Dripping Flare Fitting


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Old 01-10-23, 04:36 PM
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Dripping Flare Fitting

Greetings ! I am replacing the shutoff valve in a house with a ball valve. There is a 3/4" copper pipe with a female flare end on the end of the pipe.

After reassembling the pipe and new valve, the flare fitting is dripping. I tweeked it a pinch tighter but that did not help.
I need help fixing this !
 
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Old 01-10-23, 04:46 PM
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I'd take it apart and make sure both mating parts and threads are perfectly clean. No dope.
 
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Old 01-10-23, 05:12 PM
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ok, I will give it a shot
 
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Old 01-10-23, 10:12 PM
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Inevitably it's just going to take more torque. There is a slight shape difference between the new and old valves and the flare just needs more torque on the threaded fitting to cause the copper to form a proper seal.

Get a couple of big wrenches and just keep torqueing that fitting a few degrees until the weep stops.


 
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Old 01-11-23, 04:51 AM
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Wow, a 3/4" flared joint is unusual. Look for scratches or gouges on the cone of the fitting and inside the flair of the copper. Those two faces must joint with near perfect metal to metal contact.
 
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Old 01-11-23, 09:29 AM
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So it looks like there is a crack on the flare rim on the pipe. Not much of the pipe sticks out of the block where the pipe comes through.

I will post a pick if I can figure out how.
 
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Old 01-11-23, 11:28 AM
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It's too late now for your pipe but in the future make sure that the replacement valve has the same flare angle of the pipe.

If you have a flaring tool and will be replacing the pipe don't forget to anneal the end of the pipe if using rigid type copper pipe. Without annealing it is likely the flare will crack. If using soft copper you don't need to anneal as long as that area of pipe hasn't been work hardened too much.
 
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Old 01-29-23, 07:33 AM
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is it a proper repair to cut off the old cracked flare end and use a sleeve to solder an extended copper pipe with a fresh flared end to fix my leak ?
 
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Old 01-29-23, 08:15 AM
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Flared fittings are used with soft copper so have to assume this is what you have.

I believe soft copper can be soldered but suspect the reason it is not done is because the pipe diameters are not consistent like hard copper pipe and therefore the odds of getting a quality joint are low, that is why the mechanical joint of a flare fitting is used.

You could replace a section of the soft pipe back to another joint or possibly even insert a section of pipe with a flared coupling.

3/4" copper is big, nothing I have even seen, hope you got yourself a good flaring tool!
 
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Old 01-29-23, 08:58 AM
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Yes you can.

Type K (soft copper tubing) can be used with sweat, flared and compression fittings.
 
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Old 01-29-23, 03:05 PM
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thanks for the help guys. is there a page to explain how to upload photos ? I have been having problems trying to upload from my phone.
 
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Old 01-29-23, 05:15 PM
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How to insert pictures.

You have to click the go advanced button for starters.
 
 

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