I purchased my home four years ago and have had 5 leaks in my hot water pipes. I have had each one fixed by a different plumber and none have had any answers on how to stop this from happening. I have found out that I have type L pipes that run throughout the home. I have 2 hot water tanks and a recirculating pump as well as a water conditioning system that is supposed to remove chlorine. I live in houston texas and when we moved in I noticed a strong chlorine smell when showering so I added the filtration and that problem was solved. The home is 14 years old. All of the hot water lines are insulated throughout. We have city water from MUD 372 and the water quality seems ok but have not had it tested. I was researching the problem online and found this site and wanted to see if anyone could offer any help in solving this problem as I would like to avoid having to repipe the entire house. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do or who I could contact to help solves this issue I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

Where have the leaks appeared? At elbows?

do you have some pictures.



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Yes. All of the leaks have occurred near an elbow.

Not the answer I was hoping for! But I appreciate the response!

You mentioned "leaks on the "Pipe"....If there at the joint it's a different issue. If you could post some pictures it would really help.

this is "Pitting"

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Have you had the pH of the water tested?

Unfortunately I have not taken any before pictures but I can take some after. 4 of the leaks happened in the ceiling between the 1st and 2nd floor, but I just had one fixed today and the ceiling is still open. One of the othER leaks was up near the hot water tanks in the attic just before the water gets to the recirculation pump.

I have not had the pH tested, but certainly lyrics can if folks think that might give some answers.

I'm thinking that your pump is moving the water too fast. There should be a throttle valve at the output of the pump. If it were a water quality issue the cold water side would be giving trouble as well.

I agree with NC.

Ph testing is easy and cheap. Is the water conditioner working as designed? Water Pressure could be still another issue.
Best Wishes

Thank you for the advice! I have a grundfos non submersible pump type UP15-29SU. There is only one for the two hot water heaters which are 48 gal each. Should i replace this pump in your opinion? We need a hot water pump since without it it takes about 5 to 10 minutes for the master to get hot water. If there is another pump that would better suit my pipes let me know. I sure appreciate you suggestions!!



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And the plot thickens...just walked downstairs to another leak...this time in the kitchen ceiling. Wow...this really stinks! Should i switch off the pump for now i suppose! Any of you here in houston and can swing by to assess?

You need to cut the pin-hole out, then split the pipe with a Dremel. Excessive velocity from the pump will appear as scooped out material. A small bead of material is probably iron(from the water heaters?).

Thank you for the advice! Plumber is coming at 10am tomorrow so i will have him see about that. Unfortunately i am am not a do it your-self-er!! I usually make things worse when i try!!

I assume the leaks have been in the recirculation part of the system, but not necessarily. Usually it it caused by excessive velocity in the return line caused by the circulator pump. THe cure is to install a valve between the pump and water heater connection, the shut the valve until the line just stays warm.

I just met with the plumber and he cut the pipe open near the leak and it looked like grooves in that area only. The rst of the pipe was smooth. It was just before the elbow. The center or middle part of the gooves were copper colored and the top was greyish. So i think you nailed it! I did confirm it is US produced pipe...so that was a big relief! So from this point would you recommend just replacing the recurculating pump and measuring the water pressure? Any suggestions on pumps would be appreciated and what should the pressure be to avoid this problem? Additionally, is there anything else i should do to help prevent this. I did not chexk the pH yet but will do that tonight and am open to a different water conditioning-filtration system...just not sure what more is needed. Thanks again so much for everyones help! This is such a pain to deal with and having folks respond has sure helped!



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What hj said........Throttle the recirc.

Hi MMM - The problem you are having with pinhole leaks in your copper hot water recirculation tubing is caused by erosion-corrosion of the copper because the recirculation water flow velocity is way too high. You are wearing out the pipes from the inside. What size is the copper tubing leading up to the pump suction ?

That UP 15-29 SU is a very big pump capable of over 15 gallons per minute. This pump is way larger than necessary.
Suggest a UP 10-16 B5 LC which is designed for hot water recirculation and will do about 2 gallons per minute, which is all that is required to maintain the temperature.

And install a CircuitSolver by ThermOmegaTech to regulate the flow and temperature. A CS-1/2-115 would be perfect. It throttles the recirculation flow to the amount required to maintain the temperature - no more, no less. A CircuitSolver is like a “Silver Bullet” for preventing domestic hot water leaks.