Use a pipe cutter - Great advice but....

[Graham Carter]

..I need to do a repair. Hot and cold (both copper) run touching each other underneath floorboards. Whichever pipe I want to cut, the other is in the way. The leak is next to a bend. The hot is on the inside. I suspect that repeated expansion and contraction has caused it to bear on the cold and caused a pinhole. Should I repair in copper as it is more foregiving of the squareness of the pipe cut?

BTW I discovered this leak whilst preparing to renew my kitchen. I have learnt a lot from the archive of this group, particularly about plastic pipe and fittings. I think that I am going to go for Marley Equator.

Graham

[Ian Stirling]

I would.

However, you can get a square cut, with a hacksaw. For example, a block of wood with a slot in, to guide the cut. Tidy up with a file, and check with a square.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you're repairing copper, and space is tight, your only option is capillary fittings - solder types. Push fit or compression will be too large.

[David W.E. Roberts]

To ease the cutting, you can get neat little circular cutters which work in a very small space.

If the leak is near a bend, if possible cut some distance away from the bend on either side (which could make the cutting easier because you might be able to flex the pipes).

You can then replace the run of pipe and ensure that the bends are not quite so close together.

Another useful strategy is to cut the pipe with a hacksaw, and then flex the end out and cut back a little further with a pipe cutter, giving a neater end.

This could also allow you to use compression or pushfit (and even plastic pipe) if you so desire.

HTH Dave R

[Matt Beard]

You will be amazed what you can get away with on a soldered copper join once you have enough skill. With plastic pipes you need very little skill to start with, but you don't gain many options with experience.

I would be happy to cut with a hacksaw, dry well then solder (with both ends of the run open to allow any steam generated further up to escape safely) and I would expect this to work perfectly without future problems. Note though, that I am not terribly experienced with soldered copper plumbing (bits here and there over the years) so don't take this as an expert's view, but then again with all the work I have done - including some hideously suspitious joints in awkward places - I have never had so much as a single drip. Compression joints are a different matter (grr snarl!) and even plastic has been known to let me down - but only when I have abused it somewhat.

[G&M]

You'll be IMM's friend for life. At least I think that was what he was touting last.

[IMM]

No it was copper. Marley is the best of a bad bunch of plastic.

[G&M]

But they were on Tomorrow's World so it must be good :-)

>

[Graham Carter]

Thanks for the tips, people. I have seen the mini-pipe cutter in B&Q and couldn't even have used that. I used a hacksaw with wooden guide and then made enough space to use compression fittings with copper pipe. Job done.

I think I know what precipated this now! The house is about 40 years old and all the plumbing original. We had a new bathroom fitted by a "professional" just over a year ago. The flow from the hot tap was then much less then previous, "Agh, just turn up the thermostat on the boiler", was the advice.

Bloody dolphin!

Ah well, back to the kitchen!

Graham

[IMM]

If you say so. Please buy saunier shares.

[Capitol]

Do you actually need to cut the pipe? Pinholes can frequently be repaired by applying a patch of copper over the existing pipe. First clean up the area, tin the pipe and the inside of the patch piece with an excess of solder, then mount in position and apply heat and pressure until the solder flows. Hope this helps.

Regards Capitol