Water leak

[LegacyIndustrial]

Hello gang. My parents had a waterline break. They have pex pipes. Wondering why this happened. Can y’all comment on the pic?



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[corvette43056]

No picture

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[LegacyIndustrial]

No picture

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Just loaded, once you start a post, you can't add your pic again on the Iphone 10 I am learning.

 

[rlitman]

Is this for a washing machine? I see three separations, but the two in the front look cut. The one in the back looks twisted.

PEX can twist off. Also, if PEX B is kinked, it can split at the weak point.

Was a new water meter recently installed on the house?

 

[dfiler2]

Looks to me like someone forgot a clamp.

 

[Notgrownup]

A plumber once told me, PEX can make you think you are a plumber it is so easy to use...

 

[PCustoms]

I'm assuming it was leaking and someone went at the drywall to get to it. I see a lot of sawzall hackery and maybe a clamp that popped off.

No way to tell without a better pic.

 

[Slowgsr]

Tight spot, probably installer error, clamp not properly crimped or hose not in the fitting all the way.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Blew apart in the middle of the night. Flooded entire house. No recent plumbing being done. This is in the laundry room area. House is approx 11 years old, Lennar was the builder.

I was curious what would cause the fitting to separate after 11 years of use.


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[LegacyIndustrial]

Tight spot, probably installer error, clamp not properly crimped or hose not in the fitting all the way.

This is what I thought.


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[rlitman]

Blew apart in the middle of the night. Flooded entire house. No recent plumbing being done. This is in the laundry room area. House is approx 11 years old, Lennar was the builder.

I was curious what would cause the fitting to separate after 11 years of use.


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As I said above, new water meter? Or new water heater perhaps?

A common failure mode is over-pressurization caused by a new water meter installed with a check valve, or heat trap check valves installed with a new water heater. In both cases, expanding hot water can be left with no place to go but burst something. In that case, the weakest part will fail.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

As I said above, new water meter? Or new water heater perhaps?

A common failure mode is over-pressurization caused by a new water meter installed with a check valve, or heat trap check valves installed with a new water heater. In both cases, expanding hot water can be left with no place to go but burst something. In that case, the weakest part will fail.

From what I know, nothing has been changed.

 

[The Cobbler]

hard to tell in the pic but it looks like there was a fitting separation and a cut pipe?

 

[SALIV8]

My guess is also a bad crimp ring or installation error where it separated

 

[75gmck25]

Many PEX crimpers for crimp rings are built like bolt cutters, and you need space to move the handles out to 90 degrees before you can get the leverage for a crimp. You then crimp it evenly and firmly until the tool bottoms out, and then use the gauge to make sure the crimp is good. This means you need to plan ahead to crimp lines located in tight spaces, or buy a compact crimper.

You can also use something like Uponor PEX-A, which requires an expansion tool for the rings, but that tool is much more expensive (maybe as much as $400) than a standard crimp tool.

Bruce

 

[kkenney]

Some pex have a limited 25 year warranty

 

[johnnyradiant]

The crimp ring tool usually comes with a go / no-go test guage. I don't recall watching any of the guys I'm around using the tester after a crimp. I rarely grab mine but do try to in the awkard spots. The crimper, after lots of use will likely need to be readjusted from time to time, or at least checked to make sure it doesn't need adjusting.

I really can't tell exactly what I'm seeing in the pic but my assumption of what I'm seeing is a bad crimp.

Just last month I was repairing a shower where a joint failed, after 35 years. It was copper and once I got to the problem I could see it had failed because the a-rod plumber didn't sweat the joint properly. Most of his screw ups in that building showed up in the first 2 couple months, but not all. Some screw ups can just take a long time to show up.

I have heard of bad crimp fittings and rings. What does the ring look like? If it hasn't oxidized or been cut you could probably still get an idea on the caliber of workmanship by giving it a go / no-go test. Once crimped it is crimped, it won't change just sitting in a wall.

I believe there is a failed joint accord that all pipes and fittings try to adhere to - give up late at night.

 

[Git]

Check your water pressure

Our street pressure is over 110 psi but we have a regulator that drops it down to 60. Our house was built in 2003 and a couple of years ago I happened to notice that when we opened a faucet, the water pressure would initially be around 60 psi, but then a little while after closing it, the pressure would creep back up to 110. Turns out the regulator needed rebuilding. Pretty simple to do and cost around $50 in parts (they have rebuild kits) but it is something you should consider