Copper water lines turning black

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glennrichard

Member
Location
nwest suburbs illinois
Occupation
Residential HVAC/Electric
I hope I am posting this under the correct forum. I have not been to the job and it's too far for a call however I am curious anyway. Here is what the woman has described. All her copper cold water pipes are turning black. She also says the a/c refrigerant lines (liquid line) is turning black as well. This isn't the isolated spot where you have copper touching a duct or something. It's the whole line and may even be inside as well.

I asked her and she says she has well water with plastic pipe coming in. Obviously her only ground for the service is to a driven ground. She claims it feels very loose in the ground and has a couple feet not driven in. 4 yr. old house! She has done some checking on line and seems to think it may be grounding herself.

I've never seen this before but most of my area has copper water service from underground so the panel is grounded to that and not solely depending on a ground rod.

Can a circumstance with poor ground cause this problem? I would think it should make the hot lines turn black as well though. Even with dielectrics at the water heater, at some point in the house the hot and cold have to touch or show 'continuity' if you will.

Thanks all (hopefully)
Glenn

Hanson Home Heating/Electric
 

Rick Christopherson

Senior Member
All her copper cold water pipes are turning black. She also says the a/c refrigerant lines (liquid line) is turning black as well.
I don't think this is an electrical problem, and you may want to consult with an industrial hygienist and/or environmental engineer. It has been a while since I had anything to do with these areas, but I believe that if the problem was electrically related, the copper would be showing the normal green discoloration. Since this is showing a black discoloration on both the water line and the AC refrigerant line, I think the cause is from sulfer. I have not done enough research to know, but I believe this is the result of environmental issues not related to normal electrical corrosion or oxidation.
 

mivey

Senior Member
And the inside of your nose.
Wake those enzymes up, it stikes in here! It is amazing how much the stench drops after going through the first set of enzymes.

Don't step in any puddles in your good leather shoes...it ain't rainwater.:smile:
 

kreemoweet

Member
Location
Seattle
Occupation
Retired
The darkening of copper cold water lines (relative to the hot) is a well-known
phenomenon. It's caused by the film of condensate which usually forms whenever cold
water (or other liquid) flows through the pipe.
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
The darkening of copper cold water lines (relative to the hot) is a well-known
phenomenon. It's caused by the film of condensate which usually forms whenever cold
water (or other liquid) flows through the pipe.

I disagree with you. It can't be well known if I don't know about it. :roll:

By your logic, the cold lines in my house should be black. So I looked....

Indeed they were!! I never noticed it before. Not all the cold lines were black, but all looked to be in worse shape than the hot lines. In fact, the only copper water lines in the house with corrosion of any kind on them are the cold water pipes.

I gotta admit, you came out of the gate good on that one. Welcome to the forum and excellent first post.
 

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
Wake those enzymes up, it stikes in here! It is amazing how much the stench drops after going through the first set of enzymes.

Don't step in any puddles in your good leather shoes...it ain't rainwater.:smile:

When I first went to this one site in July, 100 degrees F they had an 18 wheeler sitting there hauling off the waste. The smell was horrible. All the guys were out there eating and I was disgusted, they told me after a few days you do not notice the smell. I told them I did not plan to be there a few days. A week later we finished testing and the smell was maybe somewhat less, but still GAWD AWFUL.

I have worked at 20 some plants some bad, some terrible and some awful. All stink.
 
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