plastic piping

redoing all the piping inc central heating in the house and wanted to know when i eventually get to the job what are people's opinions on using plastic:

1. generally
2. for hot and cold water
3. for central heating

So far all i have in the house is the main incomer in copper, so will need of course to feed water to bathroom and kitchen along with boiler which will be a combi

Thanks

If i remember correctly you could try doing a search for plastic and look for an author of "softus" should tell you everything!

The pipe is fine. It is the pushfit fittings that is the problem. Avoid them big time and use standard good quality brass compression fittings - they are also cheaper. Don't let anyone else tell you differentely - pushfit fitting are the most problematic by a 100 miles.

Also use far more clips than when using copper. Plastic pipe tends to sag especially when hot.

There you go, according to Water Systems you can even use plastic pipe for your gas but only if you are competent!

I only use copper except that in some instances I would use plastic just on an open vented hot/cold water supply.

I wonder why I prefer copper pipe?

Tony

I wonder why I prefer copper pipe?

Click to expand...

cos you have some pride in your work

cos you know it will last

cos you want to go back to a job and be able to say i did that(and not be embarrased)

old school tony

I must be honest, when i read the op's question i didn't think of gas, only water. So may be "watersystems" did.

His reply was obviously to water related part..

Nothing wrong with plastic for any water carriage. The fittings, providing a decent brand is used, are fine too.............I have never had a leaking plastic push fit joint that i have installed, and never been back one either.

I have so that makes you better than me. Vertually every plumbing business in this town has had a leak from sprint t's. It's a matter of care assembling lack of sleeving to guide means when you are in a tight spot trying to assemble a t you can dislodge the o ring, forewarned is four armed. As long as you are careful OP push fit joints are OK.

Great on underfloor heating as for anything else i wont touch it but thats only my opinion & its the same as some & different to others. You pay ya money u take ya chance, Its like dog sh1t .its every where but it dont make it nice.

amen to that brother

i know there is push fit, but is there any compression fittings instead and are they better?

u can use standard brass compression fittings & best use stainless inserts. thats a cheaper way & in my opinion better. still waiting 4 incoming to hit the fan though. Got a builder friend who thought he'd do a spota plumbing for fun on a job. used bret martin 3m lengths of 15mm plastic & polyplumb fittings as the supplier were in a period of stock change, 6 out of 9 fittings blew off after 15mins. lota damage & lota water ,wish i'd been there. seems 2 have more respect 4 my love of copper now.

have used osma gold , their wicked.

worked on 5 new builds in north finchley , london.Whilst playing on site we put a 15mm speedfit blank on a mtr length of copper and pressurised it . How much pressure do you think it took.

This topic has been covered before - here's a summary:

Everyone (who expresses an opinion) thinks that copper is aesthetically better.

Most people think that copper tube lasts longer than the plastic equivalent. These people have not yet responded to my requests for objective data to support this view. Some plastic pipe is guaranteed for 50 years. Copper is not.

It is a fact that copper is more rigid, and requires less clipping.

It is a fact that plastic pipe has a smaller bore size, often leading to higher water flow rate. I've never heard of anyone carrying out a scientific study to produce objective data, but the higher noise that might result from the faster flow is negated by the smaller number of couplings and sharp turns that would be needed with copper pipe.

Most people think that push-fit fittings are more expensive than the brass equivalent. This is sometimes true and sometimes not. If you factor in the cost of the labour for installation, it's a close call, but pushfit is quicker.

Plastic pipe is infinitely quicker [than copper] to install over long runs, through joists, within walls and floors (within conduit of course), around corners, and it saves on the number of flow-reducing fittings that are deployed.

There are cases of rodent damage to plastic pipe. It is wise to avoid plastic pipe where rodent attack is considered likely.

All plumbers encounter leaks in copper pipe and brass fittings. Some claim to have splits in plastic pipe and leaks in push-fit fittings. Like HarrogateGas, I've never had a leak on any push-fit fitting that I've installed.

Some people believe push-fit fittings to be easy to install; too easy in fact, such that they perceive a stigma arising from the use of these fittings by less-than-competent tradesmen and DIYers. These people allow ego to cloud their judgment by refusing even to consider push-fit and/or plastic.