MDPE wrapping copper pipe

[haveagohero123]

Hi,

I'm in the process of replacing the mains water pipe that comes into my property because it is made of lead. I have exposed the old pipe and noticed that where it enters the boundary to my property it is an MDPE blue pipe that is wrapping a copper pipe. This copper pipe is then attached to the lead and it goes into my property.

Is this common? I was expecting to find MDPE coming into the boundary, but not acting as a sort of sleeve to 15mm copper. I spoke to the water authority and they said that most likely someone has jammed up the copper into the MDPE but that I should be able to just pull it out. I'm surprised it would not leak if it's just pushed in a few inches?

 

[HERTS P&D]

Was it used as an insert?

Andy

 

[haveagohero123]

Hi Andy, what do you mean as an insert?

 

[JohnD]

A photo is worth a thousand words.

The OD of 15mm copper pipe is about the same as the ID of 20mm plastic.

It is possible to solder copper pipe into lead pipe, but not many of the old fellers are left now.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Hi Andy, what do you mean as an insert?

See below:

mdpe inserts - Google Search

Please post a picture of what you have.

Andy

 

[robinbanks]

Hi Andy, what do you mean as an insert?

Flexible pipes that use fittings that grip the pipe and compress it can suffer from joint failure over time as the fitting crushes the pipe. To resist this a short length of a much more rigid plastic, or metal, is pushed into the end of the pipe and that stops the flexible pipe deforming/failing

You're looking at just the end of the pipe I assume, and thinking the copper pipe runs the entire length of it. It probably only runs a few inches in from the end you see

 

[JohnD]

I spoke to the water authority and they said that most likely someone has jammed up the copper into the MDPE

Yes, most likely.

How are you getting on with those photos?

 

[haveagohero123]

Apologies, I'm not at home at the minute I'll be back on Saturday and I'll post photos then.

Although I can confirm it's not used as an insert -- it's the copper pipe that's connected to the lead one. There's about an inch or so of copper visible then its covered by MDPE.

 

[haveagohero123]

Here's a picture of what the joint looks like

 

[haveagohero123]

And here is another one with a wider angle that shows where it comes into my property

 

[JohnD]

I can't see any lead pipe in that pic, where is it?

The blue plastic looks quite strange. Is it hard shiny polythene? Not foam? Is there any text printed along it?

 

[haveagohero123]

Hi John, here's another picture further out. The pipe is not foam, it is hard. I can't see any text printed along it. It does seem to wiggle and at this point I'm pretty much convinced it's just acting as a sleeve to a 15mm copper pipe but I don't understand why. The local water authority told me that the pipes were all replaced with MDPE a couple of decades ago.

The bottom part of this picture is the boundary of my property, the lead pipe then continues for about a meter and into the property.

 

[JohnD]

Can you measure the external diameter of the blue pipe? If it is 20mm, the 15mm copper should be a tight fit inside, but I have never seen it break like that, if it is warmed, it has enough elasticity to drive copper pipe into it.

25mm blue pipe is so big that you could poke copper through it like a sleeve.

 

[JohnD]

Oh, I think I see the lead wiped joint now, neatly done, but it might be on an iron pipe stub. Test it with a magnet please.

Are you going to replace all the lead?

Does your local water company offer a lead replacement subsidy?

 

[Exedon]

That's definitely a 15mm leadlock you can see .
Bit more digging out required are you certain that's not a section of 15mm copper blue plastic coated ? (Yes it exists and it's horribly expensive)