Are there any problems with using brass nipples in galvanized pipe? Will they last longer than steel?

no and yes

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

make sure the transition fitting is galvanized

brass and galv. in contact will create a very small galvanic current which will sloooooowly 'eat away' the 'less noble' of the two metals (the galvanized steel)

the female threads in the transition fitting will have more 'meat' than the male threads on the nipple and will last ?longer? before leaking

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

brass is considered 'almost' neutral and shouldnt cause issues with dissimilar metals...it could, but probably not

i wouldnt use galvanized for anything....given a choice Brass all day long

quote; make sure the transition fitting is galvanized

WHAT transition fitting? You can just mix and match galvanized and brass anyway you want to, without "transition fittings". And, I have seen mixed systems which are decades old and there was NO electrolysis failure.

Quote

Can I connect brass to galvanized steel pipe?
In: Plumbing [Edit categories]

Not without a dielectric fitting to prevent electrolytic action from taking place or
dezincification of the brass if it is yellow brass ( 60% copper 40% zinc )

Red Brass 85 % copper /15% Zinc will corrode the galvanized piping




Read more: [wiki.answers.com]

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



Edited 1 times.

Galvanic action is not bad with brass between galvanized. Galvanized between brass will eat up the galvanized rather quickly.

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Retired after 50 years of plumbing and heating.

quote; Not without a dielectric fitting to prevent electrolytic action from taking place or
dezincification of the brass if it is yellow brass ( 60% copper 40% zinc )

Red Brass 85 % copper /15% Zinc will corrode the galvanized piping


OMG! Does that mean EVERY brass valve screwed onto galvanized piping needs a "dielectric fitting" or a "transition piece" HORRORS, but it also means we have the potential for a zillion hours of work replacing them.

quote; Galvanic action is not bad with brass between galvanized. Galvanized between brass will eat up the galvanized rather quickly.

ANY activity would be a the point of contact so it would NOT make any difference what the "order" of piping was, just that the two are connected together.

hj;

Quote

Author: hj
quote; Not without a dielectric fitting to prevent electrolytic action from taking place or
dezincification of the brass if it is yellow brass ( 60% copper 40% zinc )

Red Brass 85 % copper /15% Zinc will corrode the galvanized piping


OMG! Does that mean EVERY brass valve screwed onto galvanized piping needs a "dielectric fitting" or a "transition piece" HORRORS, but it also means we have the potential for a zillion hours of work replacing them.

sorry ... wrong again ... 'brass' valves are not the same alloy as used for pipe ... you are uneducated re: brass and/or bronze alloys ... 'brass' valves are DESIGNED to work with steel pipe

guess which alloy is used for valves and which for pipe;

Admiralty brass contains 30% zinc, and 1% tin which inhibits dezincification in many environments.

Aich's alloy typically contains 60.66% copper, 36.58% zinc, 1.02% tin, and 1.74% iron. Designed for use in marine service owing to its corrosion resistance, hardness and toughness. A characteristic application is to the protection of ships' bottoms, but more modern methods of cathodic protection have rendered its use less common. Its appearance resembles that of gold.[20]

Alpha brasses with less than 35% zinc, are malleable, can be worked cold, and are used in pressing, forging, or similar applications. They contain only one phase, with face-centered cubic crystal structure. Prince's metal or Prince Rupert's metal is a type of alpha brass containing 75% copper and 25% zinc. Due to its beautiful yellow color, it is used as an imitation of gold.[21] The alloy was named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine.

Alpha-beta brass (Muntz metal), also called duplex brass, is 35–45% zinc and is suited for hot working. It contains both á and â' phase; the â'-phase is body-centered cubic and is harder and stronger than á. Alpha-beta brasses are usually worked hot.

Aluminium brass contains aluminium, which improves its corrosion resistance. It is used for seawater service[22] and also in Euro coins (Nordic gold).

Arsenical brass contains an addition of arsenic and frequently aluminium and is used for boiler fireboxes.

Beta brasses, with 45–50% zinc content, can only be worked hot, and are harder, stronger, and suitable for casting.

Cartridge brass is a 30% zinc brass with good cold working properties. Used for ammunition cases.

Common brass, or rivet brass, is a 37% zinc brass, cheap and standard for cold working.

DZR brass is dezincification resistant brass with a small percentage of arsenic.

Gilding metal is the softest type of brass commonly available. An alloy of 95% copper and 5% zinc, gilding metal is typically used for ammunition "jackets", e.g. full metal jacket bullets.

High brass contains 65% copper and 35% zinc, has a high tensile strength and is used for springs, screws, and rivets.

Leaded brass is an alpha-beta brass with an addition of lead. It has excellent machinability.

Lead-free brass as defined by California Assembly Bill AB 1953 contains "not more than 0.25 percent lead content".[17]

Low brass is a copper-zinc alloy containing 20% zinc with a light golden color and excellent ductility; it is used for flexible metal hoses and metal bellows.

Manganese brass is a brass most notably used in making golden dollar coins in the United States. It contains roughly 70% copper, 29% zinc, and 1.3% manganese.[23]

Muntz metal is about 60% copper, 40% zinc and a trace of iron, used as a lining on boats.

Nickel brass is composed of 70% copper, 24.5% zinc and 5.5% nickel used to make pound coins in the pound sterling currency.

Naval brass, similar to admiralty brass, is 40% zinc and 1% tin.

Nordic gold, used in 10, 20 and 50 cts euro coins, contains 89% copper, 5% aluminium, 5% zinc, and 1% tin.

Red brass is both an American term for the copper-zinc-tin alloy known as gunmetal, and an alloy which is considered both a brass and a bronze. It typically contains 85% copper, 5% tin, 5% lead, and 5% zinc.[24] Red brass is also an alternative name for copper alloy C23000, which is composed of 14–16% zinc, 0.05% iron and lead, and the remainder copper.[25] It may also refer to ounce metal, another copper-zinc-tin alloy.

Rich low brass (Tombac) is 15% zinc. It is often used in jewelry applications.

Tonval brass (also called CW617N or CZ122 or OT58) is a copper-lead-zinc alloy. It is not recommended for seawater use, being susceptible to dezincification.[26][27]

White brass contains more than 50% zinc and is too brittle for general use. The term may also refer to certain types of nickel silver alloys as well as Cu-Zn-Sn alloys with high proportions (typically 40%+) of tin and/or zinc, as well as predominantly zinc casting alloys with copper additive.

Yellow brass is an American term for 33% zinc brass.

...as you can see a rose may be a rose may be a rose, but, 'brass' may not be brass

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



Edited 3 times.

Since we are talking about brass pipe and fittings, I guess I did not have to consider "arsenical brass" or "cartridge brass" or ANY of the other ones which were NOT plumbing related.

whatever, the fact still remains that a brass nipple will last longer mixed with other types of pipe materials than anything else other than the same material

as far as plumbing pipes are concerned that is

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"



Edited 1 times.

hj;

but several different types ARE plumbing related

ps. i guess that since many fixtures today are 'disposable' the life of the piping is a 'moot' point

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

well at 20 plus years for a problem to develop i dont consider it an unprofessional install

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

depending on the precise alloy of the nipple and the age/condition of the steel/galv. piping it could create a leak in as little as 3-7 years

since we are not forensic metallurgists:

BAD PRACTICE TO MIX (METALLIC) PIPING MATERIALS W/O DIALECTRIC PROVISION

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

and as far as i am concerned brass is good enough and is better than a die electric nipple or union

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

quote; as far as i am concerned brass is good enough and is better than a die electric nipple or union

He/she is saying that you need a dielectric union EVEN WHEN you use a brass nipple, and by implication, that since a water heater tank is steel, you CANNOT screw a brass nipple into it without a dielectric union or nipple FIRST.

now why would i want to install something i know is going to deteriorate and probably fail within a few years when i can just install the brass and be done with it for the life of the fixture?

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

Exactly. Saying that you HAVE to have a dielectric "fitting" when you join brass and steel is ridiculous, and WHAT would that fitting be made of?

it would be the appropriate alloy/insulator as determined by the metalurgist/engineer

leave plumbing to us plumbers
leave engineering to the engineers

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

quote; it would be the appropriate alloy/insulator as determined by the metalurgist/engineer

leave plumbing to us plumbers
leave engineering to the engineers

Doesn't that "appropriate alloy/insulator as determined by the metalurgist/engineer" come under the "plumbing" category? And how many plumbers have a metalurgist/engineer on the payroll or in the truck?

Sounds like it's job security for a plumber

Some jurisdictions allow a brass fitting between the two and some require a dielectric fitting. A 3 minute phone call to your local inspection office will resolve the issue. They are usually pretty helpful. Good luck.

Bernabeau (SC),

While I can appreciate an encyclopedic list of different alloy formulations of metal commonly known as brass, I'm currently in the conundrum that hj was referring to: I need to know what type of brass is best used for plumbing.

And since I do not have the ability to cast, extrude, or machine raw brass myself... the definition of "brass used for plumbing" is strictly limited to the product offerings available commercially that are already made into elbows, nipples, valves, and Tees, and are already threaded and ready to fit with piping.

Which is why I searched the plumbing forum and ended up finding this thread.

The brass plumbing parts I find readily available locally generally fall into two catagories: Yellow and Red.

My understanding is that Yellow brass will have greater than 30% zinc, and Red brass will have less than 15% zinc.

Numerous sources state that Yellow brass is more vulnerable to dezincification, especially in certain types of water. Salt, in particular, can accelerate the dezincification of yellow brass, leading to leaks at the fittings as the zinc dissolves, leaving a porous fitting out of the copper that remains.

The same sources state that Red brass is far less susceptible to dezincification, or the time required to reach the same failure mode as yellow brass would extend into decades, rather than months or a couple of years. I am not qualified to refute these assertions, nor experienced enough to verify them.

But I am curious why the entire ProLine series of brass fittings by BK Products / Mueller Industries is made of Yellow brass (both the China and the USA manufactured product) if Yellow brass is so vulnerable to dezincification?

Is Red brass always rough cast? Is that how most people distinguish Red brass fittings from Yellow brass... where Red brass fittings look like cast iron fittings, and Yellow brass fittings appear machined and smooth faceted? (I'm somewhat color blind, so I can't trust color gradients alone).