Need to seal a culvert

[HalfRural]

ETA: Newbie here, this is my first of what is no doubt to be many posts...(Intro posted in 'Hellos' for the curious :))

Previous owner installed a 16" diameter culvert to channel water from the pond to a water wheel to generate electricity. *He eventually abandoned the project because it didn't work, but left the culvert in place, and it is not blocked off, so it is a direct route for water to saturate lower-lying land. *We may attempt micro-hydro later on, but not via this installation, and we need to close off the uphill, half-in-the-pond end.

The culvert is non-corrugated metal about 1/8" thick, and rust covered, but not corroded. *There's no holes or protrusions that could be used to anchor an external-fit cover. *I looked into just buying a 90-degree elbow to move the opening above the water level, but the ones I could find on-line were hundreds of dollars.

I'm thinking to use a pipe clamp to try to re-round it temporarily, and wedge a couple 2x4's *in the opening vertically to serve as backing for a piece of foam cut to fit the diameter, then protect the foam with a plywood disc and seal around the edges with 'Raycrete', a two-part plumbing repair substance said to work even under water. *My concern is that this solution will not hold up to the winter freeze in the pond.

Any ideas, folks?

[walls0stone]

dry lock, seals under water.

[HalfRural]

dry lock, seals under water.

used how, exactly, in this situation?

[chrisser]

16" is about the diameter of a car wheel.

Could you get an old steel wheel with an outside diameter larger than the pipe but a hub small enough to fit inside? You could then cut the rim off one end so it slipped into the pipe?

It wouldn't necessarily seal that way, but the remaning holes could be more easily plugged and it would give a sturdy base that wouldn't easily collapse or rot.

Could also likely take it up to a local welder (if you can't do it yourself) and have him plug up all the holes and maybe weld on some straps you could use to fasten it to your pipe. Then all you'd need to do is seal where the rim of the wheel and the pipe meet...

I have no experience with this, but when I read 16", the first thing I thought of was a wheel.

[walls0stone]

yea that might be to large for dry lock.

[HalfRural]

The dry-lock sort of got me thinking along the lines of flexible but watertight.

What I really need is something flexible, to give a little when the ice comes, but tough enough to stand up to the freezing temperatures. A huge rubber cork, or a flexible but thick membrane that could be strapped around the outside of the pipe. Because the water level is only about halfway up the pipe's opening, there could be folds along the top. But I can't for the life of me think where I could get something thick enough and that big.

Something along the likes of an industrial-sized and thick balloon or condom (sorry, it's what comes to mind)

[sbemt456]

How about using a thick rubber liner like is used for little water ponds in the yard for gold fish? Placed over the end of the pipe and secured by means of a metal strap made to work like a giant hose clamp. Heck I'm just a girl and thats how I would do it but what do I know. Its called hillbilly ingenuity. Hope this gives you another idea.


stella

[HalfRural]

...Stella-just-a-girl! ;-)

I was at a hardware store yesterday looking at the biggest innertubes they had, wondering if I could piece them together and never once thought of pond liner. I did get another idea for a way to secure it, though, if I can't get the 'giant hose clamp' idea to work: a fan belt, assuming I could find one with an inside diameter the right size. It would work like a huge rubber band, and those suckers are tough.

[wy0mn]

How long is the culvert, and is the dam earthen? Is it set near the bottom for max water 'head' or near the top as a spillway?
If earthen & accessible, I'd leave it alone until the crops are in; then dig the sucka out & backfill. Or...
Could use connected pieces of all-thread to secure 'plugs' at both ends, marine plywood & innertube maybe.
Lex

[12vman]

Why not just stuff an inner tube in there and blow it up?

It'll conform to the inside pretty good. It might leak a little water for a while but eventually it would plug up from debris.

Another hillbilly mind at work.. ;)
~Don

[sbemt456]

Well how about a big wooden plug? The right size tree and cut a slice or disk of wood to fit the opening.
OK so another girl idea.


stella

[HalfRural]

several more good options...

But, I think I'll try Stella's pond liner idea first...I'm going to need some pondliner for another repair a little later on, so I could get it all at once, and take this small piece from that.

It's not a irrigation culvert...we suspect one end is cemented into the former hydro mill's foundation, and that it was to channel water to the waterwheel. We can't go in there to check, because the flooring is rotted out, and the building above is not sound. Dismantling the mill building and re-purposing the foundation is a future project.

The culvert will have to be dug out, and possibly cut before we can get it out of there and that will have to wait until we're full-time residents. We head up there Monday for a week and I hope to have the time to implement Stella's idea. Even if it works, it's going to take all summer for the mill basement and the land around it to dry out. I need that to happen so I can re-build a retaining wall that's failing.

[sbemt456]

We women are very simple minded and guys think were are complicated! Halfrural let us know how my idea works out for ya!

stella

[johnjmw]

I really like the 16" tree tapered kinda like a cork to plug the top of the pipe. That would hold just about any pressure then put the liner over it to seal any minor leak. Other than that is there any other way for the water to run out of the pond? Plugging it will raise the water level till it finds another exit or washes over the top. I've seen one done like you are describing in south east Ohio. Loved the look.
John