How to Fix Cracked Copper Pipes

Despite the global warming that has been plaguing our fair planet for the past few years, it still gets cold outside. Sometimes it gets really cold. If you are like me, winter is not your favorite season of the year and when it comes to winterizing your house some steps are left out as you anticipate winter never coming. One of the most important steps in winterization is draining outdoor pipes. It is a simple step of closing off the main valve, and opening all faucets down stream from the main valve. Unfortunately doing this is a sign that winter is coming, and last year I never did this simple step. I closed the main valve, but never opened the faucets.

I was in for a surprise when I recently turned out the main outdoor valve. I found leaks all over the copper piping that runs throughout the backyard. I thought I would call a plumber, but quickly decided that paying someone to do this would cause me lots of embarrassment as Earl The Plumber would call me an idiot for not draining them last winter.

To fix a crack in a copper pipe, you must cut out the pipe where the crack is located, and place in a new piece of pipe. Simply wrapping the pipe with a tire tube and duct tape is not the recommended way of doing this. In order to fix the crack, you need a pipe cutter, flux, solder, copper couplers, and a blow torch.

The proper pipe cutter for copper is something that looks like the letter C with a screw in one end. Simply put the C around the pipe and turn the screw down as far as it can go. Then spin the tool around the pipe and watch as it digs into the pipe. Every few turns, crank the screw a little more to make the blade cut further into the pipe. After a few seconds of spinning the tool, the pipe will be cut. Cut a piece that extends a few inches before the crack to a few inches after the crack. Next, cut a new piece of pipe that is the same length as the one you just removed.