Some of you may remember that waaay back in 2018 I started a project to build a stream, and which is detailed previously in this thread. That project was a success and the water has been running about 13 hours a day, from early May to Sept/Oct, each year since 2019.
Last year I noticed that the need to top up the water seemed to be getting a bit more frequent, but this year it has become very obvious that there is a leak.
After a bit of investigation, yesterday I discovered that the concrete lip under the water discharge spout had broken away somewhat, on the LH side.
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I wasn't too sure how I could do a satisfactorily waterproof repair but this morning I moved the spout out of the way to allow me to get at it. In doing so I noticed that there was wetness round the joint where the flexible pipe connects to the spout piece, the Jubilee clip showed signs of corrosion and the surrounding ground was wet.
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The crumbling concrete shouldn't be a major issue since any water that escaped at that point should be trapped on top of the underlying pond liner and in theory should eventually work its way down to the sump. The pipe joint is another matter however, so I cut the pipe to make it easier to get out and then tried to undo the clip but as soon as I put some force on it the whole thing dropped off, leaving a jagged edge to the end of the printed spout piece. Clearly, over time a weakness had developed under the the pressure from the tight clip and the ABS had given way and started cracking, resulting in the leak.
Interestingly, the actual spout piece which was constructed of 6 printed pieces glued together, is showing no other signs of deterioration. There is a brown film on the inside from the sludge build up in the sump and the outer face has a limescale coating from the evaporation of our very hard water but that just helps it blend into the Cotswold stone stream edge.
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So that is one answer to those who question the lifespan of 3D printed items - After approx 2000 hours of water flow, and being half buried in Midlands clay 24/7/365 for 5 or 6 years, a crack has developed where it was under external pressure!
That equates to something along the lines of 5 MILLION litres or 1 Million 100 thousand gallons!!
So back to the problem, the plan now is simply to replace the clip and push the flexible feed pipe back onto the stub of the spout which is fortunately long enough to take it, and hopefully we should be back to normal service tomorrow! The defective lip I shall do a bodge repair on, with mortar and SBR, which should deal with any splashing.
