Main Steam Line Leak?

zackwatt

I'm guessing this is an obvious sign my system as finally sprung a leak...



I was hoping it was a pinhole leak some nearby copper water lines, but after some detective work, it appears to be the worst.

I wish I didn't have the challenges of asbestos complicating this situation. The insulation is totally saturated, so at least that will help when removing a 4 foot section.

Danny Scully

That framing would be my guess for failure. Anytime a steamline runs through a wall it seems they backpitch the main there because they can’t cut the hole right

ratio

I've had good luck making temp repairs in steam lines with Blue Monster tape. It lasted from the middle of one season to the middle of the next IIRC. I ended up soldering the pinhole shut with 55% silver solder, which has been holding for nearly a year now.

the_donut

I’ve also seen ferncos cut in half and an extra clamp work or pipe repair clamps in a pinch.

zackwatt

Well, I found the pinhole leak right in the middle of the line:



You can see what appears to be the hole just to the upper right of the drop:



I'm really wondering the cause of this, the heat has been off for hours and the pipe is still leaking water. It's dripping almost once every second. It's obviously trapped water, but I'm kinda stumped how...



The pipe is pretty much level with some slight lean to the right, towards the boiler.



I wonder if there is a blockage down the line or this dent in the bottom of the pipe is the culprit? How much water could that dent actually trap?



I'm going to attempt to solder it with some silver solder as recommended by @ratio.

Just gotta wait for this dripping to stop...

nicholas bonham-carter

Maybe you could drill out the hole, and tap for a well silicone-gooped screw.NBC

ratio

If it's anything like my pinhole, the pipe was rotted all around the spot, from the inside. (I suspect a mfgr'ing/materials quality issue.) It took a few tried with this (I think) to get it to hold, and it looks like crap. I'm just kicking the can down the road, but I know it isn't going to get better.

the_donut

ratio said:

If it's anything like my pinhole, the pipe was rotted all around the spot, from the inside. (I suspect a mfgr'ing/materials quality issue.) It took a few tried with this (I think) to get it to hold, and it looks like crap. I'm just kicking the can down the road, but I know it isn't going to get better.

That’s the case I’ve run into. That’s why a clamp over a large area works best for a temporary repair as it is hard to get something to stick to rotted out metal. Tacking with likely blow the hole open larger.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Not enough pitch is why it continues to drip. Put a temp patch on it with a hose clamp(s) and gasket material. During the summer cut it out and replace it with new pipe

JUGHNE

Do you have a counter flow system? Or is the boiler riser the high point of the steam main and it all flows downhill away from it?


The only steam main leaker I have seen (and I haven't seen much) was on a short 1 1/4" runout going to the second floor of a 100 year old 2 pipe counterflow system. That was just off level sloped in the wrong direction. Raising it would have moved the riser up inside the wall which then went horizontal under the floor to the rad. One would have to raise the rad up to correct the whole mess.

zackwatt

ratio said:

If it's anything like my pinhole, the pipe was rotted all around the spot, from the inside. (I suspect a mfgr'ing/materials quality issue.) It took a few tried with this (I think) to get it to hold, and it looks like crap. I'm just kicking the can down the road, but I know it isn't going to get better.

I was able to get the silver solder to pull into the pin hole pretty well, or so it appeared...

I'll give the system a test tomorrow and see what happens.
*fingers crossed*

zackwatt

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Not enough pitch is why it continues to drip.

JUGHNE said:

Do you have a counter flow system? Or is the boiler riser the high point of the steam main and it all flows downhill away from it?

It's a pretty standard two pipe with the main steam run starting at the boiler and running around the basement and ending back at the boiler, with an air vent and an F&T trap.

That whole part of the run, which is parallel to the boiler location, must be low on both ends. Just that straight section supplies almost half the house, first and second floors. 7 radiators in total. I'm not sure how much play there will be in those hangers.

nicholas bonham-carter

Was that main low on both ends, or low on the air vent location, sloping down to the boiler, or vice versa?
I always like a mechanical sort of repair, like a threaded in screw for a hole like this, so I hope your silver solder works.—NBC

zackwatt

You guys were right, the solder only held for about 5-10 minutes once everything got up to temperature. I elected to go with a modified Fernco coupling to get me through the next week or so. Seems to be holding well so far...