Soldered Cap

[bob.smith]

My refrigerator had water supply from a braided stainless steel line that was coming out of a hole in the wall behind the fridge and connected to the copper pipe somewhere in the floor between the first floor and basement. I installed a new water filter system at our kitchen sink and T'ed it off to supply filtered water to the fridge as well, and so I didn't need the existing line coming out of the wall anymore. The problem is that I have no access to wherever that braided line is connected to the copper pipe and no cap would fit the end of it, I tried various sizes. What I ended up doing is soldering the end of it sufficiently enough so that it was sealed close. That seems to have worked, but after the fact I realized that the solder I used was electrical solder and it contains lead. What I'm wondering is if there is any danger in that cap containing lead at the end of that braided supply line. Can any lead contaminant seep back into the main copper line from the end of that hose against the pressure? Also, is this even a viable long term solution or will the soldered cap eventually fail?

 

[MicEd69]

Where that solder is located out of the water flow, and the surface area of that solder, I doubt very seriously that there would ever be a detectible level of lead found in your water. You didn't say how old your house is, but if it is over 40 years old, you probably have lead based solder on your existing copper fittings anyway.

Re: you question, "is this a viable long term solution?", that depends on the soldering job you did. I'm assuming that the line you are talking about had a screwed fitting that attached to your refrigerator. There is a plug fitting for that water line that would screw into that fitting, and that would have been the best solution. You said that this was a braided line to the refrigerator. Again, I assume the internals of that braided line was copper as you said you soldered it with electrical solder. Did you flatten the end and solder it closed or just build up solder as a lead plug? Did you use a torch or a soldering iron or gun?

A picture of what you did would help.

 

[bob.smith]

Where that solder is located out of the water flow, and the surface area of that solder, I doubt very seriously that there would ever be a detectible level of lead found in your water. You didn't say how old your house is, but if it is over 40 years old, you probably have lead based solder on your existing copper fittings anyway.

Re: you question, "is this a viable long term solution?", that depends on the soldering job you did. I'm assuming that the line you are talking about had a screwed fitting that attached to your refrigerator. There is a plug fitting for that water line that would screw into that fitting, and that would have been the best solution. You said that this was a braided line to the refrigerator. Again, I assume the internals of that braided line was copper as you said you soldered it with electrical solder. Did you flatten the end and solder it closed or just build up solder as a lead plug? Did you use a torch or a soldering iron or gun?

A picture of what you did would help.

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to be testing my water for lead for peace of mind anyway, but I figured it probably wouldn't be a problem. The house was built in 98 so there is no lead in the existing pipes.

I built up the solder as a lead plug and I used a soldering iron. The only soldering I have ever done has been for electrical purposes not for plumbing so those are the tools I had... it was just a last minute solution so that I could turn my water main back on. I can't get a picture right now but I could get one later.

If it presents a leak risk then I will look into that plug fitting for a refrigerator line. I guess I would have to melt the solder back out and then put the plug in.

 

[MicEd69]

I built up the solder as a lead plug and I used a soldering iron. The only soldering I have ever done has been for electrical purposes not for plumbing so those are the tools I had

From your original post, that is what I thought. Again, without seeing how you soldered the plug I cannot provide a good answer. But I am skeptical about this being a long-term solution. And I seriously doubt you can melt out the solder to install the proper plug. From what you've said, I envision that your soldering was done to the female tubing nut without much soldering to the internal tube of the braded line. That is a concern if that is true.

Here is a picture of the proper plug, even though they identify it as a "cap".

 

[havasu]

I'd be leery of using a cap on a braided line as a permanent seal. That line must have another end where you can cap as a more permanent solution.

 

[bob.smith]

The other end is connected to the copper pipe that is not in a location I can access without cutting up some drywall on the basement ceiling, which I didn't want to do.

Here's a picture of what I did. I was calling it a cap but it's actually a plug, and I believe I did try to get some of the solder down into the tube and then just kind of built it up all the way around up to the top.

 

[MicEd69]

I'd be leery of using a cap on a braided line as a permanent seal. That line must have another end where you can cap as a more permanent solution.

Yes, I agree, but bob.smith said, "The problem is that I have no access to wherever that braided line is connected to the copper pipe." And I would be concerned that the connection to the copper pipe is a saddle valve making that even a larger concern,

 

[MicEd69]

The other end is connected to the copper pipe that is not in a location I can access without cutting up some drywall on the basement ceiling, which I didn't want to do.

Here's a picture of what I did. I was calling it a cap but it's actually a plug, and I believe I did try to get some of the solder down into the tube and then just kind of built it up all the way around up to the top.

Wow, that looks like you did as good as you could with what you had to work with. But just realize that that plug is the weak link in the system. And using a soldering iron and electrical solder, that plug may not be really soldered to the female nut, but just acting as a stopper. It depends on how clean you got the inside of the nut, how you fluxed it, and if the soldering iron got the nut hot enough to really take the solder.

It would obviously be best to cap the source. A little drywall work could save you a lot of water damage repair work in the future.

 

[havasu]

Tear out now, or pay out later?

 

[bob.smith]

Yeah, I guess I can install an access panel after cutting out down there... the challenge will be finding where it is.