I am living in an old building where the old galvanized steel pipes are still in use indoors.
Rather than upgrading to copper pipes, can I reuse these galvanized steel pipes for hot water (from a gas heater for showering)?
I have the impression that galvanized steel pipes are very vulnerable to corrosion when used with hot water. But I don't want to change to copper pipes because some of the galvanized steel pipes are conveniently available next to my gas heater hot water outlet.
Best Answer
If you have the opportunity to replace your galvanized pipes, do so. It's an inconvenient project, involving opening up a lot of walls, but as you can tell from the comments, galvanized pipe is problematic at best over the long term.
It will frequently develop (as is the case in my own home and in my rentals) pin hole leaks. The only good news with galvanized on that front is - the gumming will often re-seal those pinhole leaks, but not all the time, as my basement ceiling could have attested, before I gutted the whole thing.