Plumber Repair advice. Steam furnace. Condensate return line rusted through.

If the pipe is rusted inside, it will probably make it worse.
It's already got one hole, how thick do you think the rest of the pipe wall is? Probably not very.

I would replace the line, personally.

Call Joe the Plumber, he'll fix it

could you give the nice people in vermont a call??
They need help with a 4 inch pipe seal.DIS CODE: NC-20090217-20551-USA
Date & Time: 2009-02-17 15:34:43 [UTC]
Area: USA, State of Vermont, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, Vernon

!!! WARNING !!!



Description:

Engineers at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are still trying to stop a pipe from leaking slightly radioactive water. Vermont Yankee spokesman Rob Williams says there have been several attempts to fix the gasket in the 4-inch pipe in the reactor's clean-out system, but all have failed. The company announced last month that the leak had been discovered. At one point, it leaked about 3,600 gallons of water a day. The water isn't released into the environment. Williams says engineers will attempt this week to reinstall a sealant. Neil Sheehan of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the pipe now leaks about one-tenth of a gallon a minute. Sheehan says one option would be to shut down the plant and install a new valve.

Not c

could you pipe clamp it and plan to replace after winter?

I can't see how you would drill and tap into the radius part of a pipe. Even if successful the insert would end up blocking at least part of the pipe.

It can be done, I've seen people put valves in riser pipe in apartment buildings when all you really need is one at the top.

You can, but a better fix is to cut a small section out (section where the hole is) and slip a compression dresser coupling over the cut-out section. Temporary of course, but a solid solution to the problem.
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