Is this bad practice?

[Hallsy]

I know that central heating systems will often have drops and rises, as they fall to go under floor then rise to go to taps, etc and that overall pressure is measured from bottom of tank (gravity sys) to spout of tap.

But is it bad practice for a run of pipe to have more up/downs than necessary?

Originally I had bath, WC & basin on one wall, so I had two 22mm feeds to bath, two 15mm to basin and one to WC, all as normal.

As we are moving basin to another wall I was just going to re-route the original feeds to basin to the adjacent wall.

However, now I've got the boards up, it's sods law that there are a few pipes all very close together and the ones I need to cut into and put a new T into are right at the back up against the wall, and look awkward for either soldering or compression joints.

So, the cold feed is close enough to new WC position for that to be left as is, but the hot feed, would it be OK use existing rise, put an elbow on it and take it further along wall where it is easier to make a connection, then take it under floor to new basin position, then back up to taps as normal?

As I have the bath & toilet waste both running across this wall it will be boxed in so clipping it along the wall before going under floor again will not be seen.

But is it considered bad practice to run it this way?

Might sound silly to those in the know but I thought I'd ask!

 

[Softus]

But is it considered bad practice to run it this way?

You've gotta do what you've gotta do.

Just bear in mind that every turn, bend, elbow and coupling will increase the resistance to flow, and also increase noise.

However, the first goal is to make it work; you can select the most elegant solution if you have more than one option.

 

[Hallsy]

Yeah, I suppose - just going to go with what seems easier then

 

[ChrisR]

If you have inverted U's on gravity fed pipework, they can cause airlocks. If accessible they can have manual air vents, if not they might need blasting through with the mains whenever they're emptied.

 

[Hallsy]

OK, well I haven't got any inverted U's so assume OK.

Considering it was my first time soldering, things didn't go too badly.

Although I did ruin a run I'd made by moving it before it had cooled and an end fell off

My old chap said he always runs a bead of solder around the solder ring joints as it starts to bubble solder to aid the seal. Good or bad? I tried it and it seemed to work OK.

Did end in some trouble though, when it came to connecting into the existing pipework I had the dreaded water in pipe syndrome.

Plus a butane canister that was running out.........and evetually did run out! So I've had to cap them off with compression stops for now until I can get some gas in the morning.

I blew the pipes and a fair amount of water came out, but I think the fact that my butane was running low didn;t help either as the flame wasn't as fierce. If there is a just a trickle of water can butane still get the joint hot enough?

What is a symptom of over heating a joint & what problems can it cause?

 

[corgiman]

over heating a joint can evapourat the flux and then the solder wont run, if this has happened you will soon fond out

sounds like you had fun doing it and well done i am sure it will be fine (just have a wet and dry vac and rather a lot of tissues at the ready)

I am kidding bet you did good

 

[gas4you]

You only have to have a few constant drips in the pipe to stop it soldering properly, especially if your butane was low and it is a DIY torch

 

[Hallsy]

Thanks for the optimism! Hopefully all will be well when I live it up tomorrow, as long as I can get some gas.

It's a DIY torch but not a pencil one, hopefully I can get a gas can to fit it. Might go for propane over the butane if they are interchangeable, should give a bit more heat then

 

[ChrisR]

NO they aren't, but some will take a mix, which you can buy.
Butane's plenty hot enough for 22mm though.
If you haven't got a wet vac, use a dry one, on blow, and push the water somewhere else!

If youcan't stop an odd drip, and you're in a straight bit of pipe, make the pipe BLOODY hot a few inches upstream before you start. Then you'll hear the drops sizzling when they approach your joint. If the sizzlling stops, either the water has too, or the pipe's cooled down.

 

[Hallsy]

Thanks chris, I'm off to find some gas in a mo!

One question, if you want to re-heat a joint that has been soldered, do you need to flux it around the joint to get the solder to flow again?

 

[Hallsy]

Well, what a difference some new gas & flux makes How much easier & quicker!!

I was using some old, old flux and the dieing butane and when trying to add a little solder to the joint it really wasn't flowing well.

Cue some new flux and gas, the solder ring joint quickly melts & flows, then a quick dab with some solder around the joint and it flows nicely

 

[Jezzy]

I there's water around, i usually always use compression and / or plastic push fit pipework and work in reverse so i'll pipe up from the sink to the part where you have had to cut the old pipe and then use a compression joint there.