Plastic pipe for new radiator?

[MarkSmith]

Hi,

I'm doing a cellar conversion, which involves adding a new radiator to my central heating system (15mm copper pipe, feed and return). The cellar is going to have insulating plasterboard along a couple of walls, including the wall where the radiator will go. Pipes have to come down from the ceiling to the radiator as the floor is concrete.

The pipes will be behind the plasterboard - nicely hidden but it will mean they are in the "cold" space - and there's not really enough room in there for foam insulation.

Can I do this using plastic pipe, and would that reduce heat loss into the wall? If I do, am I going to be stuck with those fairly bulky push-fit connectors joining onto the radiator valves, or are there neater options?

What pipe exactly would I need? I looked on Screwfix and they have a number of types, and I couldn't work out what I needed.

Thanks very much!
-Mark

 

[glasgowgas]

yes you can use plastic pipe

look to use polybutylene pipe ( pb pipe )

 

[MarkSmith]

Thanks very much for the advice!

 

[dextrous]

Instead of foam insulation you could also use foil bubble type insulation. If your feeling particularly keen, you could also notch the insulation of the plasterboard to embed the pipework inside. Although this sounds difficult, it is

As for the bulky fittings, there's nothing to prevent you reverting back to copper once you get back onto the room side of the wall.