Mike Holt Enterprises Electrical News Source

Pinhole Leaks

Electrical safety is our key concern and I'm always looking out for information that will help keep the industry safe. I wanted to pass along to you an amazing document on Pinhole Leaks, prepared by Gary R. Gabriel, PE. I hope you find it has value.

The point of this paper is to offer design strategy to reduce the risk of pinhole piping leaks. In practice, once the pinhole leaks show up, it is too late for design changes to do any good. By then, the only answer is to replace the entire piping system. Often a failed copper or steel piping system is replaced with plastic pipe. In general, prevailing opinions in the industry (Google it) blame pinhole leaks on other things. This paper offers a contrast in opinion, showing correlation (as well as the foundational science), between the presence of DC voltage on the piping and the formation of pinhole leaks. Gary R. Gabriel

Click here or on the image to read and download the paper. Please feel free to post your comments for Gary.

Comments

  • Fascinating . Thank you for sharing your research and discovery!

    Lee Dunn Inspector  January 26 2020, 3:33 am EST
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  • I've seen this corrosion condition on numerous homes - including my own. All corrosion is electrical based..but what is the exact cause.. is it sometimes ph? or sometimes an impressed current from something nearby? Is anyone aware of any actual testing that has been done on homes/businesses affected? I'd love to read them.

    Tom Petracca  January 21 2020, 2:28 pm EST
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  • Thank you. Surprisingly these Leaks happened on pipes that have small damage to corrosión protection insulation. This also affects rebar

    Bob  January 21 2020, 2:14 pm EST
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  • It is not sufficient for a Master to simply FIX a problem. The Master should understand the Causes of a problem.

    Glen Ellis  January 21 2020, 11:57 am EST
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  • I worked for a water utility for 38 years as an electrician and instrumentation technician, certified as a water distribution manager. Also am a moderator at the Mike Holt Code Forum where there would be questions on grounding and copper leaks. I would typically suggest to get the Consumer Confidence Report for the source water and to see if there what the pH is, what if any corrosion control is implemented to comply with the EPA lead and copper rule. our utility implemented corrosion control to comply with the lead and copper rule 1n 1999, by slightly raising the pH from 8.0 to 8.5 and that has proven very effective in follow up testing. Water with a low pH tends to be aggressive and removes the protective film on the inside of copper and lead pipes. I also have the a definitive study "the effects of electrical grounding on pipe integrity and shock hazard (1996) by the American Water Works Research Foundation, where they state its DC current that causes corrosion, but AC current that causes much less corrosion in pipes.

    Tom Baker  January 21 2020, 4:26 am EST
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    • Reply from: Peter Furrow   January 22 2020, 12:33 am EST
    Your comments complement this study . My father was a water plant operator for the city . He and I have had a discussion on this before. He told me that water with a low pH was the culprit. He was always negative about the water piping being attached to the electrical system( Grounding). We would argue on the subject but now I'm starting to see in recent years that he was probably right on the subject. I wish there was a more definitive clear answer though..
    Reply to Peter Furrow

  • Excellent work, I've been aware of such problems for years and never had a good answer except "grounding", but couldn't make any recommendations.

    Scotland Yard would be proud!

    -Bill

    Bill Parsons  January 21 2020, 12:46 am EST
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