Water Corrosion under Water

[MasterSolenoid]

Good morning all.

Last Weekend, I helped my brother at his cabin with his water well.
We pulled the 35 ft. hose out and changed the Foot Valve.

The old Foot Valve was PVC and 'missing' the flapper .
The new Foot Valve he bought was made of Brass.

Problem: The pipe nipple he used was galvanized steel. The cut threaded area is bare steel.
Me being paranoid about that stuff, thinks he should pull it out and use a brass pipe nipple.

Question: How long will a 1" steel pipe nipple last submerged down a 35 ft. well ? ? ?
I have no idea because the original setup had no pipe nipple and was all PVC.

Thanks for reading and your response.

Original was like this.


This is what we put in


So, how long will this last in 35 ft. of water
before RUST is a problem ? ? ?

 

[PimTac]

I would think galvanic corrosion is going to be a issue here. I would go with brass all the way. If he doesn’t pull it he will soon enough.

 

[PimTac]

Off topic: does your signature make reference to the television show?

 

[Danno]

This thread suggests that this combo of metals could accelerate galvanic corrosion.

https://www.quora.com/What-corrosion-reaction-takes-place-between-brass-and-steel

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Originally Posted By: PimTac
Off topic: does your signature make reference to the television show?

Op here,
I believe The MasterSolenoid was a Villain on the Mighty Mouse Cartoon.

At least in a water well situation, it won't be exposed to the air.
But I'm still in favor of changing it.

 

[Cujet]

My guess is that it will be OK for quite some time. We've used Chinese galvanized pipe in shallow Florida wells for a few decades now. Pitting will occur slowly over time. Probably 20+ years. I just changed a similar galvanized union that was hooked to stainless and brass. 20 years old, still OK, but starting to corrode.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: MasterSolenoid
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Off topic: does your signature make reference to the television show?

Op here,
I believe The MasterSolenoid was a Villain on the Mighty Mouse Cartoon.

At least in a water well situation, it won't be exposed to the air.
But I'm still in favor of changing it.




I was referring to One Step Beyond. It was a tv show from the late 50’s. If you like The Twilight Show you will enjoy OSB.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: MasterSolenoid
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Off topic: does your signature make reference to the television show?

Op here,
I believe The MasterSolenoid was a Villain on the Mighty Mouse Cartoon.

At least in a water well situation, it won't be exposed to the air.
But I'm still in favor of changing it.




I was referring to One Step Beyond. It was a tv show from the late 50’s. If you like The Twilight Show you will enjoy OSB.

OP here,
Yes, that's the show, now you know my age.
The Twilight Zone was the best of them all.

 

[hatt]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
My guess is that it will be OK for quite some time. We've used Chinese galvanized pipe in shallow Florida wells for a few decades now. Pitting will occur slowly over time. Probably 20+ years. I just changed a similar galvanized union that was hooked to stainless and brass. 20 years old, still OK, but starting to corrode.
I recently replaced the original brass valve and galvanized pipe coming into my 40 year old house. The pipe was pretty Rusty but it never leaked. I only got into it because I was running pipe for extra faucets in the yard.

 

[69GTX]

The rate of corrosion will be somewhat dependent on the well water pH not to mention overall mineral/chemical composition. If you're lucky to have well water in the ph 7 or better range, may never be an issue. Down around pH 4-6 and you might. Surface well waters tend to have the lower pH.

 

[andyd]

Shallow well, loaded with iron. Well point and 1 1/4 galvy pipe was here when I moved in. Many iterations of above ground plumbing, which is mostly fittings. Galvy doesn't leak, but slowly clogs with rust. I'm hoping to get a righteous water line from the town. Now for the story. The well is in the dug out part of my house. My utility dungeon. Minimal 10x10 partial dirt floor. Been there a looong time. Bricks on piles of loose field stones. Furnace ,water heater, plumbing, and septic. Totally off the books. Okay, here's the deal, 3 yr old 4.9K$ furnace failed to turn on after I performed a nozzle and filter filter change. Been doing it for yrs. Well, it failed to start. The thing has a proprietary circuit board with a built in transformer you could hold in your hand. Totally non-plussed, 3 visits and 500 bux to get right. One of those those guys musta knocked the well head purty good Itsa a 12" long pipe in the middle of the floor. Anyway, when I started hearing the pump howling, I started at that end and worked my way toward the head. The fitting going into the tee before the foot valve had stretched and parted. I didn't find it until I was cleaning up the fitting on the wire wheel. Thats all it took to suck enough air to lose the prime.I didn't reuse anything, but at least I found the root cause. I also re-did the last bit of ugly plumbing.

 

[Papa Bear]

Originally Posted By: MasterSolenoid

Question: How long will a 1" steel pipe nipple last submerged down a 35 ft. well ? ? ?


My guess, as an old retired plumber, is ~50yrs.
That said, I would use a brass nipple

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Originally Posted By: MasterSolenoid

Question: How long will a 1" steel pipe nipple last submerged down a 35 ft. well ? ? ?


My guess, as an old retired plumber, is ~50yrs.
That said, I would use a brass nipple

Op here,
I agree with using brass.
You must have been a good Plumber.

I think I'll suggest it to my Brother.
If he wants to buy the part, I'll help him do the work.
Should only take 30 minutes.

I always tell him, when your doing any job;
"start with a good plan, use good material and do good workmanship",
and you'll end up with a good job.

 

[mx5miata]

depends on the water quality and soil but the brass and galvanize will give you an issue.

 

[Shannow]

Brass and Gal aren't good bedfellows.

I've got this in the front yard (until I fix it). Tap was last used 3.5 days ago, but it looks like that even after a day.