Leak Detection Polybutylene & Other Pipes

Today I read an interesting article from Clayton County Water (Supposedly one of the leading water conserving water departments in the country, also saw an article how 25% of they drinking water is recycled sewer water, ...yuk) in the Georgia Sewer and Water Magazine. The article described underground water leaks and the time it takes for a leaking service or main line leak to show on the surface. The average time for an underground leak to surface is approximately 2 years, and they said that was a conservative estimate. Of course, soil types, water table levels, depths, etc.. will change the times. Residential water services on new installs can run anywhere from 12" to 10 feet deep. Replacement water services typically run 12-18". The county has taken steps to replace defective polybutylene, galvanized and failing copper services before they leak. I thought I would post this because I get so many questions about underground water leaks not showing up in the front yard.

Mike Whitman
Atlantis Plumbing
770-505-8570

Water Heater Thermal Expansion Tanks

The federal government issued a notice to all water departments that the water supply needed to be protected against backflow. Therefore, slowly all the old water meters are being updated with dual check valves and some also with electronic read meters. The county typically gives two notices to protect your house from thermal expansion. One notice before they do the work and normally one after. Backflow devices prevent water from your property being pushed back into the county supply. Therefore, everytime your water heater kicks on, the water expands as it is heated and no longer has a place to go. So, the pressure in the house increases. A thermal expansion tank is normally the easy remedy for thermal expansion, but a governor 80 ballcock or a additional pressure only relief valve are also sufficient. What prompted this article was a customer that I spoke with in November called today to tell me that he had numerous leaks and was now ready to install his thermal expansion tank that we had talked about last year. He wanted to know if his leaky toilet, dripping faucets and dripping pipe would stop leaking if he installed the expansion device that he needed. I told him probably not, the damage was done and the seals were more than likely permanently damaged and would also need repair. Heeding the warning letters by the water department to install an expansion device is the best bet and can save your plumbing and your money.

Mike Whitman

Polybutylene Pipe Leaks and General Summary of March 2008

Emergency service calls on polybutylene plumbing leaks dropped significantly in March and now in the beginning of April. I cannot explain this phenomenon, however I suspect, the poor economy is fueling the ambition of more DIY repairs. I have seen a large increase in floods caused by DIY repairs, mainly due to improper installation of couplings and my favorite, Home Depot selling repair coupling for polybutylene and PVC that are not rated for the proper pressure application, and simply pop off hours later. Water heater replacements jumped up in March and then a rash of 20 sewage ejector pump failures came in over a 2 week period. Polybutylene failures typically start to accelerate around the end of April and normally slow down toward the end of the year as temperatures start to drop. We our currently running our crews at 90% capacity, which is great considering 3 local plumbing contractors just shut there doors due to lack of work (they did mostly new construction work)

Mike Whitman
Atlantis Plumbing
770-505-8570

Frozen Pipes

What a nightmare today! Over 200 calls, nearly 150 frozen pipe calls, thats what you get with 10 degree weather. Hopefully, not the same thing tomorrow. The two most common calls today were frozen hose bibbs and no water to the house. To prevent your main line from freezing let a faucet drip steadily when the weather dips to the low temperatures. To prevent your hose bibbs from freezing, turn off the valve indoor, pull the vacuum breaker to drain the water (if you have one, some older houses don't), alternatively and or additionally put a Styrofoam cover hose bibb cover over the pipe. Some pipes systems are just improperly installed exterior cold wall, no insulation, no cutoffs,....all I can say is let the faucet drip. Today most of the calls came in after 11AM as the pipes started to defrost. One ladies, shower did not work this morning, when we arrived the shower was running in the bathroom, in this case the only recommendation would to be let the hot and cold drip in that shower, (exterior wall mounted valves). A few of the other popular freezes were outside standpipes, obviously need to be insulated or covered, or buried in meter boxes. Pipes near crawl space breather vents,.....put baffled vents or stuff insulation in the windows....not to mention massive heat losses for the house. Two repair stations pipes froze in the bays, perhaps drip faucets or close doors. So in summary, know where your shutoff valves are located in the case of emergency. Top materials for the day for leaks were CPVC, PVC and Copper. Only 2-freeze related polybutylene leaks. Three of the most catastrophic failures (flood wise) were CPVC, because when it freezes it explodes........Once again, excuse any grammar errors.......I did not proof read.

Mike Whitman,
Atlantis Plumbing