Is "wolverine pipe" a plumber name for poly b?
it's a brand of copper pipe.
copper pipe has a lifespan of about 25-50 yrs depending on the quality of the pipe. once you start getting pinhole leaks it's time to replace the whole works. patching a bad section can be iffy as the soldered joint could be prone to fail due to the decaying pipe.
leaking poly-b has a lot to do with the levels of chlorine in the water and a big part of the reason it was discontinued. heat also degrades the pipe - so not great for hot water lines. in vancouver we have soft water (low mineral content due to using rainwater) and low levels of chlorine so if you have poly-b you don't necessarily have to replace it but it's recommended to do it if the opportunity presents itself.
We don't know what our limits are, so to start something with the idea of being limited actually ends up limiting us.
Ellen Langer