A tiny hairline crack, but it still takes a significant effort to rectify it. Can you spot the crack? That tiny crack led to water leak which is a significant issue in a data centre. The problem erupted two weekends ago when our water leak detection system signaled an alarm. Initially, it looked like it might be a problem with condensation on the chill water pipe. However, after ripping away some insulation to track down the source of the water leak, the hairline crack was discovered.
Fortunately the water leak was contained in a drip pan, and we ran a water leak detection cable in the drip pan to detect any accumulation of water. That’s how we got wind of the problem. I must say water leak detection is really quite important, particularly after hearing so many stories about various facilities having their under floor space flooded with water for a long while before anyone noticed anything was amiss.
The hairline crack happened on the water valve. As you might tell from the photo, the valve is quite a solid piece of metal. It’s quite heavy too. It’s quite unusual for the valve to crack.
It took practically all of 4 hours to rectify the problem: Replacing the valve itself as well as all the ancillary works related to it.