Working as a plumber in the housing department, I had to work in tandem with a welder. In the mornings, we and our carts with equipment were transported to objects, ordinary apartment buildings. They worked in apartments, porches, basements. The heating and water supply pipes were patched or changed.
My task is to help the welder, carry hoses from the acetylene generator, adjust parts for replacement, "Bring me in, bring me in."
There was an electric and gas welder in our organization who did not really like to be overworked, it was fun to work with him, he liked to talk. And in order to work less and not to weld fistulas (holes in pipes), he used some tricks. That he taught me. I share:
How to fix leaks and seal a fistula on metal pipes
Method one: Salt and rag
This method has proven itself on heating pipes, in hard-to-reach places, where it is impossible install a clamp, or stick a chopik because the hole is not enough, for example, in a welded or cast iron tee.
The welded cart has always been
coarse table salt and rags. A sodium chloride bandage was applied to the leak. Within 15, 20 minutes, a small leak was eliminated. Previously, the place of the leak should have been cleaned up to a metallic sheen. So that the salt reacts with metal and water. In this case, iron phosphate crystals are formed that are not washed out by the liquid and clog the fistula.Method two: chasing
Sometimes my partner made mistakes when welding table pipes. Namely, when filling the system, the joint began to get wet and leaked. Normal situation, only the one who does not work is not mistaken. Naturally, the place of leakage must be cleaned up and a new weld be applied, but in order not to waste time in his personal welder's kit, where there were nozzles, gaskets, wires and other "rubbish" for cleaning, there was punch. The welder stubbornly peering into the micro fistula, tapped it in a circle. Due to malleability, the metal was displaced and pinched the "hole". The flow stopped.
Method Three: Magnet
Having arrived at the apartment on request, my partner, seeing that the pipe or battery was leaking a little, did not run to lay out the welding machine, but tried to offer the apartment owners an alternative repair method. Namely, the installation of a magnet in places of leaks. Anyone fit, even from the speakers, even outlandish neodymium at that time. Believe it or not, the method sometimes worked. But how do you ask? In theory, suspended metal particles, of which there are many in water, adhered to the place where the magnetic field was present. Accordingly, the liquid leaving the fistula captured the microparticles with it and they got stuck in the "hole", which led to the elimination of the leak.
In the article, I did not talk about the popular methods of clamps and chopiks, but you are aware of them, so I did not repeat and stretch the article. I appreciate your time, see you on the channel, shake your hand. Goodbye to everyone.