will probably more you will be better
replacing the length rather than repairing just the pin hole area.

Richard


Maybe even a bad batch?, is something else that crossed my mind. Ah well,
next time I'm in the mood to get those floorboards up :-)


Due to supply problems there was some very dodgy pipe imported into the UK
around 1980 that is prone to pin-holing.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 01/10/2018 12:25, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void).Â* The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds.Â* Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?


Same thing happened at my parents house and they have hard water.

Replaced about six inch of pipe and it was OK for a few years. Don't
know what happened after that as the house was sold.

On Monday, 1 October 2018 12:24:56 UTC+1, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

About that time there was a technical problem at Yorkshire copper to do with the lubricant used while drawing the pipe.
There's probably going to be more incipient pinholes.

harry wrote:
On Monday, 1 October 2018 12:24:56 UTC+1, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs
via the ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small
hole, out of which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few
seconds. Now I'm wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is
about 30 years old. Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken
that long for a hole to break through (we have soft water), or is it
likely to start happening elsewhere because this is what happens to
30 year-old copper pipes with soft water?

About that time there was a technical problem at Yorkshire copper to
do with the lubricant used while drawing the pipe. There's probably
going to be more incipient pinholes.

Ahhhh!
When I was an apprentice in maybe 1969 a new 1/2 inch copper pipe
(Yorkshire) squirted out water on a new central heating installation.
The plumber who trained me said it was a sand hole in the pipe - something
to do with the way the pipe was rolled.

On Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:25:09 +0100, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:

I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

Had this problem some time back (more than 20 years IIRC).

Not helped by the fact that the pipe in question was plastered into the
walls.

It is a known problem with sub-standard pipes and insurance paid for the
replacement of the dodgy pipe. Allegedly a copper shortage in the 1970s
lead to a lot of copper pipes having very thin walls.

YMMV.

Cheers


Dave R



--
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alan_m was thinking very hard :
Due to supply problems there was some very dodgy pipe imported into the UK
around 1980 that is prone to pin-holing.

My home was completely re-plumbed and central heating added, around
that time. I have had no issues at all.

I would be inclined to cut a small patch of pipe, to slip over the top
and tin it in place over the hole. It could well just be an isolated
weak spot or wear spot.

On Monday, October 1, 2018 at 7:06:11 PM UTC+1, David WE Roberts (Google) wrote:
On Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:25:09 +0100, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:

I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

Had this problem some time back (more than 20 years IIRC).

Not helped by the fact that the pipe in question was plastered into the
walls.

It is a known problem with sub-standard pipes and insurance paid for the
replacement of the dodgy pipe. Allegedly a copper shortage in the 1970s
lead to a lot of copper pipes having very thin walls.

YMMV.

Cheers


Dave R



--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
I had a pinhole in my hot pipe, took about three weeks to find it. The pipe was touching a piece of rubble which had worn the hole over the years. The water was draining outside and the pipe was inside the wall.

"Dan S. MacAbre" wrote in message
news
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small, but
annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via the
ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of which
the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm wondering
about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old. Is this just
a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to break through (we
have soft water), or is it likely to start happening elsewhere because
this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with soft water?

I had the same thing happen about 30 years after the copper plumbing
was done in a new house and haven't had any more since, now 45 years
since the house was built. Also a soft water area. That era was notorious
for rare pinholes in copper pipes apparently.

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
news
On 01/10/2018 12:25, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small, but
annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via the
ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old. Is
this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to break
through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

When this house was built in the 1960s copper pipe was being imported from
S America. The result was that during the 1990s I had to replace the whole
of the central heating system; every single bit of pipe. There were pin
holes appearing all the time. Strangely the ordinary water pipes were
unaffected.

Presumably due to the inhibitor used in the central heating system.

Brian Gaff wrote

I'm not aware that the water does this.

Yes it does when the are impuritys in the copper.

Our house is older than that.

And so isnt affected by the problem of bad copper in that era.

The main places where I've had pin holes are those grotty bendable
convoluted pipes often used for the final couple of feet to the tap when
sink tops are changed to a different tap spacing.

The pinhole problem is different.

"Dan S. MacAbre" wrote in message
news
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small, but
annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via the
ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of which
the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm wondering
about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old. Is this just
a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to break through (we
have soft water), or is it likely to start happening elsewhere because
this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with soft water?

Brian Gaff wrote

Go on so what on earth can be wrong with copper pipe to make it prone to
this.

Impuritys in the copper.

Surely if its very thin walled or has somehow been damaged are the only
issues.

Fraid not.

As crud builds up in a pipe one might suppose it would be less prone.

Fraid not with the pinhole problem.

"alan_m" wrote in message
...
On 01/10/2018 13:17, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
Tricky Dicky wrote:
IME if you have one pin hole there will probably more you will be
better replacing the length rather than repairing just the pin hole
area.

Richard


Maybe even a bad batch?, is something else that crossed my mind. Ah
well, next time I'm in the mood to get those floorboards up :-)


Due to supply problems there was some very dodgy pipe imported into the
UK around 1980 that is prone to pin-holing.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Tue, 2 Oct 2018 06:12:31 +1000, Andew Jones, better known as
cantankerous trolling senile geezer Rot Speed, wrote:

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
news
On 01/10/2018 12:25, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small, but
annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via the
ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old. Is
this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to break
through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

When this house was built in the 1960s copper pipe was being imported from
S America. The result was that during the 1990s I had to replace the whole
of the central heating system; every single bit of pipe. There were pin
holes appearing all the time. Strangely the ordinary water pipes were
unaffected.

Presumably due to the inhibitor used in the central heating system.

IOW, you don't know, but you will open your senile gob anyway ...as usual!

--
Richard addressing Rot Speed:
"**** you're thick/pathetic excuse for a troll."
MID:

On Tue, 2 Oct 2018 05:32:08 +1000, Andew Jones, better known as
cantankerous trolling senile geezer Rot Speed, wrote:


the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm wondering
about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old. Is this just
a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to break through (we
have soft water), or is it likely to start happening elsewhere because
this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with soft water?

I had the same thing happen

Nobody gives a ****, senile Rot! And you KNOW it! That's the very reason why
you keep changing your nyms! BG

--
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp addressing Rot Speed:
"You really are a clueless pillock."
MID:

On Tue, 2 Oct 2018 06:28:23 +1000, cantankerous trolling senile geezer Rot
Speed blabbered, again:

FLUSH yet more of the pathological self-opinionated senile asshole's
latest self-opinionated sick bull**** unread

....and much better air in here again!

--
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp addressing Rot Speed:
"You really are a clueless pillock."
MID:

On Tue, 2 Oct 2018 06:26:32 +1000, cantankerous trolling senile geezer Rot
Speed blabbered, again:

FLUSH that unbelievable self-opionionated senile asshole's
latest self-opinionated sick bull**** unread

....and much better air in here again!

--
"Anonymous" to trolling senile Rot Speed:
"You can **** off as you know less than pig **** you sad
little ignorant ****."
MID:

In message , David
writes
On Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:25:09 +0100, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:

I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?

Had this problem some time back (more than 20 years IIRC).

Not helped by the fact that the pipe in question was plastered into the
walls.

It is a known problem with sub-standard pipes and insurance paid for the
replacement of the dodgy pipe. Allegedly a copper shortage in the 1970s
lead to a lot of copper pipes having very thin walls.

I re-plumbed a house in 1970. Copper was hard to find so I used
stainless steel and compression fittings.

"Dan S. MacAbre" Wrote in message:
I spent a fair few hours over the weekend tracing and fixing a small,
but annoying, leak (cold mains water supply to the bathroom upstairs via
the ceiling void). The cause turned out to be a very small hole, out of
which the water spurted in a tiny jet every few seconds. Now I'm
wondering about the rest of the pipework, which is about 30 years old.
Is this just a bit of bad pipe that has taken that long for a hole to
break through (we have soft water), or is it likely to start happening
elsewhere because this is what happens to 30 year-old copper pipes with
soft water?


FWIW, I had a similar pin prick leak in a length of copper pipe,
probably dating back to around 1990 when the bathroom was I think
refitted.

We have other pipe in the house ofcsimilar ages and had no problems
..


--
Chris French

In article ,
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Due to supply problems there was some very dodgy pipe imported into
the UK around 1980 that is prone to pin-holing.

My home was completely re-plumbed and central heating added, around
that time. I have had no issues at all.

Same here - did lots of work on this house 5 years either side of that.
Lots of new plumbing. None of which has pin holed.

--
*Few women admit their age; fewer men act it.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Jethro_uk used his keyboard to write :
Back in the 90s, I had a BT technician tell me that a 1970s copper
shortage led to aluminium wires which were all deteriorating (hence his
presence

Likewise in the electrical industry, the alloy would turn to dust and
high resistance with just a small amount of moisture.