water pipe leak/peroxide?

[Dutch445]

we have peroxide injection for our home water system, i dilute the 7% with water,
so it's really only 3.5%.
today we had a leak at a copper fitting for the injection system where it meets
the 3/4 in copper main water pipe. i removed the T for fear it may be bad, and was
surprised to see the pipe downstream of the T badly corroded, yikes.

does anybody have any idea if this peroxide system is causing this?
here are pictures of the fitting with the holes that leaked,
and then the pipe after i removed the T

 

[fried1765]

we have peroxide injection for our home water system, i dilute the 7% with water,
so it's really only 3.5%.
today we had a leak at a copper fitting for the injection system where it meets
the 3/4 in copper main water pipe. i removed the T for fear it may be bad, and was
surprised to see the pipe downstream of the T badly corroded, yikes.

does anybody have any idea if this peroxide system is causing this?
here are pictures of the fitting with the holes that leaked,
and then the pipe after i removed the T

View attachment 604428

View attachment 604429

View attachment 604430

It's logical.
What else could it be?

 

[Happy1406]

Peroxide is an oxidizer, just like sodium hypochlorite or common bleach. In terms of chemical compatibility with hydrogen peroxide, copper is listed as “Do Not Use”.

Google Hydrogen Peroxide compatibility....

 

[RNeumann]

I’ve seen copper that has warn through from years of water friction. This looks like it’s more than that. I’m thinking the posts above are more the culprit than simple friction.

 

[Dutch445]

i have googled about peroxide, and obviously in higher concentrations it's a different animal,
but i dilute the 7% solution with water, and i have not found anything online that supports
this, but it certainly could be what caused this. i had to put it back together with copper,
but part of me thinks if i could get a section of plastic in that area it might not be
a problem down the road. past my expansion tank they have used plastic to make the
loop out to the softener and back..

 

[MacLawn]

Wow. Yeah, I'd stop the peroxide.

 

[Gary Fowler]

i have googled about peroxide, and obviously in higher concentrations it's a different animal,
but i dilute the 7% solution with water, and i have not found anything online that supports
this, but it certainly could be what caused this. i had to put it back together with copper,
but part of me thinks if i could get a section of plastic in that area it might not be
a problem down the road. past my expansion tank they have used plastic to make the
loop out to the softener and back..

As long as the process doesn't create high heat, then plastic pipe would be my choice. I witnessed a catastrophe in a power plant once where an acid injection point was engineered with plastic pipe. The pipe melted in just a few minutes of operation. They then installed carbon steel and within hours it was dissolved, 304 stainless steel also failed in a few days. I seem to recall that they finally used Hastelloy or Incoloy pipe for about 40 feet to resolve the problem.

I wouldn't think that peroxide injection would create a lot of heat, so go with the plastic. Just about any fitting made from steel/copper can be found in plastic. You might consider using CPVC rather than PVC since the CPVC is rated for up to 200F and is much stronger than standard PVC for water lines.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Does your water contain Hydrogen Sulfide? If it does, in sufficient quantities, it is a very corrosive substance, especially on metals. I don't think peroxide or sulfide either one will attack PVC. I believe concentrated peroxide was...maybe still is... used in the meat packing industry to remove flesh from bones. It is extremely powerful in high concentrations; and was known as "Albone".

 

[oosik]

My question. Why are you injecting hydrogen peroxide? The main health reason for having hydrogen peroxide or chlorine in a potable water supply is to kill potential dangerous bacteria OR to eliminate odors. Municipal water supplies that draw from river, lake, stream or enpoundment will have chlorine injection. You never know when a dead "something" may end up in the lake and the chlorine will kill any potential bacteria or pathogens. It will also eliminate odors.

Have you ever had your water tested? Maybe you don't need the injection system.

If you do need the peroxide injection - use CVCP plastic pipe. Its heavy duty, chemical resistant and can be purchased in types that are resistant to higher water temperatures - if required.

 

[Dutch445]

i spoke with the local water company today, i have used them for a couple water softeners
at different homes i have owned, and i buy the "nutra sul" from them. my belief is
that the water had sulfer water, so they treated it with the peroxide.
he did say that when he installs new systems, he uses either pex of the cvcp plastic,
mostly due to the cost of copper and time to install. but he can't say that he has seen
peroxide going into copper.
i think in the future if i need to draw down my system again for any reason, (and hopefully
not on a sunday holiday) i will replace the section form the injection system thru the
softener we have with all plastic, cvcp.
it probably wouldn't hurt to have a raw water test done.