30 years old...in B&W

[Plumcrak]

Yep, 30 years is about all we got out of this drainage pipe before the bottom eroded out of it

I hated the fact that we had to close the Deli/Bakery for 5 days while we cut the floor to expose the pipe, but we didn't really have a choice...when things won't drain they HAVE to be fixed

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[chauncey]

Jon, I gotta ask...why was metal pipe used rather than PVC?

[Shadowman]

Nice shots.

[Plumcrak]

Jon, I gotta ask...why was metal pipe used rather than PVC?

William, it was the old school thought that cast iron would hold up to the grease and the hotter temperatures than PVC would. Thank goodness they have out-grown that way of thinking

[Donald]

They're well executed shots. Are you able to claim insurance for the loss of business and will you use these pictures if so?

[Inkanyezi]

William, it was the old school thought that cast iron would hold up to the grease and the hotter temperatures than PVC would. Thank goodness they have out-grown that way of thinking

Well, it does, but there is probably something else that eroded the pipe. Could it be so simple as baking soda or cleaning chemicals - maybe in combination?

A very common cause of erosion of cast iron pipes is a tramway nearby, with currents running in the ground - trams run on DC power, underground trains as well.

[george013]

Yep, 30 years is about all we got out of this drainage pipe before the bottom eroded out of it

I hated the fact that we had to close the Deli/Bakery for 5 days while we cut the floor to expose the pipe, but we didn't really have a choice...when things won't drain they HAVE to be fixed

1.

Looking at that cast iron, I agree with Inkanjezi. Normally cast iron drains last a long time. Here in my house they are over 80 years. If those pipes are 30 years, they have start leaking after 20 years. Have they been put in concrete? I like that kind of pictures, photograhy to show somesthing.

George

[Plumcrak]

They're well executed shots. Are you able to claim insurance for the loss of business and will you use these pictures if so?

Thanks Donald.
Unfortunately we are self insured so we will just absorb the cost of closing the Deli/Bakery for the 5 days

[Plumcrak]

Well, it does, but there is probably something else that eroded the pipe. Could it be so simple as baking soda or cleaning chemicals - maybe in combination?

A very common cause of erosion of cast iron pipes is a tramway nearby, with currents running in the ground - trams run on DC power, underground trains as well.

No Tramways within miles, but I would believe the cleaning chemicals and high flow rates had a lot to do with it.

[Plumcrak]

Looking at that cast iron, I agree with Inkanjezi. Normally cast iron drains last a long time. Here in my house they are over 80 years. If those pipes are 30 years, they have start leaking after 20 years. Have they been put in concrete? I like that kind of pictures, photograhy to show somesthing.

George

Thanks George. No, they were not in concrete. This line was 2' below the concrete bedded in bank-run and compacted. I am not sure what cleaning chemicals they used years ago but I would guess they were quite caustic...unlike the environmentally friendly ones used today that don't seem to work as well