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Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

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Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#71

Post by xeonmc »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #68
bboygravity wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Copper is toxic to microbes, plastics are not. Relevant for salmonella for example. This alone would be reason for me to just use copper.

This seems like borderline paranoia. Water travels potentially dozens of miles from the place where it is cleaned and treated with chlorine to kill bugs. The vast majority of that in non-copper pipes. The last few feet inside your house seems unlikely to change anything.

Yes but the dozens of miles is moving water whereas the last few feet in you house is stale water.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#73

Post by geomark »

amluto wrote: post #9

Interestingly, plumbing your house with PVC water pipe is not a fantastic idea and is not allowed under most plumbing codes. The specific issue is that PVC loses strength at higher temperatures, so performance at household water pressures with household hot water is somewhat marginal. Manufacturers don’t rate their pipe at all above 140 degrees F. Having your pipe burst when you run hot water through it is undesirabl…

In the country I live virtually every house is plumbed with PVC. Works great and only fails if done extremely poorly. Of course, they don't run hot water through it. Most people here think it is bizarre to have a big tank of hot water at one end of the house (often the garage) that is sent throughout the house, rather than having instant hot water heaters at the point of use.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#74

Post by Infernal »

function_seven wrote: post #29
genter wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CPVC might be better than PVC, but it's still way worse than copper or pex. Both PVC and CPVC will shatter if stressed beyond it's yield strength. Go hit it with a hammer, and compare that to hitting a copper pipe or pex. This is also the reason why pvc is super dangerous for compressed air.

> This is also the reason why pvc is super dangerous for compressed air. Back in the day all us kids knew to get the ABS stuff when building our potato cannons. I was terrified of the combustion chamber shattering right next to my face.

Oh shit - we did not know. I guess we got lucky too!

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#75

Post by macNchz »

function_seven wrote: post #29
genter wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CPVC might be better than PVC, but it's still way worse than copper or pex. Both PVC and CPVC will shatter if stressed beyond it's yield strength. Go hit it with a hammer, and compare that to hitting a copper pipe or pex. This is also the reason why pvc is super dangerous for compressed air.

> This is also the reason why pvc is super dangerous for compressed air. Back in the day all us kids knew to get the ABS stuff when building our potato cannons. I was terrified of the combustion chamber shattering right next to my face.

I remember hearing the opposite, 20 years ago when I made one–that PVC was preferable to ABS because you couldn’t readily buy ABS with any sort of pressure rating.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#76

Post by sgt »

frogpelt wrote: post #42

Also, curtain rods. I don't see that listed but I used 3 PVC pipes and two 45-degree PVC couplings for about 5 years as a curtain rod above a bay window in my breakfast nook. I painted them black and glued a finial on each end to disguise it. Nobody ever noticed, which is quite disappointing.

Does the paint handle some friction?

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#77

Post by jiofj »

xeonmc wrote: post #71
VBprogrammer wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like borderline paranoia. Water travels potentially dozens of miles from the place where it is cleaned and treated with chlorine to kill bugs. The vast majority of that in non-copper pipes. The last few feet inside your house seems unlikely to change anything.

Yes but the dozens of miles is moving water whereas the last few feet in you house is stale water.

You don't let the water run for a bit before drinking it?
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