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BLACK STEEL PIPE protection

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bob young
bob young Member Posts: 2,177
in Strictly Steam
ON the job i was working on i saw something i thought odd. the steel steam return piping was completely enveloped in a white powdered susstance. at first i thought it was lime & paid it no mind but then i realized it had a plastic vapor type cover on top & the piping although about fifteen years old was in pretty much pristene condition. never saw a protective barrier like that before but i guess some one might know something that i do not. steel pipe usually does not last more than seven years in soil as far as i know. what say the experts.

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  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,061
    edited March 2015
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    There is plastic coated UG steel gas piping with cathodic protection. Our gas UG steel piping was put in the ground in 1967. It had a yellow plastic shell on it. Today the newer pipe has a green coating. This insulated the pipe electrically from ground. and this lasts quite a while.
    It seems like good application for buried UG returns. However to isolate the ends from being grounded requires a PVC or nylon bushing; the equivalent of a die-electric union. The temps could destroy this pretty fast though. Perhaps just being coated would protect the pipe from some corrosion.

    By the way, I don't consider myself an expert. JMOP
  • SWEI
    SWEI Member Posts: 7,356
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    Was this coating tight to the pipe or was it more like an aftermarket poly sleeve?
  • bob young
    bob young Member Posts: 2,177
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    coated pipe has been around for fifty years that i know of . we used it in 1963. i am referring to something altogether different but appreciate your input. bob young lic. nyc plbr.
  • bob young
    bob young Member Posts: 2,177
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    factory installed . to thread we had to cut it off. tighter than tight.

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