Crumbling copper pipe

[Gweekie]

Beneteau Oceanis 40......2008......cleaning out the water tanks this winter.....found the remains of the water suction pipe at the bottom of the tank

The tank is plastic, as-are the pipes.....but the vertical suction tube inside the tank is copper

The bottom 20mm of the pipe have broken off......the copper has become extremely brittle

The water is always fresh and I put chlorine tablets into the tank twice each season

The tank uses solid-state VDO level monitoring, so it is possible there could be stray 12V dc currents present

The fix should be simple......replace the broken tube with a piece of plastic....probably PEX

BUT.......has anyone seen this?......what has caused the copper to become so brittle??

[tsenator]

I've had that water tank suction pipe on my 2003 Jeanneau 43 go bad, but it didn't crumble apart like that, the top of the metal (copper?) pipe just 'rotted' a bit and developed leaks .

[psk125]

Quick Google search:

Chlorine Is Corrosive To Copper

This has a corrosive effect on the inside of the pipes and slowly erodes the piping over time. Eventually, chlorine eats all the way through the pipes and creates pinhole leaks, which if left unchecked, can cause a myriad of problems within the home.