# Bad curb stop!



## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

Pulled this outta the ground today! Had to buck waterworks a little to get them to shut down the main in a timely fashion. When I finally got a supervisor on the line that understood what I was saying then they showed up pretty quick. 

The hole in the end of the flare is the leaker but check out the damage on the threads. Appears to be electrolysis?


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

By the way this line had an insulator on it between curb stop and customer!


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

deerslayer said:


> By the way this line had an insulator on it between curb stop and customer!


Insulator?


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

It is supposed to keep any stray house currents from getting back to main? It is basicly two pieces of brass with a piece of plastic between them.


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## johnlewismcleod (Apr 6, 2012)

The round craters look a bit like lightening damage...except that usually goes right through. Probably impurities in the brass, I'd guess.


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## Fullmetal Frank (Jul 11, 2012)

johnlewismcleod said:


> The round craters look a bit like lightening damage...except that usually goes right through. Probably impurities in the brass, I'd guess.


I'd go with impurities as well.


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## Mississippiplum (Sep 30, 2011)

Acidic soil might be another factor also

sent from the jobsite porta-potty


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

The round pitting all looked perfect like someone had dropped a 3/16 endmill down in multiple spots. Weird IMHO, waterworks said it was most likely electrolysis.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

That curb stop would be the domain of the water purveyor here, because it's on the utility's side of the meter. Here, the plumber's domain begins after the meter (customer side of meter).

We had a thread on 'De-Zincification' of brass. The zinc gets leached out of the brass, leaving a swiss cheese structure behind only of the copper molecules. You ever remove an old chrome-plated brass p-trap and you can poke your finger right through the trap? That's de-zincification. Not sure if that's what you have.


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

Tommy plumber said:


> That curb stop would be the domain of the water purveyor here, because it's on the utility's side of the meter. Here, the plumber's domain begins after the meter (customer side of meter).
> 
> We had a thread on 'De-Zincification' of brass. The zinc gets leached out of the brass, leaving a swiss cheese structure behind only of the copper molecules. You ever remove an old chrome-plated brass p-trap and you can poke your finger right through the trap? That's de-zincification. Not sure if that's what you have.


Actually, here it is the purveyors responsibility up to and including the curb stop, the insulator, and piping to the meter and from the meter to house is customers problem. This one was a rare 1% chance case where there was a leak and the customer called the purveyor. They came out and shut the curb stop off and the noise went away. The purveyor said call a plumber, and they did. We didn't realize it was the curb stop till we dug it up. The customer has to pay us and the purveyor will reimburse them. We weren't gonna pull outta the job, cause if we would have pulled out and let the purveyor take over the customer wouldn't pay us, so why not do the 10 minutes of repair and back fill.


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

Mississippiplum said:


> Acidic soil might be another factor also
> 
> sent from the jobsite porta-potty


 
Possibly but the area that's corroded wouldn't be exposed to soil in this case. Electrolysis or de-zincification would be my guesses. I'm far from a metallurgist though. 




Paul


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## victoryplbaz (May 19, 2012)

rocksteady said:


> Possibly but the area that's corroded wouldn't be exposed to soil in this case. Electrolysis or de-zincification would be my guesses. I'm far from a metallurgist though.
> 
> yeah what he said..lol


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