Nail embedded in copper steam line

Mark Oppedahl

I'm a homeowner in Dubuque, IA with two-pipe gas-fired steam in my 1932 house. The installation is rather unique with small metal-finned radiators embedded in the walls. Air flows in through a baseboard opening, up over the radiator, and out a vent in the wall. An adjustable baffle on the vent controls air flow, allowing for heat adjustment in lieu of a valve on the steam line. The near-radiator piping is copper.

My problem is a copper line deep in an exterior kitchen wall running up to a second-floor radiator. When the house was built someone drove a nail right through the pipe! Over the 70 years of the house's life, the small steam leak created a spot of water damage in the wall plaster near the kitchen ceiling. Yesterday as part of a kitchen redecorating project I removed the loose plaster, creating a small opening through which I could see the copper steam pipe and its embedded nail. The nail has just a little rust on it, and is held in place by the board in front of the pipe. When the heat comes on, there's a small hiss and some visible steam.

What's the best way to fix this? Replacing the steam line would require knocking a huge hole in the wall and re-plastering a complicated curved alcove. In the basement I could cap the supply and return lines to the affected radiator (no valves, remember?), but I would lose heat in that bedroom. Is there some way to cut the steam line where it's puctured and introduce a coupling? How about simply soldering around the embedded nail, or will the steam heat and pressure soften the solder and drive it out? Maybe some kind of patch clamped on the pipe? Any other ideas? Obviously I need to fix the leak before fixing the wall.

Thanks for your help, guys!

Mark Oppedahl
markoppedahl@cartegraph.com

Billy March

Nail in copper

If its going to be too big a job to cut out the copper pipe with the hole in it, you have some options available. You can simply solder over the hole, or you can cut the pipe right at the hole and use a slip coupling to join the pipe together at the same spot.PULL THE NAIL OUT OF THE PIPE FIRST. After you remove the nail,make sure the nail was not long enough to punture the other side of the pipe.If you decide to solder over the hole, make sure you clean the copper real well and solder right over the hole.

Ken_8

Bill's right

To keep the access hole as small as possible, you may want to use a soldering iron. One of those big ones that may have to be put on a stove or open flame. Getting a small pencil tip torch flame in there to solder a hole - without total wet rag surrounds may start a wall fire. Ever seen an "in-the-wall-fire"?

You never want to either. If the holes is bigger than 1/16th inch, you may need to fill the hole with copper before soldering. Take some lamp cord copper wire, make sure it's shiny and sort of twist the strands with soldering flux between the thumb and forefinger. This will "saturate" the wire strands with flux. Try and get the twisted strands large enough to be a snug fit into the hole and gently tap the center of the stranded wire with a needle or awl to "mash" the little fibers into the hole just enough to hold securely. Leave an 1/8" or more of the strands inside the pipe. Like wise the outside. Make sure the hole and at least the size of a quarter in diameter around the visible hole are sanded clean. Use steel wool if necessary.

Use the biggest soldering gun you can find if the open flame of a torch gives you the willies (of starting a fire inside the wall) and try and solder the hole, fine wire strands and ajacent area with the lowest melting point tin/lead solder you can find. Resin core electrical solder may work as well. Of course inspect the job for a while before closing the wall back up. You may also use a short scrap of very heavy gage wire (or three solid copper solid gage wires as hole filler - or even cut a "shard" of copper from a scrap of tubing. Copper cuts easily with tin snips. If that doesn't work, you can always take a penny, clean it thoroughly and keep it "in place" by holding against the pipe hole while applying a soldering iron to it. If you use a screwdriver to press the penney to the hole, it may pull the heat off the joint faster than you can put it to it? Perhaps the screwdriver or a steel rod heated almost cherry red could be your improvised soldering iron?

Keep a hose or CO2 fire extinguisher handy just in case.

Let us know how it turns out. Make sure your homeowner's insurance is paid before doing the work (;-o)

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Unknown

What about a copper patch ?

Sort of like a tire tube patch - some copper contoured to be soldered to the outer side of the pipe ? I've never seen something like that but it would seem like a good fix to a puncture in a tight spot .

kevin coppinger_4

I suppose there is...

always JB weld....kpc

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

scrook_2

fire risk...

recommend a water hose not (or in addition to) a CO2 extinguisher, though a LARGE (say 10lb) powdered ABC tri-class would almost as good as water, and *might* do less damage, maybe. Water, in enough quantity will do less damage than a full blown fire -- and they get out of hand FAST, so have it available regardless of other fire extinguishers, even though neither will be pretty.

Misting down any wood in the area first w/ water in a spray bottle AND using a flame blanket for soldering close to wood would help.

You might have a plumber do it for you too, far less risk if a pro's involved.

I also like the idea of a LARGE soldering copper or iron.

Another tactic instead of stranded copper wire, use a segment of a copper tube coupler the right diameter to cover the spot -- if there is a practical way to hold it in place while soldering. You might also pre-tin it or the wire too.

Before my time in town, but my church was built to replace a 1880's wood frame that was lit off by a plumber doing renovations on a bitter cold winter day in 1965. I am told it was like a charred ice palace when they got it out -- a total loss. I only have seen microfilm photos from the local paper, as well as photos 19th and 20th c, of the outside, and am told it was a thing of beauty inside too. So it goes.

Brings to mind too the story of the man who was asked: "If your house was on fire and you could remove only one thing from it, what would you take?"

He though a bit, then answered: "The fire."

Ah, but that it were that easy...

GaryDidier

Pipe patch

Ron , I did that once. The hole in the pipe was too big to solder so I made a small patch from a piece of copper flashing and sweat it in place. It worked like a charm!
Gary from Granville

bob young

licensed plumber

simply hire a licensed ,registered INSURED plumber and have him braze it shut with silver solder GAURANTEE it in writing pay him and close the wall. case closed . all other suggestions have some merit but if you do it using this method you can sleep tite.

Mark Oppedahl

Thanks everybody. Time to call the plumber...