Galvanized Piping

Justin1635

my house is atleast 60 years old. And all i can say is galvanized is s***.

a few lines have been dripping lately, so theyre obviously rusting through. but it just hit winter here.. -30. so im looking at something to temporarily plug these holes until i can replace them next summer. could i just drain the lines, and silicone or epoxy the holes? or is there something better

Ron The Plumber

Will not work the way you think, only way is replacement.

troubleseeker

There are a couple of two part epoxy putties that claim to work for this, but I have no experience with them. There are also pvc repair sleeves that have compession fittings on both ends (many hardware stores and home depot). You have to cut out a small section of the pipe to slip them on though. Use a reciprocating saw with a fine tooth metal cutting blade, and try to enlist a helper to hold the pipe from vibrating as much as possible. If it starts moving alot, every old fitting within a five mile radius of you will be dripping.

Justin1635

i guess because of the pressure im dealing with right?

what about rubber wrapping and sea clamps on both ends?

Ron The Plumber

Correct. Pressure will cause it to fail again, try what troubleseeker is saying, they also make ready made repair clamps for leaky holes in the lines.

Double A

You can start a repipe and cut over this winter to the new pipe if it gets really bad.

We used to do repipes this way in commercial applications when we could not shut water down for extended periods of time.

This will only work if you have a place to run the pipe however. On a slab home, this can be difficult, as you will have to open some walls.

In a home with a basement or crawl space, this might be an ideal way to get ahead of the weather. Running new lines and waiting for a nice Indian Summer day to make the change over.

As far as repairing the galvanized, there are repair clamps that are 1/2 circle or full circle that can be used on any bad leakers. I'd hesitate to start any repairs that requires much disturbance to the pipes, like cutting them unless you're prepared to get very involved. Old galvanized pipe can be quite fragile.

Do a Google Image search for repair clamp plumbing for a picture of what to use.