Any use for old galvanized plumbing pipes?

[AlienCraft]

Art, or the scrap metal yard.

 

[redly]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing

Tell that to the 20-year-old copper that we just replaced here. The sh!t was PAPER THIN in places. Maybe those of you on that treated city water stuff can run copper a lot longer, but those of us who aren't afraid of a few germs or minerals aren't that lucky. Oh, and what we had assumed to be hard water stains? Those were really desposits of fvcking oxidized copper that had been stripped out of the inside of the pipes.

Interesting...I saw something yesterday about pH levels of water and where to use and not to use copper. They said if your water supply has a pH of less than 6, you should not use copper. They also mentioned that city water supplies are typically 6.5 to 8, but rural/private systems are often below 6.

So...are you on a private well?

 

[redly]

Originally posted by: jadinolf

Originally posted by: redly
I recently bought an older house. Tonight, just for kicks, I decided to yank out all of the galvanized plumbing and replace it with copper.

Now, I now there is a market for old copper pipes (recycling). Is there any market for old galvanized pipes?

Hopefully curious.....

You replaced all the plumbing in one night? Bless you, my son.:thumbsup:

Well, not all of it, but about 50% of it. I have to finish tearing out the kitchen so I know for sure where to route the lines for the sink and dishwasher. Plus I tore out a wall that contained the plumbing for the 2nd story bath, so I need to clean up my mess and get those pipes run.

This stuff is fun!!

We are lucky enough to have a month left on the lease we have on our current house, so I'm gonna fix up a bunch of stuff before we move.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Why on earth would you replace galvanized piping with copper? PVC is like eleventy billion times cheaper and sick easier to work through old construction (since it bends more readily)

Also requires less skill to install.

PVC is not allowed in many states.

That's why they've created CPVC for water supply lines. I'm sure many states have now approved them for water use. However, CPVC can expand quite a bit when heated. I've read that for a 100' run of CPVC, it can expand 5' when heated with 120 water.

 

[Armitage]

Copper should last alot longer then 20 years ... if you've got acidic water, use the heavier stuff, and put in some water treatment. Plastic has a very bad rep in some places due to that debaticle with Polybutylene pipes a few years back ... horrible stuff. As for being easier to work with ... marginally. Once you get good at it, sweating joints isn't that much slower then gluing them up. Now cast iron, on the other hand is a horrible PITA to work with, but if you can afford to pay somebody else to do it, go for it!

FWIW, I did use some plastic in the addition I'm building. I ran the main supply (3/4" copper) to a Manaflo block, and then ran flexible PEX to all the fixtures ... that stuff is great to work with. And all the drain is shed40. I'll be doing alot more copper when I get to the heating system.

 

[cavemanmoron]

scrap metal junkyard may buy it,the price on all metals was up this year.

China was buying a lot of scrap this past year.

Hope thats a good thing.

 

[Jejunum]

Originally posted by: redly
I recently bought an older house. Tonight, just for kicks, I decided to yank out all of the galvanized plumbing and replace it with copper.

Now, I now there is a market for old copper pipes (recycling). Is there any market for old galvanized pipes?

Hopefully curious.....

custom cold air intake for your car

 

[DrPizza]

price of scrap steel has skyrocketed..
Take it to a scrap yard.

On another note:
I tend to believe that a lot of local codes aren't written with safety in mind, but rather with unions in mind.
That's why some places require a licensed electrician to replace an outlet, etc. Any moron could do that. Of course, there is a small degree of safety involved - that's what's used to get such plans passed in the first place. Heck - we remodeled our attic and my 12 year old son did 90% of the wiring. (I, of course, checked *every* connection for safety's sake. The only things I installed were the ceiling fans. He ran the wiring for them though.)

CPVC: just about any homeowner can figure out how to completely replumb a house.
Copper: very difficult for the average homeowner to replumb a house with. Code = copper = union plumber (friend/donator to local legislators) makes $$$

A couple years ago, my father needed a new hot water tank (NJ) - I said I could drive down for the weekend and replace it for him on Saturday. But, it's against the rules. (oh no!) and it's hard to sneak a hot water tank past the neighbors, in case one was a plumber more than happy to blow the whistle. Otherwise it'd have been about a 30 - 45 minute job to swap out a nearly identical tank. Stupid codes..

 

[olds]

I used some to secure a retaining wall.
Stack railroad timbers
Drill through all the timbers
Drive pipe through holes, into ground

 

[DrPizza]

Yeah, now that I think about it, there have been a few times I've needed short pieces of strong pipe to pound into the ground to act as an anchor for various items..

 

[Ornery]

Code = copper = union plumber

Yeah, you'll probably have that in the blue voting regions. Around here, the home owner is allowed to take out permits and do the work himself, though it will have to be inspected.

 

[Brutuskend]

Blunt instruments

 

[feralkid]

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Why on earth would you replace galvanized piping with copper? PVC is like eleventy billion times cheaper and sick easier to work through old construction (since it bends more readily)

Also requires less skill to install.

PVC is not allowed in many states.

That's why they've created CPVC for water supply lines. I'm sure many states have now approved them for water use. However, CPVC can expand quite a bit when heated. I've read that for a 100' run of CPVC, it can expand 5' when heated with 120 water.

Uh, no, actually CPVC is for hot water lines (which PVC is not rated for).

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
price of scrap steel has skyrocketed..
Take it to a scrap yard.

On another note:
I tend to believe that a lot of local codes aren't written with safety in mind, but rather with unions in mind.
That's why some places require a licensed electrician to replace an outlet, etc. Any moron could do that. Of course, there is a small degree of safety involved - that's what's used to get such plans passed in the first place. Heck - we remodeled our attic and my 12 year old son did 90% of the wiring. (I, of course, checked *every* connection for safety's sake. The only things I installed were the ceiling fans. He ran the wiring for them though.)

CPVC: just about any homeowner can figure out how to completely replumb a house.
Copper: very difficult for the average homeowner to replumb a house with. Code = copper = union plumber (friend/donator to local legislators) makes $$$

A couple years ago, my father needed a new hot water tank (NJ) - I said I could drive down for the weekend and replace it for him on Saturday. But, it's against the rules. (oh no!) and it's hard to sneak a hot water tank past the neighbors, in case one was a plumber more than happy to blow the whistle. Otherwise it'd have been about a 30 - 45 minute job to swap out a nearly identical tank. Stupid codes..

The issue with the hot water tank is because of the gas line. Most places have this code in place. I wouldn't call it a union thing, it is more of a safety issue.

 

[DeadByDawn]

Copper pipe sells for about $1.00 a pound where I'm at. Galvanized steel sells for about $.05 a pound.