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3/4 ' Copper pipe crack

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  • 18-01-2009 5:17pm
    #1
    tippgaafan
    Registered Users Posts: 74 ✭✭


    Sealed system in my house was dropping pressure and radiators became noisy. Re-Pressurising the system to 1.5bar would only last for 5mins until pressure back to zero. Diagnosed leak to be coming from under the hall floor (Barefoot test with heating on). Painfully removed the timber floor and chased through 5 inshes of concrete to reveal buried central heating pipes. The leak was not coming from a fitting but from the pipe itself. There was a crack about 4-5 inches along the underside of the pipe.
    I am miffed as to the cause of the crack. The hall is located in the center of the house and therefore should not have been exposed to frost. Are 3/4' Copper pipes prone to fatigue or has anyonme other ideas as to cause ??
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    #2
    311
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,332 ✭✭✭311


    Copper corrodes when it's not protected ,certain things corrode it like muck and concrete.


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    #3
    Avns1s
    Registered Users Posts: 3,422 ✭✭✭Avns1s


    Probably just caused by the expansion and contraction of the pipe coupled with a weakness from manufacture. While concrete will corrode copper, especially is its damp, I'm sure that the pipes would have been covered with insulation, no?

    Got house insurance?


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    #4
    311
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,332 ✭✭✭311


    Gas pipes rot just the same as heating pipes if they aren't protected. Gas pipes don't expand and contract


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    #5
    Avns1s
    Registered Users Posts: 3,422 ✭✭✭Avns1s


    311 wrote: »
    Gas pipes rot just the same as heating pipes if they aren't protected. Gas pipes don't expand and contract

    How did we get from discussing a heating system leak to gas pipes? :)


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    #6
    311
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,332 ✭✭✭311


    Avns1s wrote: »
    How did we get from discussing a heating system leak to gas pipes? :)

    I've noticed a lot of people saying that it's the contraction of the pipes that causes them to leak.
    From having to replace hundreds of pipes over the years ,it's nothing to do with expansion and contraction.


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    #7
    Avns1s
    Registered Users Posts: 3,422 ✭✭✭Avns1s


    311 wrote: »
    I've noticed a lot of people saying that it's the contraction of the pipes that causes them to leak.
    From having to replace hundreds of pipes over the years ,it's nothing to do with expansion and contraction.


    Well given that the OP said the crack was at the bottom of the pipe then it must be down to the plumber not using insulation to separate the copper from the subfloor / raft!!

    Also, given that it's a sealed system, it's not likely to be that old. Copper doesn't corrode that quickly.

    So I stand by my theory that it's a flaw in the pipe of which I have seen plenty, coupled with the expansion and contraction of the pipe.


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    #8
    tippgaafan
    Registered Users Posts: 74 ✭✭tippgaafan


    House is 8 years old. Just moved in early last year and upgraded system from vented to sealed. No problem with pressure dropping until pipe cracked. It had insulation, although it was stripped back a bit near to a T-fitting.

    A question RE: House Insurance.
    I completed the repair work myself. No major cost involved except for Kango hire and a bag of cement, plumbing fittings etc. What exactly could be claimed on house insurance for this ?


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    #9
    311
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,332 ✭✭✭311


    Invoices are usually what you need for insurance companies ,sometimes you can sort things over the phone but they like to have a look at the damage most of the time.


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    #10
    Avns1s
    Registered Users Posts: 3,422 ✭✭✭Avns1s


    tippgaafan wrote: »
    A question RE: House Insurance.
    I completed the repair work myself. No major cost involved except for Kango hire and a bag of cement, plumbing fittings etc. What exactly could be claimed on house insurance for this ?

    You would normally have a "excess" of €150 or more on your house policy so in all probability, you won't get anything.


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