An energy company make a live leak repair to a 50mm steel pipe in a district heating system leaking in a ceiling space

Case Study: Energy Company Make Live Leak Repair to District Heating System Steel Pipe

An energy company are able to make a rapid live leak repair to a district heating system pipe in the ceiling cavity of a building thanks to equipping all their vans with a SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case. The 50mm steel pipe developed a pinhole through which pressurised water was escaping, causing damage to surrounding surfaces.

Case Study Overview

Site Public building
Location United Kingdom
Repair Type Live leak repair
Defect Pinhole in a 50mm steel district heating system pipe

Repair Products

Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape, SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage,
SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case

Case Study PDF

Download Energy Company District Heating Repair Case Study PDF

Case Study Details

The district heating system was operated by a United Kingdom based company who specialise in installing and maintaining sustainable energy generation systems in public buildings, residential developments, factories and manufacturing sites.

Because of the importance of pipes to these systems, Sylmasta already had an established relationship with the company prior to the repair.

All the company’s vans are equipped with a SylWrap Pipe Repair Contractor Case in case of emergencies, giving workers enough pipe repair products to make up to six live leak repairs as soon as problems are identified.

Water jetting from the pipe was causing substantial damage to surfaces and surrounding pipework, both above and below

The repair in question was to a pinhole leak in a section of 50mm pipe suspended in the ceiling of the building. Pressurised water was jetting out in different directions, causing substantial damage to surfaces and surrounding pipework above and below the leaking pipe.

Flow could not be turned off, as this would have involved shutting down heating across the entire building. A live leak repair to the district heating system was therefore necessary, using lightweight materials which could be easily applied from the top of a ladder used to reach the ceiling.

From the Contractor Case, Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape was used to successfully seal the leak. Despite the difficulty in accessing the pipe caused by the minimal space to work in the ceiling cavity and the surrounding pipes, Wrap & Seal was still stretched by 300 percent, amalgamating to form a solid rubber band over the steel pipe.

Wrap & Seal Pipe Repair Tape applied to a leaking steel pipe in a district heating system
Wrap & Seal successfully applied to seal the pinhole

The entire section was then encapsulated with a SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage. SylWrap HD is a composite wrap with a water activated resin which sets rock hard in minutes. Once cured, it reinforced the pipe from any future breakages.

After seeing the extent of the damage that escaping water from such a small leak managed to cause in the short space of time between the leak being identified and the Contractor Case arriving on site, the company were appreciative of their partnership with Sylmasta.

Had a Contractor Case not been so readily available, this could easily have turned into a major incident which forced the building to choose between shutting down the heating or suffering serious water damage.

Instead, the reputation of the energy company was enhanced for the swift manner in which they reacted to and repaired the problem.

A steel pipe in a district heating system located in the roof of a building undergoes a live leak repair with a Sylmasta Pipe Repair Contractor Case
The repair was completed by encapsulating the entire section with SylWrap HD

The company have since used their Contractor Cases to make live leak repairs to pipes in district heating and other systems they operate, including those made from aquatherm.

Aquatherm pipe is a semi-rigid polypropylene material. It is popular because it does not react with water, preventing leaching, corrosion, scaling and erosion – major causes of water contamination and long-term pipeline failure.

Once thought to be foolproof, it is now known that failures can happen in aquatherm. Reasons for this include excessive clamping, elevated temperatures, extreme vibrations, flow velocity, water pressure and chemistry, or the presence of copper ions.

There is also the danger posed when a section of aquatherm pipeline has been repaired by inserting copper or iron pipe, leading to different coefficients of thermal expansion and severe cracks.

In the event of any failures in aquatherm pipe systems operated by the energy company, the presence of Contractor Cases across their fleet of vehicles means that leaks and bursts can be attended to instantly, instead of suffering delays waiting for materials or parts to be delivered.

Products Used

Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape
Self-amalgamating tape for live leak repairs temperature resistant to 260°C

SylWrap HD Bandage
Composite wrap reinforces repairs by forming a rock hard sleeve around pipework

Pipe Repair Contractor Case
Case contains enough products six live leak repairs which is easily stored on a van

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