Interesting website here discussing the
actual cause of pinhole leaks, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with electrolysis, or anything else electrical (well, aside from the electrical forces inherent in a chemical reaction).
http://www.toolbase.org/Building-Systems/Plumbing/copper-pinhole-leaksPossible causes, as determined by various studies:* Combination of high pH, low organic matter, aluminum solids, and free chlorine
* Aggressive water, poor workmanship, and addition of water softeners
* Workmanship: Excessive use of fluxes; fluxes are corrosive by their nature
* Aluminum-bearing compounds (from concrete pipes, cement mortar lining of cast iron pipes, aluminum coagulant carryover from treatment plants)
* Combination of: use of soft waters with low pH; high suspended solids and assimilable organic carbon content; long-term or periodic water stagnation; low or nonexistent chlorine levels; maintenance of water temperatures that promote rapid growth and activity of naturally occurring bacteria; and/or the lack of an adequate monitoring program to periodically evaluate water quality and pipe wall condition
* Chloramines, which are chemicals caused by combining chlorine and ammonia (NH3)
* Water velocity in undersized copper tubes. For tubing sizes normally installed in home plumbing, the design water velocity should be targeted toward 4 fps. The greatest effect of velocity occurs where the water is forced to change flow direction, such as at elbows and tees, but excessive water flow rates can be damaging to the entire plumbing system. When copper tubing is installed that is too small in diameter for the pressure and flow available, the resulting high flow rates can erode the protective coating creating areas of bare, unprotected copper. This effect can result in a high rate of corrosion wherever the protective coating is eroded.
Urban legends. Pinhole leaks are NOT caused by:* Electrolysis
* Grounding of electrical systems/ phone systems to the piping system
* Manufacture of the copper plumbing materials
* Harmonic divergence (the alignment of the planets)
* Solar flares/sun-spots
* Cellular phone/radio signals
* Cheap/inferior or imported copper
If the pipes that worked fine for 30 years started springing pinhole leaks a year after they were replaced, excessive flux during installation is the most likely cause. Especially if it's a closed-loop where the corrosive compounds just sit. Don't let the plumbers blame the sparkies for their own faulty installation!
