With more than twenty years experience of plastic pipe, I can testify to its general longevity, but have seen a few connectors split or o-rings leak and even snap-rings fail and, whilst those events have, thankfully, not been as frequent as seeing some plastic lock-nuts back-off completely, so I now almost always use brass compression fittings on barrier pipe, preferably with stainless steel inserts and light brass or copper olives - AND they're cheaper, esp in bulk, and last for life ! ! !īut do, always, use three, or so, wraps of ptfe tape on threads 'cos, although the olive should make the seal, with thread and other tolerances not being what they used to be, the tape should help take up any slack.īetter still, fit a PRV for £30 and set your rising main to 2bars and never change a leaking ball-cock again!! Might need to fine-tune final pressure setting to ensure flow is maintained to thermostatic showers, boiler, etc. Oh, and remember not to mix up pipe inserts from other manufacturers, whether using push-fit or brass compression connectors. Just remember to keep the first 100cm of the pipework from, and to, the boiler in copper and keep all the plastic pipe away from any local hot-spots. White plastic might not be much cheaper overall due to potential cost of connectors, or last as long as copper but today it looks just fine as supply in modern kitchens and bathrooms, and also, with the barrier pipe for central heating and hot water, has a lot of advantages, esp in reducing installation time. 'tis a conundrum this old vs new, isn't it ?
plumbbob Rank: Project Managerĭear, dear. Having said that, there is a saying, don't knock it until you've tried it and I think once you have tried it, you'll find it is very difficult to knock it. Many experienced tradesmen steer clear of plastic for a variety of reasons and I respect their decision especially as some of the points are very valid. Always where the installation might be at risk of damage and especially where visible as its neatness is essential. You can bury it in concrete or run long lengths without joints.ĭon't get me wrong, I still use a lot of copper.
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It is easier to install and you can shove it in places you'd never get copper to go. It doesn't corrode, scale up or burst if frozen. I refused to even to use flexible tap tails supplied with some taps. Up until then I had always used copper for everything spending hours bending pipes and soldering fittings to ensure they looked neat and professional. Ok, so here's a post from someone in favour of plastic pipe.Ībout five years ago I was "initiated" into the world of plastic pipework.
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