Help! Pinhole leak next to water meter

[Tfran]

I’m a DIYer willing to give most things a try. I’ve run PEX with Sharkbite fittings inside the house before, but not in a situation like this.

This is a Sharkbite fitting (?) on my side of the water meter. It has a pinhole leak on the fitting, which is strange. I thought that normally just happens on the copper lines.

How do I replace this fitting, if I can’t move the water meter or the copper pipe (because it’s buried)? Do you have to dig up the copper supply line to the house a few feet so you can move it around to fit in the new fitting?

I know the supply line running to my house shouldn’t be half inch copper, or at least that’s my understanding. Long term I want to dig it up and redo it. I’m just hoping to fix the problem at hand - the leaking fitting. See the attached photos.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Love this forum! Has helped me big time in the past. Thank you!

 

[WorthFlorida]

That could be part of the meter and I think the round green barrel is a anti backflow. It might be part of the backflow which is provided by the water company. Call your water company anyway and see what they say. Just say there is a leak at the meter and they don't charge to evaluate the problem. You might get lucky and they'll do the repair.

If you do need to repair it, yes, you'll need to dig all around and pull the cover box out. I've done it a few times with my last home, my son's house, and a few friends and neighbors. When you open the connection, all the water in the pipe to the house may flow back into the meter hole. So you want to dig at least a feet below the pipe and a foot or two of the pipe. It'd be handy to have a shop vac to suck any the water out of the hole, you do not want the dirty water to enter the pipe. Some may and after the repair, run a garden hose closest to the main to flush the pipe.

In Florida it is 3/4" PVC and PVC has a habit of cracking from tree roots lifting the pipe or the female PVC fitting cracking from weight on top of the box or settling. Another issue has been as the meters were replaced with digital and antiback flows added, I have the meter leak on both sides within six months after the meter was changed.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

I did not notice the squirting stream of water when I first looked at the photo.

I don't think the failure is in the shark bite adapter, but in the fitting that adapter is screwed into.

Somebody needs to start digging.

I wonder if a good worm gear hose clamp could clamp a pad of rubber over that leak, and slow the leak. Is the leaking fitting metal or plastic? I cannot tell.

 

[Terry]

You should have 1" running to the home, at least. With PEX some are run with 1-1/4".