Case Study: Repair of a Cracked Copper Pipe in a Camper Van Boiler System

Case Study Data

---

Site
Camper van boiler
Location
United Kingdom
Repair Type
Leak repair
Defect
Crack in a copper pipe

Products Used

---

Superfast Copper Epoxy Putty Stick
Fast-working epoxy putty mixed by hand and applied over the crack in the copper pipe to seal the leak

SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage
Composite repair bandage applied around the entire pipe to reinforce and protect the initial repair

SylWrap Standard Pipe Repair Kit
Superfast Epoxy Putty and SylWrap HD are supplied together in the Standard Pipe Repair Kit

Case Study PDF

---

Case Study Details

---

The boiler system provided heat and hot water to the camper van. A deep crack appeared in a copper pipe located underneath the cover of the boiler, causing a pressurised jet of water to spray out whenever the boiler was turned on.

Problematically, the crack was located at a point where the pipe angled towards the back casing of the boiler. It faced towards the side of the casing with access extremely limited.

The confined space meant there was no room to fit a pipe repair clamp, nor apply Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape with enough stretch for it to self-amalgamate effectively.

Because the boiler could be turned off, Sylmasta recommended to the camper van owner that they use Superfast Copper Epoxy Putty Stick to plug the crack in the pipe.

Superfast Copper comes in an easy-to-use, pre-measured 114g stick. It has a work time of around five minutes, enabling rapid repairs to be made to copper and other non-ferrous metals.

Before application began, the pipe was cleaned and dried to aid the adhesion of the putty to the metalwork. The required amount of putty was cut from the stick and kneaded by hand until it turned a uniform copper colour with no streaks.

Whilst soft, the putty was pushed into the crack in the copper pipe. It quickly hardened, sealing the hole. Enough putty was used to cover the section of pipe both above and below the crack to improve the chances of success by creating a totally watertight seal.

The entire section of pipe was then reinforced by applying a SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage. SylWrap HD is a composite repair wrap with a water activated resin which sets rock hard in minutes to provide an impact resistant layer of protection.

Typically, SylWrap HD would be wrapped tightly around the pipe. The space constraints meant that this could not be done effectively in this particular application, and so the bandage was cable tied to the pipe whilst it cured.

Once the copper pipe repair was completed, the boiler was turned back on. Water was no longer escaping from the crack, denoting a successful repair and saving a considerable amount of money for the camper van owner compared to the cost of replacing the pipe.