Pin Hole Water Leak, How do we fix this?

Question

We have a small pin hole leak in our pipe that is squirting water. How should we fix this? It's right above the water heater.

Answer 1

JB weld

http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php

it worked on my radiators leak.

Answer 2

If you can stop the water you could try epoxy putty, or you might want to try Don's pencil trick with epoxy putty if you can't stop the water.

Answer 3

Single pinhole leaks in copper pipes are not that difficult to repair. The first thing that you'll need to do is to make sure you can see where the leak is and determine its size. Next you'll need to head to your local hardware or auto parts store to buy the parts to make the repair: a piece of soft rubber (it's important that the rubber is soft so that it can form a tight seal for the leak) and a hose or gear clamp. The clamp size should be as close to the circumference (size) of the pipe as possible, though you can always trim it after the repair has been made.

Before you begin your repair, you'll need to turn off the water to the pipe at the nearest shut-off valve. Then slip the piece of rubber over the pinhole leak (you should trim the rubber so that you don't have too much) and put the clamp over it. Make sure the clamp is centered over the pinhole leak. Gently begin tightening the clamp so that it's still centered over the pinhole leak, with the rubber between the clamp and the pipe. IMPORTANT: Do not over tighten the clamp, you may crush/bend the pipe -you can always tighten more later. When you think the clamp is tight enough, turn the water back on and check to see if there are any signs of the leak. If it's still leaking, slowly tighten the clamp until the leak stops.

If you have more than one pinhole leak, you may have a systemic problem that will keep generating more leaks. Repiping (replacing your pipes) would take care of the problem temporarily, but eventually you'd start getting pinhole leaks again because they result from the chemical interaction between your metal pipes and the water running through them. An alternative is epoxy pipe lining which protects your pipes and prevents the errosion and corrosion that leads to pinhole leaks. This process coats the inside wall of your pipes with a very thin layer of a special epoxy that will not only take care of small existing leaks, but will protect your pipes from further damage and leaks.

Answer 4

shut off the water valve to it and unless you know plumbing dont mess with it call a plumber and have the pipe replaced

Answer 5

you can use a saddle clamp to fix the leak

Answer 6

Use the rubber patch out of a tire patch kit and a hose clamp (both cheap items). slap the rubber over the hole, add the hose clamp and tighten it down. Works great.

You can use duct tape over the repair to give it the proper "redneck repair" look if you want.

If you just ain't the redneck type, you could call in a $90.00/hr plumber and have him replace the leaky pipe...should cost less than...say $400.00 total.

Answer 7

jam a sharp lead pencil in it and wrap it in ducttape.

Answer 8

If it's in the pipe and not a joint, the pipe is eating away from the inside and you might well go from a pin hole to a gusher fooling with it. Get a plumber before you flood something.

A lot of the plumbers in new construction today use type "M" copper. It's very thin walled and only approved for "hot water heat applications" by code. But the plumbers use because it's cheaper. Type "L" copper is code for domestic and commercial potable water. The type "M" is identified by "RED" markings on the outside, type "L" has "BLUE" markings. The type "M" tends to  erode from the inside out, and if you have one pinhole expect more soon.