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    dayusex's Avatar
    dayusex Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #1

    Dec 7, 2006, 04:50 PM
    How to clean out galvanised pipe
    So the line to the house has lots of pressure, tested it outside. But here is where it gets tricky. MOst of the pipe is galvanized, that goes to copper. There is very little pressure throughout the house, and its well pretty pathetic. So since the pressure is great outside, we figure the galvanized pipes are clogged. So basically my question is how do I clean them out.
    We tried tapping the pipes with a mallet to see what happened, and it helped a little, but what is a better way of doing this, thanks!
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
     
    #2

    Dec 7, 2006, 05:00 PM
    Whoa!! The crud that you remove by smaking the galvanized pipes has to go some where. (guess where! ) Why it will go up in the first faucet that makes a draw and clog up the intake ports of the faucet cartridge. If you smack it long enough the rust partials will clog the branches and the entire system will have to be flushed out and all the faucets taken apart and either replaced or cleaned and flushed. The only"fix" for galvanized that has rusted up is replacement with copper or PVC/CPVC. Good luck, Tom
    dayusex's Avatar
    dayusex Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #3

    Dec 7, 2006, 05:15 PM
    Well we disconncted the line in the faucet and let it pour into a bucket, the pressure got betterbut is still not great.
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
     
    #4

    Dec 8, 2006, 05:18 AM
    I can identify with your problem. I have a 52 year home with galvanized piping that has built up rust. Volume and pressure. A system must have both to operate correctly. The problem with rusty pipes isn't a pressure problem, it's a volume one. Let's say you have 50 PSI at the water meter and a 3/4" galvanized service that has built up rust that chokes it down to 3/8".
    You will still have 50 PSI when you open a faucet, but, flush a toilet or open another faucet that calls for more volume to feed the extra demand and the pressure fails. The only cure is to bite the bullet and replace the galvanized pipes. Good luck, Tom
    andrewcocke's Avatar
    andrewcocke Posts: 439, Reputation: 22
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    #5

    Dec 8, 2006, 09:59 PM
    Check with local codes and CPVC it man! That's what I did!

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