Black Pipe developing leaks

[Neura]

So I plumbed a nice loop around the garage about 8 months ago, cut and threaded all of the black pipe and put the whole system together. I noticed over the last month some of the longer runs in the loop have developed pin (well larger then pin) probably 1/8" hole's in the pipe. I have a cheap pellet air dryer about 30 feet down line from the compressor and all the lines are sloped for draining and t for my drop coming off the top drip legs are at every drop, and also at the compressor and a main drip leg and one on the dryer.

I don't drain the system like I should, but at the same time I have worked in plenty of shops that we didn't drain the system off every day either and never seen this issue.

Also since I put the piping in the system never stays on it has always been shut off after I was done with it due to a few minor thread leaks I hadn't fixed.

I finally just fixed the thread leaks tonight and noticed I was still leaking from newly developed 1/8" holes in the lines... so what is causing this to corrode faster then it should?

when I drained the system tonight there wasn't much water in it. .. the only thing I did different when I plumbed the lines is I ran out of standard white 600 psi joint compound and I could only get this joint compound that is silver/grey in color the Oatey part # is 48006.

 

[Bruce4310TX]

maybe a bad batch of pipe ?

 

[rockchucker]

That is all I could guess also. ^

1/8" holes in Black Pipe within a year from installation? Not common at all. Something is amiss. Maybe check with the supplier and ask them to talk with their supplier. Or go to the source and send them lots of pics as to what is happening and see if they had a bad batch of Pipe.

 

[70redbee]

Pipe made in China.

 

[Neura]

I was thinking pipe made in China as well as some of the threads broke after it was assembled... thought maybe a bad cut as well.. but a piece of pipe that I got from home depot that has been up for 2 years and has a stamp made in the USA also developed the same leak. So I am thinking something is causing this.

I do have some strapping holding some of the pipe up so was think maybe a corrosion issue from not being the same metal. I also thought maybe it was from using the chop saw to cut most of the pipe? also most of the pipe is hung with the nice black stands for copper or pipe.. so am really trying to figure out what may be causing this. will check with the supplier tomorrow if I get a chance or on monday when the accept calls to see if they have had any come back. they are a well known plumbing wholesaler though and probably sell 50,000 feet of black pipe a month. most of the gas fitters and pipelines by from here. this is 3/4" black iron. not galvanized. kind of scary if people have been using it for natural gas though and it is doing this with air and a bit of moisture.

 

[Neura]

Figured I would take a few pics of it. so here they are. I also just noticed the weld on the inside of the pipe running the length and suspect this is where it is leaking. need to take a closer look at one that I took out that was leaking in the morning and see where the leak was.

 

[Bruce4310TX]

its gotta be the pipe never seen this before USA or China pipe, moisture in this period of time putting holes i dont think its possible. i have used pipe laying on the ground for years full of dirt cleaned out and still using.

 

[jmarkwolf]

That's scary!!!

If it is a bad batch of pipe, regardless where it's from, then anybody using it for natural gas applications are in real peril!

 

[308turbo]

sounds like a bad batch of pipe..I installed 1.5 pipe for a sprinkler line in a school and turned the system on and had the seam where they welded it split wide open

 

[CNGsaves]

Wow, that's scary indeed to have black pipe failure in only 8 months !!

Take back to where you bought it and GET MONEY BACK and demand that they notify the source manufacturer to trace down other pipe sold from that batch. It surely is bad batch of pipe !! All the pipe in that lot needs recalled !!

 

[Higgins]

If you know where you purchased it, you may want to inform the local fire dept folks. I think they would be interested in knowing that!

AL

 

[JakeKohl]

If you had a corrosion issue THAT bad, the inside of that pipe would look much, much worse...and it would take either corrosive chemicals or mild chemicals with a positive electrical charge to make it go away that fast. Bad pipe...and that's scary. You say it came from two different sources?

Higgen's idea of contacting the Fire Department was an interesting idea. You might want to stop by and pose the question to someone there to see if they pick up any interest in the issue.

Also, what are the chances that these pin holes have been there from the very beginning? A pressure test would have probably found them.

 

[sberry]

I don't know either and its a new one on me,,, unless some current flow on it,,, is it grounded to the electric system like it SHOULD be?

 

[BD1]

I don't know about your USA label. All the pipe we use is stenciled made in the USA the entire 21' length of it. I think the label was manufactured in the USA and just stuck on cheap import pipe. Where was it purchased ? Big box store ?
That cheap pipe and fittings from China ,Mexico, and Korea is that , CHEAP.
Using it is looking for problems.

 

[c39er]

More and more of this type of thing happening. Poor product quality control. I'd be so pissed!!!!

 

[OccupantRJ]

I don't know about your USA label. All the pipe we use is stenciled made in the USA the entire 21' length of it. I think the label was manufactured in the USA and just stuck on cheap import pipe. Where was it purchased ? Big box store ?
That cheap pipe and fittings from China ,Mexico, and Korea is that , CHEAP.
Using it is looking for problems.

Hell, even the local plumbing suppliers and hardware stores in three towns I frequent are selling the import pipe. I went to them to avoid it in the first place!

 

[OccupantRJ]

I just had a 100 foot 3/4 black pipe underground air line at work replaced. It took 46 years underground for it to develop pinholes. That was when pipe was pipe.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Pipe made in China.

Contrary to popular belief, not everything made in China is ****, and not everything made in the USA is quality, as evidenced by hi later post!

Jim

 

[DekeT]

I don't know either and its a new one on me,,, unless some current flow on it,,, is it grounded to the electric system like it SHOULD be?

You are supposed to ground your steel air lines to the electrical system?

 

[Neura]

one chunk was from the big box store. all the other pipe 150' of it came from bartle and gibson here in edmonton they are a plumbing and gas wholesale that sell to most of the gas fitters. nothing is touching the black pipe anywhere for the air system except for the strap holding it up to the roof. it is not grounded to the electrical system but because it is not touching anything anywhere it really shouldnt need to be. from the compressor there is a 20,000PSI rated hydraulic line to the wall to remove the vibrations. might just chalk it up to a bad batch and see if they will replace it. I have some more pipe from that batch that is sitting outside in the snow that hasn't been used yet. all the pipe supply places store this outside as well. but this is at a union that had a small leak on the threads. there seems to be a chemical reaction to something... maybe the cutting oil.

in the first set of pics the white stuff is some pipe dope. I put it on there just to highlight the hole. but this pic is just of the union connection in the last 6-8 months and the compressor holds at 150 psi.

 

[Notch1988]

Scary. I just ran 40' of black 3/4" for my gasline, picked up from a wholesaler in Red Deer. Did an air test on it at 17lbs for 24 hrs with no problems but could you imagine the disaster if it developed pin holes like this.

 

[Sureshot]

The Chinese pipe is full of impurities. In the oilfield it got bad enough that they started doing extra inspections before it left the plant in China. Much of it has failed here and many companies who saved a buck on their wells are now having some very expensive remediation problems.

Not too blame the Chinese only as they can produce quality but they turn out more than their share of cheap junk. Instead of bowing to the we want it cheaper pressures they need to draw a line in the sand and say no that is as cheap as it gets. Funny thing is the scrap they reuse probably came from the states where some yank thought he shafted them by slipping some **** in the mix. Fun with my neighbors.

I am a proponent of copper lines and will have to bookmark this for future ammo if required.

 

[larry_g]

If I may suggest, look at your compressor and where the air intake is. Is it near any chemicals, heater exaust, or battery charging? At the plant I worked at we were experiencing failure of rubber air hose, good stuff from Gates or Goodyear. After a few years an in-depth analysis was launched and the problem traced to the air compressor intake being near an exhaust from one of the chem labs. So the problem may be what you are putting through the pipe is causing the failure.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Mustangmike66]

I'm a sprinklerfitter by trade. I have installed miles and miles of black iron pipe. I have only experienced two instances where there were holes in new pipe. One instance was with import and the second with domestic pipe. They both were where the factory had **** welded 1" pipe together. The weld was not complete and left a 1/8" size gap. I can not believe they would **** weld cheap ($) pipe together to save money. Each instance, the supplier did not care and just shrugged their shoulders. Of course they blame it on the manufacturer, which is true. The only thing that could be your problem is faulty pipe. Look carefully and see if there is a welded **** joint at your leak. They are difficult to see as they grind them off then coat the pipe. It takes years for pipe to corrode from the inside out. Even on dry sprinkler systems that have trapped areas take years to corrode through, which would be the closest scenario to your problem. Trapped areas have water sitting in the pipes. Pipe filled with 100% water won't corrode unless there are microbial problems. Pipe with water sitting in the bottom portion of pipe with corrode much faster, but not as fast as yours. I say your pipe is defective.

 

[oltruckag]

Do you have copper anywhere in the system? Copper+steel without a dielectric coupling/union = galvanic corrosion. Other than mfg defect that is the first thing that comes to mind that can eat up piping that quickly...

 

[JakeKohl]

Do you have copper anywhere in the system? Copper+steel without a dielectric coupling/union = galvanic corrosion. Other than mfg defect that is the first thing that comes to mind that can eat up piping that quickly...

yeah, but not THAT quickly I wouldn't think.

 

[Fixnair]

Galvanic action does not occur with gasses. It only occurs with liquids. My guess is your dryer. Some types of desiccant form extremely corrosive effluent. A byproduct of the drying process. I would not be surprised at this amount of corrosion. Are they deliquescence type of tablets? I'm not sure how to spell that word.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

I wouldn't buy Chinese pipe...I'll only buy their drywall....

 

[DonnyT]

Do you have copper anywhere in the system? Copper+steel without a dielectric coupling/union = galvanic corrosion. Other than mfg defect that is the first thing that comes to mind that can eat up piping that quickly...

X2, agree 100%.

 

[tehach]

I've seen microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) on dry-pipe sprinkler systems develop pretty fast. On Sch 10 black pipe, it developed numerous pinholes within 4-6 years. The local water contained aggressive microbes. MIC is pretty evident if you cut the pipe and examine a pinhole from the inside.

Eight months seems too short for MIC to be the sole cause. However if the pipe had wall-thickness defects, MIC might have contributed.

 

[Neura]

now that it was mentioned about the air intake source I got looking at things more closely.

Pipe was fine and started corroding faster after I painted my truck in the garage with 2k Urethane and clear. My exhaust for the fumes happens to be right where the intake for the compressor is. my parts wash tank is right there as well. So I may have introduced a chemical reaction with some faulty pipe and accelerated the issue. going to replace the pipe and give the compressor a fresh air source away from the exhaust for the fumes. this is the only thing that I can think of. Any one know of any issue besides extra condensation/water with giving the compressor an air intake source from the outside?

 

[texasOFT]

Sounds like electrolysis - system needs a good ground and check for any dissimilar metals as noted above. May need a sacrificial anode such as zinc like used on boat engines and hulls. Maybe someone here has experience they could share.

 

[JakeKohl]

Sounds like electrolysis - system needs a good ground and check for any dissimilar metals as noted above. May need a sacrificial anode such as zinc like used on boat engines and hulls. Maybe someone here has experience they could share.

I do have some experience in this area - I was a cathodic pipe technician as in intern for a gas company for several years building, testing, and designing anode and induced current protection systems.

What the OP is seeing is too fast to be a simple electrolysis corrosion as it took place in only 8 months. The photo showing the interior of the pipe indicates that it is generally in good shape. It's pretty clear that this is a quality problem with the construction of the pipe.

 

[texasOFT]

I had a friend with an aluminum boat that had a bare wire touching the hull (Found out after the holes showed up). Electrolysis put about 60 1/8" holes in it about 14 outings. Could current incorrectly grounded be accelerating the damage?

 

[WVBrady]

I do have some experience in this area - I was a cathodic pipe technician as in intern for a gas company for several years building, testing, and designing anode and induced current protection systems.

What the OP is seeing is too fast to be a simple electrolysis corrosion as it took place in only 8 months. The photo showing the interior of the pipe indicates that it is generally in good shape. It's pretty clear that this is a quality problem with the construction of the pipe.

I was wondering if there might be some stray DC currents in the area. Maybe from a pipeline cathodic protection, or maybe from some DC welding.

 

[nicksnothereman]

maybe a bad batch of pipe ?

Yeah. A lot of this stuff can be somewhat disposable now (and I'm not joking). Especially if you buy it from a big box store. Don't have a problem with the heavier piping but do have some issues with the pvc. I thought it was the way I was cutting it (and/or drilling it) but then realized it was just ****.

This might or might not apply to your situation though.