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Effects of reverse ossimoses watre on CI ,galv or copper drains

clammy
clammy Member Posts: 3,103
Wondering weather there where any ill effects on non pvc/abs plumbing pipes .I know in the past I ,ve had custermers that used RO water on certain process and the tailpieces and metallic traps would rot away and on the few jobs where they drain these processes into a indirect waste the exposed copper water lines where developing pin holes and leaks ,Is it just me that worries about this  peace and good luck clammy
R.A. Calmbacher L.L.C. HVAC
NJ Master HVAC Lic.
Mahwah, NJ
Specializing in steam and hydronic heating

Comments

  • SWEI
    SWEI Member Posts: 7,356
    edited September 2013
    RO permeate

    does indeed have solvent qualities.  PEX, PE, PP, and 316 stainless are typically used.  Even PVC presents potential issues.



    What kind of volume is going to the drain?  A condensate neutralizer (the water treatment industry calls these calcium carbonate filters) can help.
  • icesailor
    icesailor Member Posts: 7,265
    RO and water treatment:

    Years ago I did some water treatment work. Someone installed a whole house RO system in a house to eliminate high sodium levels from the well water. The RO water is so pure that there is no place for electrical current to go so it will cause forms of electrolysis to commence between any dis-similar metals. It will cause dezincification of brass products like gate valve wedges dropping off. I was called by the installer to connect an acid neutralizing filter because it uses Calcite as a media. When dissolved, it adds hardness to the water. The hardness gives the electrical current a place to go

    The one thing I learned about water treatment is that if you have a problem, if you can live with it, do so. Because if you try to fix the first problem and you are successful, another one will occur. Fix the new one and another one will occur.

    Then, when you give a price to fix the problem, and it will be high, the customer thinks that it is a one time expense. Wrong. You are just getting started. The service will be far more than the installation. And then the law of unintended consequences comes into play.

    FWIW

    As you're finding out.

    I now live in W. Palm Beach, FL. I am on city water. When I run the shower, I can smell the bleach. When I fill a 5 gal. bucket of fresh water, it is clear but brown. With my wells in Massachusetts, with iron and a low PH, a 5 gal. bucket is as white as the driven snow. Every supermarket sells salt pellets for the water softeners that people need who don't have town water. Untreated, raw water from an irrigation system will turn the stucco brown. Why you don't see white stucco painted houses down here.
  • jumper
    jumper Member Posts: 2,228
    easy fix

    Can't a sacrificial coupon make the water less aggressive? We used to add a bit of lime to a snow melt cistern.
  • HeatingQc
    HeatingQc Member Posts: 10
    Agressive water!

    Icesailor is right. The water treatment (reverse ossimoses) is "too" good, so the level of dissolved solids is so low that the water will try to "re-equilibrate" itself. It will create pin holes and leaks. I've even seen this phenomenon on stainless steel piping while the water was "over treated" and very hot. (Water gets more agressive when heated, plus the effect of the reverse ossimose).



    The water becomes so agressive that any sacrificial product will be gone way too fast and will require non-stop maintenance. We used Poly-Propylene "Aquatherm" piping to fix the issue. So far so good!



    Use plastic pipes. It works!



    Cheers.
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    Universal solvent

    Water is the most universal solvent on the face of the earth.
This discussion has been closed.