Modifying Plumbing / Soldering / Leaks ?

[Roback]

Not sure what to name this thread! I have a problem with a pressure reducing valve, and after much valuable feedback here on the board as well as from the manufacturer, I have decided to replace it. The easy way to do it would be to pull the structure apart. The easiest way would require me to reuse the fitting already in place. If I heat it up, and scrub the inside of it well, can I reflux and solder without a problem? I know that reusing fittings is not generally recommended! It would sure save me time. Also, I noticed that one of my small connections in a completely different part of the this setup seems to be slightly wet in the joint, as I run my finger around it. It is not dripping. Is there anything I can do to buy me time before having to redo it? It would be a pain in the butt to have to pull it apart . Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Jadnashua]

Yes, a fitting can be reused. Often a new one is used because of the time it sometimes can take to prep an old one for reuse.

Depends on the fitting that is leaking what is the problem. If it is a soldered joint, the only way to fix it is to tear it apart, clean, flux and reinstall - once a fitting gets contaminated with water in the joint, you can't just reheat and add solder and flux...it won't work in the long term. If it is a union, try tightening it up. Note, reusing a union can sometimes give you grief depending on how well it was aligned and tightened. If it ends up with a ridge on the mating surface, it can be a pain getting it to reseal from my limited experience.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Roback]

Slight Leak

It is where a brass ball valve and a copper nipple are joined. Could I use something like plumbers epoxy or jb weld temporarily.

 

[Jadnashua]

This is a threaded connection? Unless there's a union in there, no way to tighten it up without taking it all apart. Many of the fittings these days are coming from overseas, and the threads are lousey...banged up, coarse - probably from dull bits or too fast a feed rate. Hard to get a decent seal without a really good dose of pipe dope.

If it isn't leaking much, I'd wait until you are going to replace it. Potentially a quicker fix might be to use a Sharkbite connector to put things back together rather than trying to solder it in those tight spaces. I think I saw that Acme had a PRV that comes with preinstalled Sharkbite connectors, so, assuming you can spread the pipe enough, you can just cut out the old and slap in a new one in moments. You'd probably need to anchor things so it couldn't swing around in circles on the pipe, though, to preserve the o-ring seals.

 

[Gary Swart]

You can try anything you want, and it may or may not work even for a short time. Yes, repairs sometimes are a PITA, but so is life sometimes. Here's what I'd do if it was mine. I'd get all new parts and supplies on hand before I started anything. This is not an emergency, so get your preparations made and don't start until you have plenty of day ahead of you. There is nothing wrong with using used fittings. Most of us don't simply because the time spent cleaning the old solder out is not worth the price of a new fitting. Sure, if I'm working late on to finish a job and need one last elbow or coupling and it's a 15 mile round trip to HD, darn right I'll clean one out of the scrape bin, but if I can run 4 blocks to Ace Hardware, guess what. I probably need a break anyway. Also as Jim pointed out, don't try to reheat and add solder to a leaking joint, no matter how slight the leak is. Once water gets into a joint, it has to be completely redone. I wouldn't try the JB Weld or Billy Mays epoxy because when it is time to fix it right, you'll just have extra cleanup to do.

 

[Roback]

Not A Threaded Connection !

Leak is from where an extension nipple goes into the tail piece of a ball valve! Any ideas to temporarily stop the leak?

 

[Jadnashua]

I don't think you'll find a temporary fix for this...while there are some glues that will work underwater, they're iffy in many situations. Unless the leak is from the stem, where a slight turn on the nut might solve it...

 

[Terry]

If it's me, I normally cut the section out and start over.
Maybe I have heat the fittings up and wipe the solder off with a rag, sand and flux and reuse them, maybe.

Either way, you can't heat a joint with water in it.
I haven't tried pasting a patch onto a leaking joint.

If it were a hole farther from the joint, then some rubber and a hoseclamp type thingie may work. The have a more techy term for thingie, but it's Friday.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

no you are screwed...

take it all apart and start over.....


go out and get a 3/4 brass compression union
and install that in the line....

cut the line to put the union in and then
leave the union loose so the pressure can blow out that joint

just re-solder everything and then put some pipe dope
on the compression fitting and crank it all down tight...

then you will win the battle .... and only then...