TY - CONF A1 - Erning, Johann Wilhelm T1 - Corrosion of copper alloy fittings in a combined plastic/metal installation for hot drinking water T2 - EUROCORR 2014 - European corrosion congress N2 - A household installation for drinking water was analysed for the water quality after an incident concerning the water distribution system in the city. Chemical analysis showed very high levels of lead in the hot water circulation system. The installation was made from multi-layer-pipes, the hot water tank from stainless steel, no obvious source of lead could be determined. After a thorough cleaning of the piping system and the tank the lead levels rose again after short time. - INVESTIGATIONS: Water samples and samples of the pipe connectors made from different copper alloys were taken during an inspection of the building. Results for water analysis and metallographic investigations of the samples are given. Close examination of the connectors showed selective corrosion along the grain boundaries for the connectors made from brass but not for the connectors made from gun metal. - RESULTS: The lead found in the hot drinking water war released from the brass connectors. Obviously the contact time of the water with the metal surfaces in the system investigated was much longer as the contact times used for the evaluation of metallic materials according to EN 15664-1. The standards for the dimensioning of hot water circulation systems available are outdated and do not consider retention time in the system but are driven by maximum availability of hot water at any time. T2 - EUROCORR 2014 - European corrosion congress CY - Pisa, Italy DA - 2014-09-08 PY - 2014 SN - 978-3-89746-159-8 SP - Chapter 16, Paper 7183, 1 EP - 5 AN - OPUS4-31519 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -