Plastic vs. copper in central heating

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Is the flow resistance of plastic pipes the same as copper or not?

Would a 10mm plastic pipe have the same internal dimensions as a 10mm copper pipe?

I can't find any data sheets for plastic on the web.
 
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Should all be at Hepworth or polypipe.
Pex is 1.8mm wall, PB 2mm, copper 0.7mm (or maybe less at 10mm) afaicr. Flow though 15mm is supposed to be the same for both due to surface characteristics, but with microbore you're losing a lot of diameter.

Just about to poke my endoscope through a ceiling to find a leak. Odds on it'll be a plastic pushfit connection ......
 
ChrisR said:
Just about to poke my endoscope through a ceiling to find a leak. Odds on it'll be a plastic pushfit connection ......

Thanks for the info. I take it you're not a fan of plastic then!?
 
ChrisR said:
Should all be at Hepworth or polypipe.
Pex is 1.8mm wall, PB 2mm, copper 0.7mm (or maybe less at 10mm) afaicr. Flow though 15mm is supposed to be the same for both due to surface characteristics, but with microbore you're losing a lot of diameter.

Checked the Hepworth data. The head loss is about 3 times as much for plastic as for the copper data I have for 10mm pipe. In fact, the figures for 10mm Hep20 are almost the same as that for 8mm copper (with .6mm wall thickness).

The lesson is, don't connect a large radiator with a long length of 10mm plastic, something that my housebuilder needs to learn. :cry:
 
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ChrisR said:
Should all be at Hepworth or polypipe.
Pex is 1.8mm wall, PB 2mm, copper 0.7mm (or maybe less at 10mm) afaicr. Flow though 15mm is supposed to be the same for both due to surface characteristics, but with microbore you're losing a lot of diameter.

Just about to poke my endoscope through a ceiling to find a leak. Odds on it'll be a plastic pushfit connection ......

For the record, found out my house was fitted with a product called
Osmagold Wavin. Their internal diameters are almost the same as copper, and their technical info says what you say, that the surface characteristics overcome the slightly smaller resistances, and that copper data can be used for sizing.

In short, not all plastic is the same. You would need bigger pipes with Hepworth than with Osmagold Wavin or copper.
 

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