Lead Pipe

Rudy

Talking to my cousin who is a plumber in the Chicago area and he tells me that many older homes in the north suburbs have lead water supplies from the city connection to the house.

How common is this?

Mark Eatherton1

In Denver....

it was common practice right up till the beginning of WW2, then the lead was used for making bullets.

I actually developed a method of being able to determine whether the service betweeen the corp cock and the stop box was lead or non lead without having to dig up the service. We demonstrated it to the Denver Water Board in hope of being their lead water service ID team. They thanked us for the demo and started doing it them selves. Dirty dogs!!

They did some further testing, because this was at the peak of consumer awareness as it pertained to lead in water. They determined that the water in Denver was just hard enough to lay down a protective coating of lime and alleviate the major leaching of lead into the drinking water.

There are adapters to go from lead water services to galvanized steel or even copper. They're made by a company called Fordco. Available from a company in Denver named Dana Kepner.

Got lead in your pencil???

ME

Rudy

Thanks and...

...is it your experience that lead pipe is less likely to become restricted over time? Where I live old water services are all 3/4" galvanized and require replacement after 25 to 30 years.

I've seen plenty of lead drain lines here. I'm just surprised that lead was used for potable water so extensively. I thought the Romans were the last ones to drink out of lead pipes.

How's the shoulder doing?

Mark Eatherton1

Yes, I agree...

under the right water conditions, lead develops aprotective coating of lime that seems to limit itself in internal growth. The galvy services fail all the time and I've never had to repair a lead service.

The shoulders doing reasonably well. I go in today for my first Pay for Pain session (A.K.A. Physical Therapy) Time will tell.

ME

heretic

I still have one

Very common in my victorian neighborhood in MA.
They seem to last a very long time. Many still in service.
Word is that they leach near zero lead after some time has elapsed.

Tony Conner

This Is...

> Talking to my cousin who is a plumber in the

> Chicago area and he tells me that many older

> homes in the north suburbs have lead water

> supplies from the city connection to the house.

> How common is this?



...where the term "plumber" comes from. "Plomb" is latin for "lead".

Tony Conner

This Is...

...where the term "plumber" comes from. "Plomb" is latin for lead.

JimGPE_3

Pencils?

Nope - graphite. Its a misnomer.

jackchips_2

How high a

pressure were they rated at ME?

Good luck with the therapy.

[Deleted User]

many lead water services

in service in cleveland ohio area..good pipe,,lasts forever it seems..looks as good 80 years later as it did the day it was put in..it gets a yellow coating that M.E. was talking about, minerals from the water..keeps the lead from getting into the water...always wondered about that first year of service, tho...

Mark Eatherton1

I knew that...

Just wanted to see if anyone else was paying attention.

Didya hear about the constidpated businessman who couldn't budge it? Tried working it out with a pencil and died from lead poisoning.. (HISSS, BOOOOOoooo)

ME

Mark Eatherton1

I'm thinking...

they're rate at 150 PSI. I think that's a AWWA standard.

It's got farrels AND clamps. It's a pretty stout connection.

ME

Mark J Strawcutter

I heard it as...

How did the math teacher solve his constipation problem?

He worked it out with a pencil.

Mark

Rudy

So, Mark...

...Did your method involve measuring detectable levels of lead in the water? Just wondering.

And, thanks to all for the various replies. Never realized there were so many lead water services out there. I'm pretty sure the house I spent my youth in had lead pipe. That explains everything!