Background
Discoloration in water is usually caused by red rust inside water pipes. To get rid of it, Pipetector has been adopted as the best solution not only at buildings in Japan but also at those around the world, the Royal Garden Hotel in London, UK, among them.
Past situation
What had happened to such a grandeur hotel? Let us take a look at the past days. Constructed in 1965, the Royal Garden Hotel London was 42 years old when it installed Pipetector on its hot water pipe systems. Those pipes made of steel were damaged by internal red rust so much that discolored water was chronically coming out from the taps every morning. Corrosion was also progressing inside the pipe joints made of dissimilar metals, galvanized steel and copper, that was causing constant water leaks. It may not be difficult to imagine the red rust issues were becoming a great hindrance to the hotel operation.
Drastic cost merit
In general, there are various ways to deal with broken water pipes, such as pipe replacement. However, the hotel estimated it would cost £ 6.5 to ７ million if it had chosen the replacement, including the loss the hotel could have incured by closing down its business even temporary.
On the other hand, Pipetector was only £150,000. The facility judged it was well worth investing in the Pipetector that could cut the pipes’ maintenance cost to 1/50, thus duly adopted the technology.
Features
Ｎow let us talk about the device’s features. By using water’s free electrons also called hydrated electrons, Pipetector reduces internal red rust to black rust.
Black rust has a chemical property to function as a firm coating on the surface of iron pipes, which then protects those pipes from the growth of red rust corrosion. With this feature, black rust has also been widely utilized to protect iron products such as woks and steam locomotives for centuries.
Extending pipes’ life expectancy
With daily water consumption of 200 to 300 liters per tap, Pipetector can protect water pipes for more than 40 years as its product life duration. This means pipes’ life expectancy can be extended as many years. In fact, there was a case in Japan where Pipetector successfully extended a building’s water pipe system for a total of 50 years.
Protecting hot water lines
The hotel’s hot water systems, on which three Pipetector were installed, are connected with a large boiler. The hotel conducted several testing on the hot water before and after the installation for iron level comparison. Two weeks later, the iron level in the hot water sunk to 0.016 mg/L from 2.79 mg/L. The hotel then tested the water quality once every month for over 12 months. As a result, Pipetector’s effectiveness in dealing with internal red rust was clearly displayed in objective figures as below. Pipetector’s cost merit also exceeded the hotel’s expectations by far.
Effect on entire hot water piping
Even 36 days had passed, the level was maintained at 0.013 mg/L, much lower than the standard value of 0.2 mg/L set out in the UK water regulation. The water discoloration improved, too. This is due to Pipetector’s effectiveness in preventing the new red rust formation and changing existing red rust to black rust.
Black rust is benign rust that does not dissolve in water. To back this, the water discoloration caused by red rust at the hotel completely improved after the rust was converted to black. Water leak, a problematic issue, has not occurred in any of the guest rooms until now.
Pipetector preventing the new development of red rust and stopping the existing corrosion inside the pipes proved that Pipetector also extended the pipes’ lifespan. Those pipes can now be used semi-permanently without replacing them as long as the hotel is in operation.
Follow-up testing
The hotel carried out a study of the hot water pipes seven years later as a follow-up survey. As a result, the hotel was surprised to see that there was almost no presence of iron and that the pipes, which used to suffer from the red rust development within, were coated with a layer of black rust. There was no water leak or discoloration either, thanks to the black rust layer. The hotel facility manager was very satisfied with the outcome.
The hotel is considering further installing Pipetector in its air-conditioning chilled water pipe systems.
Summary
As buildings become large, so do the costs of replacing their pipes. Moreover, while they are being replaced, facilities’ operation has to be shut down either partially or as a whole. If this happens, the financial loss can be colossal.
On the contrary, Pipetector needs no maintenance fee, just an initial cost. Pipetector also allows us to continue business during its installation work as well as throughout the product lifespan. No pipe replacement is required whatsoever.
If you are seeking a budget solution for aged water pipes or notice water leaks or discoloration on your pipes, look no further than Pipetector.
