Some hotwater pipes are not copper. Is it right?

[Jessie]

Hi, all

Our bathroom is being renovated. The plumber just installed hotwater pipes behind the wall today. I noticed that majority of pipes are made of copper but some are not, they look like black plastic and about 50cm to 80cm long. The plumber said they are used to prevent vibration when the tap is turned on. As far as I know, in the old days, all hotwater pipes were made of copper/brass.

Is there something wrong or I am far behind new technology?

Thank you

Jessie

[duckman]

Entire houses are now plumbed with PVC pipes, both hot and cold water in lieu of copper.

HTH,

[ozwinner]

I think youll find all new houses are plumbed in plastic to keep the cost down, and I read somewhere that the copper over time can can give you metal poisoning.

Al

[outback]

Rubbish Al, Thee is nothing wrong with copper pipes. They said the same thing about the lead ones the Romans used too. I used lead for all our plumbing and just look at me.

[Jessie]

Thank you very much, guys. Now I'm convinced that PVC pipes are used for hotwater system these days. It's great I am catching up with new technologies.

[ozwinner]

And in years to come they will say, owwh bugger, about that plastic pipe.........

Al

[Gumby]

They said the same thing about the lead ones the Romans used

Maybe so, but what have the Romans ever done for us ?

[bsrlee]

It should be ABS plastic, not PVC for pressure pipe - ABS is considerably stronger and tends to bend rather than shattering into pointy shards. Is your hotwater heater a gravity/off peak or a mains/on demand unit? PVC should be OK for a gravity system, otherwise its used for waste water/drainage.

[duckman]

It should be ABS plastic, not PVC for pressure pipe - ABS is considerably stronger and tends to bend rather than shattering into pointy shards. Is your hotwater heater a gravity/off peak or a mains/on demand unit? PVC should be OK for a gravity system, otherwise its used for waste water/drainage.

Plastic is plastic as far as I'm concerned.

[echnidna]

Maybe so, but what have the Romans ever done for us ?

They invented Salami Sausage

and pizza

and roman sandals

dunno bout roman candles though

[Dr Jan Itor]

SWMBO's family tell me they stopped using copper in the US because people were ripping it off building sites even after it was plumbed in.

[SilentButDeadly]

Parent's house was built in 1996 and is fully plumbed in plastic. All the junctions and joinres are brass with push fit fittings. Took only a day to plumb a very large house with little other equipment apart from a drill and a hacksaw - no solder, gas bottles and other OHS threats plus it was quick. The plumber thought this stuff was marvellous and after ten years and no dramas so do the olds.

If you are interested http://www.auspex.com.au/PushFitSystem/ & http://www.reece.com.au/plumbing/products/talbot

[outback]

They invented Salami Sausage

and pizza

and roman sandals

dunno bout roman candles though

Wotabout
Roman in the gloamin'?

[Bleedin Thumb]

It should be ABS plastic, not PVC for pressure pipe - ABS is considerably stronger and tends to bend rather than shattering into pointy shards. Is your hotwater heater a gravity/off peak or a mains/on demand unit? PVC should be OK for a gravity system, otherwise its used for waste water/drainage.

I was under the impression that PVC or more accurately UPVC was no longer used for water pipes because of the chlorine gas leakage?

I was also under the impression that they were going to faze it out for stormwater and sewer because of some environmental byproducts with the manufacturing process.

I may have this wrong so if you know... post away.

[silentC]

The stuff they use now is called PEX which is the acronym for cross-linked high-density polyethylene. Not a big fan of it myself but I suppose sooner or later it will replace copper altogether, unless something new comes out in the meantime.

The main thing I have against it is that the fittings reduce the internal diameter of the pipe (because they push inside it) and can cause pressure problems if you don't design the installation to suit it. I believe it is similar price to copper but costs heaps less to install because it is quick. However, you really have to use more of it than you would in a copper system because of the limitations - instead of a single line carrying hotwater around your house, you're supposed to install a separate line to each tap from a manifold near the HWS. That's not to say that many plumbers do it that way, if any...