- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 23 years, 7 months ago by
fourth year.
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MasterPlumbers
HELP!
TELL ME ALL, PLEASE!
OK TO KEEP, ANY SPECIAL INSPECTIONS NEEDED?
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It is rolled up tar paper and was touted as the greatest thing since sex and popcorn when it came out. It was going to put the “cast-iron” plumbers out of business, since it was going to eliminate all root problems and anyone could install it.The important thing to know about it is, If you have it, change it. It will have to be changed eventually but the replacement will never be cheaper than it is right now.
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LUKERB, Orangeburg Pipe originated in Orangeburg, New York in 1943 when most cast iron was being used to provide equipment for the war effort. It originally was designed to have a 20 year service life. Many installations lasted much longer, some disintegrated, and collapsed in less time. This pipe is certainly a disaster, but was produced as a matter of necessity.
Fourthyear is correct in his advice to replace it all, and do it now. Replace the Orangeburg with pipe that is approved by the local regulatory agency, or service provider.
Hey fourthyear, when will you have to change your screen name to fifthyear? :>) JWA
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Iremeber the same promise for Orangeburg in my first job out of college in 1949! Now it has come back to bite me! Bought a house in Dillon, CO in 1987, was built in about 1965. The whole town was relocated and all service lines installed in mid-to late 60’s are/were Orangeburg. Ours just failed so I guess we have been lucky to last this long. It is being replaced at the expense of a lot of landscaping in below “0” temps. Question is, does anyone know what happened to the company, whether they were bought out, folded or what? Also as someone else asked, was there ever a class action suit? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated!
Ed Baker -
LUKERB wrote on 20 December 2000 at 05:26 AM: Re: OB Pipe HELP!
TELL ME ALL, PLEASE!
OK TO KEEP, ANY SPECIAL INSPECTIONS NEEDED?
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Luke: the short answer is..Your
OB sewer is doomed to failure.I suggest that you start a money market savings plan to finance the cost of replacement when it becomes necessary. It may give you years more service before it bites the dust.
Here is a little background on the much maligned Orangeburgh pipe.
I was born in the 20’s and lived
in the small New York town of Pearl River. It was about 30 miles northwest of New York City. The adjoining Town was Orangeburgh, home of “The Fiber Conduit Corp.” developer of “Fiber Conduit” that became known to the world as Orangeburgh Pipe or just OB. This
pipe was made by impregnating a cardboard tube(like a toilet paper spool) with pitch or ashalt.
It was made primarily for the
road building industry that started to flourish with the advent of the WPA (Works Projects Administration) during the middle of great depression days. It was mostly 6″ diameter with hundreds of 1/2″ perforations in it. These
perforated pipes were joined with
OB couplings made of the same material. The purpose of this holy pipe was to collect the ground water under roadways and channel it away to protect the road bed from frost heaving and becoming rutted from a soggy and unstable road bed.
When World War2 got underway, cast iron soil pipe was not available for love nor money, it was classified as a strategic War Material, and remained that way until the wars’ end in 1945.
The Fiber Conduit Corp was in the right place at the right time.
They started producing their pipe in 2″,4″ and 6″ in a non perforated
line to fill the void in the sewer
pipe market. Business boomed for years at the Orangeburgh plant, it ran 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The plant was situated on a huge Railroad siding, and trains were endlessly coming or going day and night loaded with finished goods or raw materials.
Just about everyone that lived in Orangeburgh either worked at the plant or had a friend or family member that also worked there.
The war ended, and The Fiber Conduit Corp was struggling to keep up with demand. A building boom was in progress and everyone
had gotten accustomed to the use OB pipe.
For the next 15 years, many more thousands of miles of OB pipe were manufactured and distributed all over this country and the world for use as sanitary drinage lines.
By the early 60s it started to become apparent that there was a problem with OB pipe when used for sanitary sewer lines. Studies quickly showed that a constant source of warm soapy water flowing through the pipe from washing machines was sucking the life out of the pipe. The warm water from bath tubs and laundry softened the pipe and the detergents extracted and leached away the binding asphalt and the inside of the pipe would delaminate and collapse inwardly in a spontaneous failure.
OB pipe filled a need at a tough time in history. OB pipe that was used for its’ original purpose (road building)is still in the ground after 50-60-70 years and is as good to day as the day it was laid.
There was no hoax or scam perpetrated by The Fiber Conduit Corp. on the people of this and other countries.
I still routinely replace OB
sewers that have been in place for 40-50 years.
As for Mr. Aldritch getting all
wound up over statements by my old friend Sylvan. Don’t sweat it, if I had half the knowledge that he has on the very broadest spectrum of the Plumbing ..Heating..Fire Protection..ASME Fired and unfired pressure vessels..Gas..System Design and Engineering..Steam Heating systems etc., I would probably devote the rest of my life to writing on those subjects
Bud
Suncoast Plumbing Inc. LMP EME
St. Petersburg, Florida -
John:
About 45 years ago.
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