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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 2907876, member: 27832&quot;]I don&#039;t know if this is true, but I wouldn&#039;t be surprised.</p><p><br /></p><p>It seems a bit backward at first, because nearly all chemical reactions go <i>faster</i> at higher temperatures. Even if hot-water pipes spend a lot of their time close to room temperature, why wouldn&#039;t they discolor more quickly?</p><p><br /></p><p>Well, those cold-water pipes frequently carry water that&#039;s colder than room temperature -- and sometimes, it&#039;s colder than the <i>dewpoint</i> of the surrounding air, which means one thing: <b>condensation</b>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now you have <i>moisture</i> on the outside of the pipe -- and water is a <i>great</i> <b>catalyst</b> for lots of reactions, including this one. Water makes the reaction go faster, much faster.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m pretty sure that&#039;s true. Copper piping is supposed to be .999 copper, as opposed to 90% copper and 10% more reactive metals.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>It would be easy enough, I guess, to set up an experiment with four conditions -- cold pipe/dry air, cold pipe/moist air, hot pipe/dry air, hot pipe/moist air -- but I probably won&#039;t be doing it. Anybody have a kid with a science fair coming up? <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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