Guest
quote:
Originally posted by on2mars:
Our home is 8 yrs. old. Over the last 2 years we have had 7 leaks in the copper pipe supply running to the second floor. The leaks are pinhole leaks in the parent material of the pipes, not at any joints. I am trying to determine the cause of the leaks. I have electrically regounded the house with a new grounding rod, after discovering that the electrical ground was tied to the cold water inlet to the water heater. The main supply line from the street is PVC that also runs through a crawl space. I would like to know if there are other possible causes of the pinhole leaks, and the liklihood of needing to replace all of the copper supply lines in the house.
There are a few questions here:
1) Do you have a recirculating pump on your water heater? If so, it could be sized wrong, too much turbulence in the water pipe system can wear out the pipes from the inside.
2) Do you know where the plumbing contracter bought the pipe?
If he got if from a reputable plumbing supply, then it’s probably ok, but if he got it from a home building store, such as home depot, or lowes, or menards, or something like that, not all of them use virgin copper.
3) Are there any connections in your water system, (in your basement) that could be causing electrolysis? Connections that are not copper to copper, or copper to brass can cause it.
