60 year old copper vs. new copper vs. Pex

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Do a search. A lot of people know.

Having never, ever had an issue with leaking copper pipes ... I didn't . Now of course, "bad water", corrosion, etc. .... that's intuitive. The link you posted does NOT contain the info that was news to me. Some info indicates that pinhole links can also actually be caused by an "electrical ground" issue and not a "bad plumbing install" issue, and other reasons ... that and the dissimilar metals aspect.

Leaking copper pipes have just never been on my radar.... period. Until this thread

[NY65912]

Originally Posted by zakthor

https://youtu.be/-8lGyWPZn8g?si=Dfd57o_CjO0mrVh7

There are three kinds of pipe. There's aluminum, which is garbage. There's bronze, which is pretty good, unless something goes wrong. And something always goes wrong. Then, there's copper, which is the only pipe I use. It costs money. It costs money because it saves money.

Sorry to correct but the line is "There are three kinds of pipe. There's what you have, which is garbage - and you can see where that's gotten you. There's bronze, which is pretty good, unless something goes wrong. And something always goes wrong. Then, there's copper, which is the only pipe I use. It costs money. It costs money because it saves money.

The garbage pipe he is referring to was galvanized steel.

[911 Rod]

Is anyone concerned about the lead used in the solder in pipes?

[dmcummins]

When we were remodeling our house we replaced the copper with pex. We were spending quite a bit on tile flooring thru the house and didn’t want to have to take it out if there was a leak. The house is 30 years old and we did have a few friends that had some leaks in their floor. We are all setting on slab floors so jackhammers are involved.

I’m not crazy about the water lines in the attic, but it doesn’t freeze here and they are accessible if needed.

And if they last 50 years that will be great. That’s longer than I have, and we are suppose to be underwater long before then anyway.

[porsche930dude]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

Is anyone concerned about the lead used in the solder in pipes?

If you saw whats in the bottom of your water heater you wouldnt worry about a trace of lead. Besides from my understanding its pretty much nothing leaches off it. Its the fittings that fail in pex. So if they are accessable or kept from freezing then you are probably fine

[GH85Carrera]

Leas based solder has been a thing of the past for many years.

[Icemaster]

I've not remodeled nearly as many houses as Milt or others, but the only time I ever had a leak years on with copper was a joint I didn't properly prep.

Contractor put in PEX when we put the addition on the house, I didn't really care frankly, fast and not nearly as much money. I never noticed a quality difference in the water unless I was drinking from an old garden hose.