Signs of getting old... meh.

[Opsa]

I do remember you waxing rapturous about that kettle, Griffin!

I have a basic stainless steel kettle that you sit on a burner and it has a loud whistle. I have had it a couple of years and it is beginning to show rust, due to my leaving water in it longer than is recommended.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Well, I suppose that explains why all the copper kettles I could locate on-line, were all lined with tin (which, when melted, easily bonds with copper-- the ubiquitous, original tin can).   I was basing my statement on the fact that potable water is piped through copper in the US, to the point it's nearly ubiquitous.

... meh.

I have yet to get a replacement kettle-- the enamel has not chipped further, nor is there any visible chips on the inside (where it really matters).  But that spot sure is ugly.  I love the weight of it, otherwise.  Have been looking at kettles here and there, and many are such lightweight materials, that I think "pass".  Such a lightweight wouldn't last, I presume, nor heat as evenly. 

[Swatopluk]

At the university building I worked in for several years the pipes were copper and and not in the best state. Some people (including me) had digestive trouble with that and it was unwise to water the plants with it. That indicated that the copper concentration must have been pretty high (in small doses it is good for plants because it kills microorganisms, that's the resaon why a polished penny in the vase is an old trick to have last flowers longer).
Values can be reduced, if the copper is only in the house not in the pipes leading to the house: Let the tap run for a while before you take water fro drinking. Then the stagnant water that had time to collect the copper is away and you get the (hopefully) clean from the main lines. With lead pipes it is a bit more difficult (in the stagnant water the lead salt precipitate but get stirred up again when fresh water runs through).
If the copper lines are fresh, polished and clean the problems should be low. It starts when corrosion sets in leading to higher dissolving of metal in the water. Boiling water is of course far more corrosive, so a kettle is mmore problematic than a cold pipe. The reason for tin-plating is less to separate the copper from the water but because it serves as the sacrifical anode, slowing the corrosion of the nobler metal down.
In (small) water boilers with naked heater coils the usual health problem today is with Nickel.

[Griffin NoName]

Could my whole illness be down to copper in the pipes?

[Swatopluk]

Doubtful, or do you suffer from chronic nausea and diarrhea?
Lead could play a role, also older plastic. I do not know about the pipes in your building.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Interesting, Swato (as usual).

I do note that a majority of modern buildings have switched to nylon plastic pipes, switching to copper and/or brass at the terminus, so that standard fittings may be used for the appliances.  

One of the advantages with using nylon, is that it's reasonably impervious to things dissolved in water, it can take the pressures, it won't burst if frozen, and it can be color coded too.   As far as I know, there is no known solvent that will de-bond nylon plastic, apart from really exotic plasmas and ionic materials, usually requiring high energy states too.

About the only thing that degrades nylon, is ultraviolet radiation and now, a newly-evolved bacteria, which (so far) is fortunately quite rare, and acts very slowly.

But I sometimes wonder about the long-term effects-- nobody's looked at this, as far as I can find out, but nylon has been used for containers since it was invented shortly before WW2.  To date, the only [known] chemical that can attack it, is nylonase, an enzyme released by the aforementioned mutant bacteria.   It'll melt before it burns, though-- so it's unsuitable for high temperatures (above 300F), and it will burn, so it's unsuitable for boilers/heat exchangers.  And due to it's sensitivity to UV, it's not useful for long-term exposed locations either.

But it's considerably stronger and denser than it's closest cousins, polyethylene and polypropylene, who's low melting point and relatively weak tensile strength make these unsuitable for pressurized water delivery.

But I have used a nylon container to boil water over a campfire-- just to demonstrate it's possible, and how heat transfer works.     I've also used a paper cup ... it's a fun experiment to demonstrate to kids, when there's an open fire available, and time to let the water boil.    I've also demonstrated how well styrofoam insulates, by trying the boil-water-over-campfire trick with a styrofoam cup-- it burns (in case you wondered).    You can also boil water in a ziplock baggie-- that is, if you can manage to support it over the fire, such that when the water begins to boil, the zipper opens at the top, otherwise, it just runs out & puts out the fire...

....

Ain't physics fun?  

I could also point out that many houses built since the 80's was plumbed with PVC and CPVC (for hot water) pipe.   It is similar to nylon, but more brittle--especially if aged.  It also suffers from UV degradation, and many solvents will melt it too-- making installation easier (use high-evaporation solvent to "weld" the parts together).  It also ages under oxygen-attack, such that old installations, even if protected by the sun, can turn dangerously brittle and can burst if allowed to freeze.   I don't know if it's still in use in new construction anymore, due to those issues.  But you often see it used in DIY projects, because it's so simple and easy to do "good enough".   I only use it in locations that are visible, and in drain-plumbing, where pressure isn't an issue.   It is still ubiquitous for drains, in the US, even commercial applications.  But up in Canada, there seems to be a preference for ABS plastic for the drains.  ABS has it's issues, too, but it seems to have better long-term stability.

Aaaah, topic drift... where will the drifting take us next?  

[Aggie]

The new water pipes in my rental house are PEX - cross-linked polyethylene - as a replacement for old, corroded galvanized steel pipes. Iron isn't the main issue (besides rust staining), but there was some worry with lead and cadmium contamination related to the zinc galvanization.  I used those as a bit of a stick to shake at the landlord in order to get the pipes replaced. Most of the house had already been converted, except our main drinking source tap in the kitchen.

Nylon is pretty inert, but can be hydrolyzed by acids, especially at higher temperatures.  Apparently it's also not particularly resistant to warm beer:
http://k-mac-plastics.net/data%20sheets/nylon_chemical_resistance_chart.htm

I was looking at this table yesterday to see if marking my fishing line with a permanent marker was likely to weaken the line.

[Swatopluk]

One problem with many sorts of plastics is the additives that slowly leach out. In PVC there is also residual vinyl chloride that gases out over time.
The advantage of PE and PP is that it (usually) does not need those.
Personally I think the panic about Bisphenol A is a bit over the top, there are far worse compounds most people do not know are in all the plastic near them.

[Griffin NoName]

........... I do not know about the pipes in your building.

The pipes tell me they don't know you either.

[Swatopluk]

Are they Highland pipes, Uilleann pipes or Brian Boru pipes?

Why did we get off the good old tradition of wooden water conduits?

[Griffin NoName]

They are quite high up pipes. Why did we ever stop getting wooden teeth?

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I think the Romans used wooden water conduits, to compliment their aqueducts. 

Yet another thing those wily Romans did for the Liberation Front of Judea. 

[Swatopluk]

We had aquaintances in the former GDR that still produced (=drilled) wooden water pipes. Metal pipes were (as lots of other things) in short supply and the wooden ones lasted significantly longer, if handled properly.

[Griffin NoName]

Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the flow'rs are dying
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so.

And if you come, and all the flowers are dying
If I am dead, as dead I well may be
I pray you'll find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me
And all my grave will warm and sweeter be
And then you'll kneel and whisper that you love me
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]