water pipe corrosion

Apr 20, 2010 23 Replies

My fittings on the six inch underground irrigation system are rusting out. I'm digging up the third one as soon as parts come. This is a totally awful terrible job. Unless you like doing Mexican backhoe in a mud hole.



Anyway, the fittings are all a weldament of six inch and four inch by 1/8" wall steel tubing. I'm getting a small rust hole right at the bottom of the pipe where water sits during the off season.



Anybody know of a corrosion preventative or something I could apply to the steel like a zinc based paint maybe. Other ideas?



Karl


Replace the system with common black poly. No rust. Cheap and easy.

They don't make custom fittings out of plastic in six inch diameter. At least I've never seen them.

Karl

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How about sacrificial anodes bonded to the pipe at intervals?

--Winston

If you can access these parts out of the system, and since it's non-potable water, I'd look at a coating like those made to coat inside a gas tank.

Good idea, and I see Mcmaster sells them. I'll put one on it.

Do you have a name. Need more direction to know what to order. I'd to order it yet today.

Karl

These folks will have something pricey, probably a modified urethane or epoxy. But their stuff does work and may be worth the expense.

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Here are a few possibilities:

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You can probably get something at a local auto parts store.

What do you mean by custom? You can definitely replace it with PVC and probably adapt to whatever you need:

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You found the pipe, mine's the six inch PIP. The pipe is buried in the field road. Now, just try to find an offset riser to put the three inch shut off valve beside the road at soil level. Don't forget the winter drain valve. Trust me, it ain't made.

Karl

On Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:49:00 -0500, the infamous "Karl Townsend" scrawled the following:

Can you run out a pair of 3- or 4-inchers instead? Flexi links to half a dozen ABS pipes? Aluminum pipe? Stainless steel? (Only a couple hundred thou more, eh?) Teflon lined pipe available?

-- "I think you very well may see a revolution in this country and it will not be a revolution to overthrow the government," he said. "It would be a revolution to restore government to its constitutional basis." --Rob Weaver on VoA, 4/19/10

How about Pick-Up Truck bed liner goo, like "Rhino"?

On Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:15:29 -0400, the infamous "Buerste" scrawled the following:

First, learn to type in complete sentences.

Even if it did work, it's naturally sticky and would give the moving water fits as it went through the pipe. Can you say "turbulence"? I knew you could.

Hmm, Slick50 treatment? Connect pipes, pour in Slick50, rotate long section while heating, pour out Slick50. Hmm...

-- "I think you very well may see a revolution in this country and it will not be a revolution to overthrow the government," he said. "It would be a revolution to restore government to its constitutional basis." --Rob Weaver on VoA, 4/19/10

Check out POR 15 , they have several products that might work for you .

I'll give you the name of the coating I use. Some of the best stuff you can get and hold like death even if there is rust on the surface.

Kwik-Poly

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Mix it up. Apply. Let cure in about 5 minutes your done. Works for MUCH more than just gas tanks or sealing stuff. Starts off as a liquid as thin as water. Can be mixed with just about anything to use as a filler.

I've used it for sealing gas tanks, mixed with fine sawdust as a waterproof filler, used a brush to soak it into some damaged wood to stop the rot and make it secure. Even used it with standard fiberglass cloth to seal a canoe!

It's not real cheap but I replaced a LOT of other materials with one item.

So, why not drain the pipes, then put a vacuum pump on 'em to dry those last bits? The brown cruddy type of rust needs water and oxygen to form, and you can remove both.

Many years ago I used this stuff:

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for a general outdoor anti-corrosion coating. Worked for me.

Kevin Gallimore

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The valves we use in the northeast are always in line with the pipe and require a long-ass bar to operate.

The oil field people usually demand that after a "pig" is run by driving it with water, the water either be completely removed or the pipe be left completely full.

I am assuming from your posts that the pipes require draining to prevent freezing but I wonder whether, after draining as best as possible an air compressor could be connected and "blow down" the pipe for a few days might not prevent further corrosion.

John B. Slocomb (johnbslocombatgmaildotcom)

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