July 03, 2008
Leak Repair Tip
How to stop a leaky pipe.
Often times, in plants that have many hard line piping systems, you cannot isolate a leaking pipe to do proper welding type repairs. Welding can mean the process in the pipe has to be stopped for hours. A relatively cheap and quick (the process only has to be stopped for 10 to 30 minutes) method for making a temporary repair is to wrap the area with a small insulated, single conductor wire. This will slow the leak and then you can use a two part epoxy to coat over the top of the wire (alternate layers of wire and epoxy for better sealing and higher pressures). Sometimes this will fix the leak permanently but it almost always slows the leak to very little or at least to a manageable amount until proper repairs can be made. Please use correct safety procedures before applying this technique.
Reader tip provided by Robert Strange
Maintenance Manager
Drummond Co., Inc.
Vance AL
Thanks Robert - your Maintenance-Tips hat is on the way!
