Is this legal?

[dave0202]

House hunting at the moment. Last house we looked at had a Baxi 105 combi installed.

However, all the copper pies beneath the boiler were joined with plastic pushfitting (apart from the gas pipe).

Can this be done. It looked really shoddy and i would be amazed if it was allowed. Can plastic handle the pressure and heat being so close to the boiler.

Thanks guys...

Dave

 

[Agile]

Its often done and not considered to be seriously unsafe.

Most boiler manufacturers ask for copper pipe within one metre of the boiler but not all installers comply.

I share your views and there is an issue that under fault conditions the plastic pipe will soften and burst. In my opinion plastic is not a suitable material for pressurised heating circuits.

Of course installers who want to do the quickest job think its OK !!!

In spite of the common misperception a system piped in plastic is usually more expensive than copper for the materials. But it does not require any soldering skills and does not risk setting the house on fire and is far quicker to fit.

Using copper pipe with plastic pushfit connectors is still not ideal but there is little risk involved. I sometimes do that myself to get a new installation working and then return later to remake the joints with soldered copper.

Tony

 

[clf-gas]

Yes its legal though not good practice. several manufacturers advice that 1 meter of copper from boiler before the use of plastic.

 

[HarrogateGas]

Its often done and not considered to be seriously unsafe.

Most boiler manufacturers ask for copper pipe within one metre of the boiler but not all installers comply.

I share your views and there is an issue that under fault conditions the plastic pipe will soften and burst. In my opinion plastic is not a suitable material for pressurised heating circuits.

Of course installers who want to do the quickest job think its OK !!!

In spite of the common misperception a system piped in plastic is usually more expensive than copper for the materials. But it does not require any soldering skills and does not risk setting the house on fire and is far quicker to fit.

Using copper pipe with plastic pushfit connectors is still not ideal but there is little risk involved. I sometimes do that myself to get a new installation working and then return later to remake the joints with soldered copper.

Tony

Most of what you say is utter tripe Agile!!

I agree regarding 1 meter of copper off the boiler. However my prevoius house had a combi in (not installed by myself) which had plastic straight from the boiler. It never once gave me a problem in the 3 years I lived there and so i left it in.

Exactly how does a modern boiler get hot enough for plastic pipe to soften and burst? How many stats must fail before this can happen?

It is cheaper than copper-fact.

It is cheaper to install than copper-fact


I agree copper is a mosre profesional job but plastic does have its uses and advantages and it is also more than suitable for pressurised heating systems.

 

[Agile]

[
Exactly how does a modern boiler get hot enough for plastic pipe to soften and burst? How many stats must fail before this can happen?

There is little that you have not agreed with so I can only assume that you just want to be argumentative?

Whilst plastic tube is cheaper than copper, the fittings are about five or more times the price of endfeed.

Perhaps you only install and dont do repairs? If you repaired boilers then you would have encountered several faults which can cause overheating to above 130°C. A stuck on gas valve or gas valve relay for example! A bypassed o/h stat as another, strictly not a fault but something we see from time to time. Any two faults can cause serious overheating.

Dont you remember the Dave Nightingale postings about the ceiling brought down after plastic pipe burst when the Ideal Mexice with o/h stat conversion kit overheated?

Tony

 

[corgiman]

If the makers say you should have copper for the first meter then you MUST have copper for the first meter

on some things ours is not to reason why

 

[Agile]

The makers also say their boilers should be fitted by CORGIs but many are not!

I have never ( yet ) seen a boiler which has had any problem from plastic connected directly onto the boiler.

There is a boiler sold by two different manufacturers, one says it needs 1 m of copper and the other ( who actually makes it ) does not require the copper!

Tony

 

[corgiman]

there are many murders as well tony and I am sure they are against the law but people still do it and have been for awhile now

all i am saying is that the MI's are and must be paramount, end of

 

[ChrisR]

Dont you remember the Dave Nightingale postings

David R Martindale

 

[Agile]

Well at least Chris remembers all his postings!

Thanks for correcting his name!

Tony