ace duraflo fix work??

I have rust in pipes, probably galvanized pipe as the house is 52 years old. Re-piping would be about $3700., so I looked for alternatives. Turns out there is a new plumbing franchise that uses Ace Duraflo method to thoroughly clean out pipes (heavy corrosion removed), dry them, and then coat the inside of the pipes with an epoxy, lining them thoroughly. This is supposed to be safe (expoxy I questioned) and cheaper, less invasive and last a long time. Franchises are popping up and I wondered IF ANYONE HAS TRIED this or could give advise as to it's merits. If you google Ace Duraflo you can get info I speak of. I think it's been around since 2002, not sure if there is a lot of evidence to re assure about safety, but the sites tout it's safety. PLEASE advise. Also, in FLa. where I live, they really use clhorine heavily to disenfect water here. Debbie

 

> Re-piping would be about $3700.
Is your house on a slab with all plumbing concealed?
Did you consider cpvc instead of copper?

> cheaper
How much? If you have steel pipes now, forget it.
Get new plumbing. Steel cannot be fixed.

If it is that hard to get at the plumbing to replace it, then it is also too hard to get at it to clean it.
I really don't believe the idea of removing corrosion.
If you remove the corrosion, what's left?

I've removed corrosion in steel drain lines, it takes great mechanical force: scraping.
It does not just flush out.

 

debbiebuster, Welcome to the DIY Forums.
I went to their site. I did not see the word Guarantee or Warranty anywhere on their site.
If you have galvanized pipe, the "corrosion" is the metal from the pipe rusting. This means that the pipes are much thinner than when installed. The cleaning system they use will probably result in leaks. Then they will charge you for replacing those sections.
I would not recommend this treatment.

 

They sandblast, first installing valves if & where they may need them, then coat with epoxy. Re-lining is an interesting concept. The Ace warrantee is 10 years, transferable for a $400 fee (I thought that the warrantee was longer, but that may be from other re-lining companies). It's a viable solution for some situations, but a re-pipe is probably a better solution in a single family dwelling. Perhaps PEX would be a little less costly; you should get 3 bids before making a decision.

 

Hi and thanks for replies. Since house is 52 years old (concrete block, on slab), we will probably re-pipe. I refuse to drink the rusty water, so we schlep down to store and get our water bottles refilled.ugh. I still hope someone might post IF they had the Duraflo done, curious to see if it's a real solution or just a "pipe dream", SORRY, that was lame! Take care, deb

 

Hi Deb:

My name is Brad Arnold, President of Pipe Shield Inc. (www.pipe-shield.com). We perform a medical grade video probe of all piping before and after lining. In many cases small diameter galvanized piping CAN NOT be rehabilitated. As noted in other strings of this blog, the corrosion is what is holding the pipes together. The only way to confirm this would be to remove a few small sections for destructive testing.

The process we use to remove encrustation in steel and galvanized piping is very aggressive. We blast the inside of the piping with "garnet" that is certified to the NSF 61 standard. We also use this process on other piping material to clean and prpepare the surface to receive the epoxy coating.

If you are going to go forward with having your piping cleaned and epoxy coated by ACE I would urge you to get everything in writing and to hold them responsible for any pipe sections that may need to be replaced at any stage of the process..... also make certain that they video probe the piping and provide you with a copy of the CD that clearly shows you the quality of the lining. I would also insist that you be present during the video probe inspection.

The last time I checked, we were the only small diameter pipe lining company in the world that would DARE to video inspect our linings.

I hope this helps.

Very best regards,

Brad

 

Look at these photos and they will be exactly what your pipes look like. The end was the one going to my kitchen sink. Nothing is going to solve the problem unless you redo it.

I redid most of my supply with pex and sharkbite fittings. I strongly recommend put in a whole house water filter also.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ingpics003.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ingpics004.jpg

 

[QUOTE=debbiebuster;969976]I have rust in pipes, probably galvanized pipe as the house is 52 years old. Re-piping would be about $3700., so I looked for alternatives. Turns out there is a new plumbing franchise that uses Ace Duraflo method to thoroughly clean out pipes (heavy corrosion removed), dry them, and then coat the inside of the pipes with an epoxy, lining them thoroughly. This is supposed to be safe (expoxy I questioned) and cheaper, less invasive and last a long time. Franchises are popping up and I wondered IF ANYONE HAS TRIED this or could give advise as to it's merits. If you google Ace Duraflo you can get info I speak of. I think it's been around since 2002, not sure if there is a lot of evidence to re assure about safety, but the sites tout it's safety. PLEASE advise. Also, in FLa. where I live, they really use clhorine heavily to disenfect water here. Debbie[/QUOTE

That sounds like the guy that said I won 27 million dollars. Logic tells me thats a scam, I would say to replace the galv. Luck.

 

Anybody notice that the original thread is more than a year and a half old? I think that Debbie has long since moved on.

So should we.

 

Hi my name is Lewis S. and I am a rep. for ACE DuraFlo. ACE and other lining companies can work on galvinized pipe. In our case it is as small as 1/2 inch or the size of the pipes in your home. With this type of situation it may be less costly to re-pipe however I would not know with out seeing the home. If this were a larger home or an apartment building it would be less costly than re-piping. Please call us to find out. Some of the information on this board is wrong... here comes the sales talk...We are an honest company and will tell you if this is not the correct solution for your problem. I will be happy to provide you with any information you would like. I do not and will not hard sell. In this case it might cost $3700 for the pipes but what is it going to cost to put her house back togther? What is the warranty? How much time and mess? Even with these question it still might be the right way to go, however it might not be. If it is the right solution than great...if not good luck.

 

To check for approved companies go to NSF.org .

 

Shooting a bunch of hot white goo all up in your out pipe doesn't sound like a good thing in any respect. I say repipe!

 

it could work. i have seen it done a couple times and it is an incredible process. my problem with it is what happens if afterr lining the pipe there is a problem still and you go to repipe it? i would hate to take that mess apart.

i would hate to see how much they charge to video 1/2"-3/4" water piping. i havent heard of a camera system that could do that

 

1. if your pipes are metal or galvanised and rusting even if they clean them and coat them they will keep on rusting so you have more leaks ,, I would not believe them on thier warrnety or guarantee cause they will say anything to get you to use them then make up reason not to do what they say etc,, we had it done almost $7,000 and severl problums
1. we asked the workers to leave us all the old fittings.. 2 of the 3 worker said yes,,, but then when they was all done and packing up they was not leaving old fitting ,( we had a insurance person coming to see the whole thing ,, it was the third guy who we had given the check to ,,, who was refusing to leave the old fitting ( what do they do with them thow away,,, recycle,, or clean them up and use on someone elses house,,,,?? ))) why do I say this cause
2. they same guy when shown that they had put a out side faucet valve on that had all the hose threads worn off smooth on one side ( damaged in shipping ,, or just messed up or ??? he was refusing to change it,,saying the hose still screwed on it ,, he probly ruined our hose,,,$50 down the drain for us,,, and one of his other guys was saying it was ok buty after ,,,him getting a bad attituid almost thought he was going to attack us ,,, he finnally changed it,,,,,,,,,
so with all that bad going on I do not think they will be a good company in the warrenty or guarantee field,,,already refusing to fix what they did wrong ??? what if they would have left ?? they probly would have blamed it on us saying we messed it up after they left ............bad guys