Though bursted is fun to say, it is a superfluous word. It is not recognized by any major dictionaries, and it always bears replacement with burst, which is uninflected in its past-tense and past-participial forms.
If using burst in the past tense doesn’t feel right, consider busted, as in busted pipe. Busted is slangy, though, so you might want to stick with burst in formal contexts. Or you could just use bursted and hope that it catches on.
Examples
These writers use burst well:
A water main burst in a Friendship Heights shopping district Friday, opening up a gaping hole that almost swallowed a car. [WTOP.com]
Three men burst into the home on 47th Street north of University Avenue about 12:40 p.m. [Sign On San Diego]
Scottish Water said that while problems with burst pipes had yet to materialise, it was prepared for the predicted increase in calls. [BBC News UK]
But bursted appears occasionally—for example:
Even though Castro bursted onto the scene as a 20-year-old, he immediately became one of the best shortstops in baseball . . . [Daily Illini]
Lubin was sitting in a loan committee meeting, and the chairman of the board bursted in. [Buffalo Grove Countryside]
