wobbly pipe

[Newby2]

Hi
I had a dripping kitchen tap replaced by a Dyno engineer yesterday. During the process the hot water pipe was leaking and he fixed it. Now I have found the hot water pipe (right one in the photo, it is under the sink) is a bit wobbly, in the vertical direction. When I touch it, I can feel the pipe moving a little bit up and down (a bit elastic, not stiff if you know what I mean). The cold water pipe (left) is very steady.

There is no leak right now.

I wonder whether it could be a problem, could it lead to loose connections and leak in the future? Thanks for any advice.

 

[johnny2007]

It should be fine, however, I would have changed those Mickey Mouse isolating valves to proper ones.
Those ones usually leak after a couple of years when you close them and reopen.

 

[Newby2]

Thanks Johnny2007!
Indeed when he was replacing the tap he had to close and open the isolating valve a couple of times, and eventually it leaked

 

[Newby2]

Unfortunately I have found there is still a small leak at the compression joint just below the isolation valve of the hot pipe. It is wet when I touch it. I checked that the other parts of the pipe is dry, so it is definitely not condensation.

However, I left a bowl beneath it overnight and the bowl is dry in the morning. Is it okay? Is it true that tiny leaks like this will eventually improve because of the minerals in water? Thanks!

 

[Madrab]

The pipe behind probably isn't clipped therefore there is some play in the pipework and hence the movement.

If the connection isn't creating enough water to drip then it may just be a bit of residual water. If a fitting is actually weeping then it will drip, it doesn't just let out a little water then stop, if you see what I mean. That being said if you're not happy about it then get it checked.

 

[opps]

It should be fine, however, I would have changed those Mickey Mouse isolating valves to proper ones.
Those ones usually leak after a couple of years when you close them and reopen.

Agreed. I hate having to use them because I never know if they are going to start squirting water out of the screw hole.

I used to buy the yellow handled ones from Toolstation until I had one snap one day, it was 2 years after I fitted it. Fortunately the fitting didn't snap at the (mains pressure) supply end so the customer was able to turn it off. It still caused £3000 of damage though.

I showed photos of the snapped end to a friend who is an engineer, he pointed to the crystal like nature of the brass (where it snapped) and suggested that it was poorly manufactured.

Now I only buy the Pegler ones. They may cost 3 times more but I trust them more than the "no-name" ones.