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copper and steam

ryan_7
ryan_7 Member Posts: 50
in THE MAIN WALL
What will the problems be with steam lines that were run in copper? Should they be replaced?
Ryan

Comments

  • midway
    midway Member Posts: 35


    I hope someone answers this because I just noticed when they put in the new (10 yrs ago)steam furnace (2 pipe system) they used about 2 ft. 2" copper to connect output to older pipe and about 4 ft 2" to older return pipe.
  • bob young
    bob young Member Posts: 2,177
    copper

    i have seen copper on steam , both headers & returns last 25 + years and still going strong. low press. , residential
  • Tony Conner
    Tony Conner Member Posts: 549
    How Long...

    ... are the boilers lasting?
  • Steamhead (in transit)
    Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
    The problem with copper on steam

    is that it expands more than steel. This can cause the soldered joints to break and leak. That's why I always do my steam piping in black steel. Yes, I've seen some copper headers that weren't leaking....yet.

    On a wet return which will never have steam in it, IMHO copper is fine. If the water quality is such that it would attack dissimilar metals, you can use dielectric unions.
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