OK, Guys, I have my HW lines fixed. Holds 80 psi for more than 48 hrs.
Thought I had my CW system doped out to a slow leak in a threaded connection. Checked it out today, and it appears to be worse than before. Went around w/ shampoo bottle & checked every exposed joint; threaded or glued. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch, etc. Another session in corner, sucking thumb in fetal position.
I have now concluded that there are two alternatives – 1)rip open the walls and test every joint w/ shampoo; b) turn on the water and let any leak tell me what to rip open. Alternative b) sounds rather draconian – but long run it strikes me as doing the least damage to walls. If I do it now, the walls are not painted, so will be less difficult to return to a decent finish. Pressure drops from 60 to zero in about 15 minutes. At least I will not have a flood, just some messy wallboard at the leak location.
Comments, suggestions, other alternatives that I have not considered?
Don
Replies
Well, if you have already checked all the exposed joints in the pipe and you are satisfied that there are no accessible leaks.
Go for it and turn the water on. You will have to damage the drywall to fix it anyway right? And the water will show it's face.
One other thought is the use of cow manure. It won't help you find the leak, but you'll surely quit sucking your thumbs. :-)
Good luck, whatever you decide.
Don, I'm not remembering part one so good. These pressure drops are on your domestic supplies, not drains........correct? And I'm no plumber by a long shot so take this guess as what it is. Have you isolated the system to points inside of any bladder type pressure tanks or even the water heater?
Best of luck.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Calvin: No tanks at all. Have an electric on demand water heater. Disconnected the in & out lines and am using them as a point to pressurize. Main water tank associated w/ well is 200 ft away and shut off from house. Have really isolated house & plumbing systems.
DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
Most soap mixes don't work well at 60 psi. The air just blows right through without raising a bubble. Try setting the compressor to 15 psi and leave it hooked up to maintain a constant pressure in the pipes. Use dish soap, but work it up into a froth. Apply the bubbles to the joint and watch for any movement in the bubbles.
Is the feed line into the house disconnected from the house?I'd suspect a bad valve.
Rich: Bubbles worth a try. Anything that doesn't destroy wallboard. Supply line connected. It is a 200 ft long 1 inch pipe. That would hold a lot of air! I checked the valves - yes, there are two of them - and they are closed. But - they could be leaking. There is also a valve in the well house. Leaking main valves are easy to test. I just open the well house valve, leave the two house valves closed w/ the HWH connection connected to the pressure guage. If there is a leak, the pressure guage will go up to pump system pressure. It will take a while, but probably worth it.
Thanks for the suggestion.
DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
RICH: Bubbles worked great. Found two leaks I didn't find w/ soap. Was sorta like putting merangue on a pie. Betcha whipped up egg white would work like a champ! Unfortunately, still have my bigger leak. Opened up the main valve in well house & listened while water rushed to fill pipe to 60 psi. Boy, that took a lot of water. Valve in house is still closed. Pressure guage at HWH cold connection still says zero. That means that if main valve leaks it is one way. Guess it's time to open main and let water show me where the leak is.
DFon The GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
I would do the water as a second choice. Keep the air on and buy/borrow a mechanics stethoscope. They have a needle like tip (small hole). Better yet if you have a friend who is an auto mechanic, he might have an electronic device that pinpoints vacuum leaks via the high frequency sound they make - in your case air rushing out vice in.
I assume this is copper - was there a joint that gave you a not so warm feeling when you flowed the solder? If you end up turning on the water, I would send it through a pressure reducer to minimize the "mess".
ES
"I assume this is copper - was there a joint that gave you a not so warm feeling when you flowed the solder?"
Eric, that reads like all my copper sweats. <g> Call me paranoid, I just solder the heck out of 'em when I have to do 'em; making a change in plumbing or whatever.
Eric: Not copper - it's PVC. All the lines are buried in walls & ceilings. A mechanic's stethoscope might be a good idea. We have a decent MD's stethoscope - it located the BIIIIG leak in the HW side by hearing rushing air in the wall cavity. Pinned it down pretty accurately. A couple small holes in the wall board don't sound too bad - if it located the leak it would be worth it.
Thanks.
DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
Eric: Well, it's on to the stethoscope. Rich's bubbles found a couple small leaks, but not the main one. Don't know any mechanics, so went to Grainger. Electronic Instrument costs over $300. Guess it's time to turn on the water and let do the talking.
DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
don... have you tried a couple ave marias yet ?
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
RE: Eric's post:
Those small diameter mechanics steths are solid and only pick up vibrations from a surface it's in contact with. Suspending the tip into a wall cavity would likely do nothing. The ultrasonic detectors work, but then any electronically amplified listening device might.
Maybe a small mic you could lower into suspect cavities?
Mike
hook an aircompressor to pipe and listen hor hiss, lot less mess
Re the mechanics steth - You is right - how quickly we forget things. But there's got to be a "better" way than just turning the water on.
Sure, I was thinking of maybe lowering a small mic into suspected cavities. 'course he could maybe rent a borescope or similar for visual inspection.
Mike