6
Cast Iron Installation
Performance
Cast iron has, for hundreds of years, been the
premier piping material throughout the world for drain,
waste, and vent plumbing applications. Cast iron can
be cast in the form of pipe or fittings at low cost and
has excellent strength properties. Unique corrosion
resistance characteristics make it ideally suited for
plumbing applications. Cast iron, because of the presence
of free graphite, when exposed to corrosive conditions,
leaves behind an insoluble layer of corrosion products
that provide a barrier against additional corrosion.
Cast Iron is a generic term that identifies a large
family of ferrous alloys. Cast irons are primarily alloys
of iron that contain more than 2% carbon and 1% or
more of silicon. Cast irons can be cast into intricate
shapes because of their excellent fluidity. Because of
the excellent properties obtainable with these low-cost
engineering materials, cast irons find wide application
in environments that demand good corrosion resistance.
Services in which cast irons are used for their excellent
corrosion resistance include water, storm, and sanitary
drain, waste, and vent applications.
The majority of soils throughout the United States
are non-corrosive to cast iron. Water and gas utilities in
the United States have cast iron distribution mains with
continuous service records of more than 100 years.
Quality gray iron castings like the ones produced
by Charlotte Pipe and Foundry have an abundance of
free graphite present in their microstructure. When
Charlotte products are exposed to corrosive agents, an
insoluble layer of corrosion products is left behind, which
provides a durable barrier against additional corrosion.
This enhanced corrosion resistance is not provided by
lower quality gray iron castings, because they have an
insufficient free graphite content, making them more
prone to corrosion problems.
A small percentage of very special wastes may
not be suitable for cast iron plumbing systems. Such
waste streams can emanate from laboratories, some
concentrated or undiluted carbonated soft drink sources,
and sites where specific types of cleaning chemicals are
discharged, particularly when the effluent is undiluted.
The very low pH wastes from such sources can corrode
exposed cast iron. Charlotte Pipe and Foundry has
developed a new “Hot Dip” coating process for cast iron
pipe that offers significant advantages over traditional
bituminous coatings, including superior corrosion
protection. Whether our coating or other coatings are
used, we have found that plumbers do not always apply
protective coatings to the end of cut pipe and fittings,
thus leaving the system exposed to possibly corrosive
elements.
The pH range for typical DWV systems is between 4.5
and 7. We suggest that the installer establish a uniform
slope for horizontal drainage piping, but not less than
permitted by local plumbing code and in compliance
with good plumbing practices, to facilitate flushing of
the system. If operating conditions yield an acidity level
of pH 4.3 or less for an extended time, we recommend
dilution of the waste stream to raise the pH. If this is
not possible, we suggest that the system designer’s look
into a more suitable chemical waste system.
The National Bureau of Standards and the Cast
Iron Pipe Research Association (now known as the
Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association) have studied
the underground corrosion of cast iron pipe for many
years. As a result of these studies, a procedure has
been developed for determining the need for any special
corrosion protection. A simple and inexpensive method
of providing such protection by means of polyethylene
film has been developed. The information contained
in American National Standard A 21.5, American
Society for Testing and Materials A 674, and American
Water Works Association Specification C 105 provides
installation instructions and an appendix which details
a ten point scale to determine if the soils are potentially
corrosive to cast iron. Information on this standard is
available from the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute and its
member companies. It is also contained in the appendix
to ASTM A 74 (Hub and Spigot Cast Iron Pipe and
Fittings).
The corrosion of metals underground is an
electrochemical phenomenon of two main types: galvanic
and electrolytic.
Galvanic corrosion is self-generating and occurs on
the surface of a metal exposed to an electrolyte (such
as moist, salt-laden soil). The action is similar to that
occurring in a wet or dry cell battery. Differences in
electrical potential between areas on the surface of the
metal (pipe) in contact with such soil may occur, for a
variety of reasons including the joining of different metals
(iron and copper or brass). Potential differences may
also be due to the characteristics of the soil in contact
with the pipe surface: e.g. pH, soluble salt, oxygen
and moisture content, temperature and the presence
of certain bacteria. Any one of a combination of these
CORROSION RESISTANCE