Opinion requested on this photo

SlamDunk

This hole would be perfectly round if not for tool mark. It served as a condensate line from a base board. I Bought it from Lowes and installed it seven years ago. It was fine until a year ago when I noticed I was loosing water then this past Wednesday it opened up and triggered a leak alarm I had in crawl space. It is 1/16" hole. It was not in an area where it could have been accidentaly drilled.

I know this sounds like a conspiracy theory but do you think someone pre drilled this but not all the way thru to fail at a later date?

EBEBRATT-Ed

Chinese pipe?

pecmsg

$hit Steel
order Sch 80 from supply house dot com. 

Steamhead

Water hammer?

bucksnort

Looks like you got a hernia when you bore down with the pipe wrench on cheap pipe.

hot_rod

Looks like an electric arc hole. A live wire touch it?

mattmia2

Looks like there was a defect in the steel, some slag layered in to it and the piece of steel surrounded by a thin layer of slag broke free.

SlamDunk

This is a 3/32” drill hole.   Look at these photos.    Thank God it wasnt used on a gas line.  Do you agree?  Or am I coo coo ?

EBEBRATT-Ed

Does look a little to perfect to be anything but a drill

mattmia2

Is it possible this was a return to the store with a hole drilled in it and you just got enough condensate now to reach the level of the hole? Or it clogged enough that it slowed enough to reach that level?

If it was a defect it would look more blown out than that on the inside, it wouldn't be that clean

SlamDunk

mattmia2 said:

Is it possible this was a return to the store with a hole drilled in it and you just got enough condensate now to reach the level of the hole? Or it clogged enough that it slowed enough to reach that level?

If it was a defect it would look more blown out than that on the inside, it wouldn't be that clean

I think the hole was in the seven to nine oclock position and as crud built up the condensate level rose and spilled out. The pipe needs better pitch so that gets added to my list.

None the less, there is a nut job out there vandalising pipe.

SlamDunk

pecmsg said:

$hit Steel
order Sch 80 from supply house dot com. 

Schedule 80 for 9oz of steam? Actually, zero steam. It is condensate return.

bburd

On commercial and industrial work, Schedule 80 black pipe is normally specified for condensate lines because condensate contains small amounts of carbonic acid from CO2 in the air. Schedule 40 is normally specified for steam lines.

This is why condensate lines rot out well before steam lines that are pitched for proper drainage.

SlamDunk

But this is residential. Most of of the system is 90 years and looks great.

pecmsg

SlamDunk said:

$hit Steel
order Sch 80 from supply house dot com. 

Schedule 80 for 9oz of steam? Actually, zero steam. It is condensate return.

Look at the wall thickness where the threads are. That’s why we use Sch 80 

SlamDunk

The worst part of this is last year I thought I had a horizontal steel drain pipe in my wall rotted thru. It always drained slow and over the years I have hit it with a lot of draino. I thought it finally rotted and caused the puddle in crawlspace so I opened the wall and replaced it. Now, I believe it was this hole all along. All in the same vicinity.
Whoever drilled that hole cost me a few hundred bucks, a couple vacation days, a sore body and a bottle of Alleve.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Just another reason to hate the big box stores. I agree with schedule 80 on commercial/industrial where there is a lot of make up water.

I have never seen #80 installed in a house

SlamDunk

I dont hate them. Someone vandalized a pipe and returned it. It could have happened to any pipe supplier that accepts returns. I hate the vandal. I hope he had a very miserable seven years. That hole was so small that I almost reinstalled the pipe.