RO water effect on copper pipe sodder

[Tony44]

I have a friend who was told that RO water would dissolve the sodder (sp) in copper pipe joints. Anyone else heard this I can't believe it's true.

 

[zombie]

Your friend is correct. Even tap water corrodes copper and solder to a very small degree, but since it has a higher pH and lower soluability the effect takes decades to have any real effect. RODI water has a lower pH and also is stripped of dissolved solids, which makes it much more corrosive than tap water (albeit significantly less so than saltwater). If you want a whole home RO, pex should be used.

Sent from my SM-G965U using MASC mobile app

 

[jda123]

Why would RO water be in your pipes?

You solder copper pipes with silver solider... there are no soft metals in that, like lead.

 

[Tony44]

Thanks. I always used lead core solder. Now with shark bite fittings don't need to sweat fittings anymore.