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Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

tomtilley.net

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Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#81

Post by zo1 »

supportengineer wrote: post #51
whartung wrote: post #21

Folks on YouTube cut, heat, and flatten PVC and then scratch build scale models out of it. This working excavator is rather extraordinary. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qam0DmWq_No&pp=ygUTcHZjIHBpcGU...

This is astounding. What I want to know is, how does one have that much free time?

The channel has 500k subscribers, so it's probably a full time job/business. I wouldn't be surprised if they take shortcuts by having parts made off camera by "helpers".

At the end of the day, these things are entertainment for us to consume and they don't have to show us all the effort happening off-camera.

I say this generally for these kinds of channels, not this one specifically.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#82

Post by wrycoder »

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.

That's why you do a pressure test at twice the working pressure, with the thing under a blanket.

This should be repeated every year.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#83

Post by wrycoder »

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 have daughters.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#84

Post by oogali »

jiofj wrote: post #77
xeonmc wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

If you have a water dispenser (through a refrigerator), do you fill and dump two glasses before getting yourself a glass of water to consume?

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#85

Post by jiofj »

oogali wrote: post #84
jiofj wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If you have a water dispenser (through a refrigerator), do you fill and dump two glasses before getting yourself a glass of water to consume?

I guess I would. It seems dangerous not to for the reasons mentioned here.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#86

Post by ethanbond »

iancmceachern wrote: post #59
elihu wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well yeah, that's kind of why I brought it up. PVC is cheap, available, and easy to use. Is there some other material that could replace PVC but made from less environmentally undesirable materials? Is it available at hardware store? If not, could it be?

If you have a suggestion I'm sure it would be welcome. Generally, if there were a better solution we would be using it. If you know of one, you should share it with us. If you don't, maybe work on finding one.

GP made multiple suggestions and personally I read their comment as “here are some ideas, does anyone else have any?” Not an indictment of people using this material or a statement that there must be something better and everyone must switch to it.

Your comment comes across a bit off-tenor.

Also keen to hear if folks on here have other ideas (before you ask: I don’t have any).

> Generally, if there were a better solution we would be using it.

If this were actually the attitude people adopted, literally nothing would improve ever.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#87

Post by Metacelsus »

elihu wrote: post #56
mardifoufs wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that true for PEX too? If so what's the alternative for piping?

I don't know. I think that may have other issues with the additives to make it flexible, but that's outside my knowledge. The East Palestine train wreck recently was carrying a big load of vinyl chloride among other things. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Ohio_train_derailment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_chloride Maybe other plastics are just as bad, but it seems like not making stuff out of vinyl chloride…

Vinyl chloride (the monomer) is very different chemically from polyvinyl chloride.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#88

Post by VBprogrammer »

oogali wrote: post #84
jiofj wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If you have a water dispenser (through a refrigerator), do you fill and dump two glasses before getting yourself a glass of water to consume?

I hadn't got a water dispenser like that but I'd be really surprised to find that the internal reservoir and piping was made of anything except for plastic.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#89

Post by jasonjayr »

amelius wrote: post #67
whartung wrote: post #21

Folks on YouTube cut, heat, and flatten PVC and then scratch build scale models out of it. This working excavator is rather extraordinary. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qam0DmWq_No&pp=ygUTcHZjIHBpcGU...

Cool video except they left out all the steps necessary to reach the incredible precision. This is not how engineers work.

It occasionally cuts to measuring items with calipers, a multimeter, using a compass, and parts show up on screen with score marks, so I assume the creator is definitely measuring things off camera.

The video is an hour long, but the fast scene cuts, and focusing on the actual assembly actions makes the video somehow more compelling and "can't-look-away".

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#90

Post by Vvector »

briHass wrote: post #25
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.

It's certainly not 'way worse'. CPVC/PVC has its advantages and disadvantages, just like every other piping method. CPVC can become less pliable over time, particularly for hot water, but properly (by code) supported/strapped and glued, it can last for decades. It, like PEX, should be run to a well-secured, copper stub out where it sticks out of the wall in an area where it could be damaged. Copper is not without its…

"it can last for decades"

Just my personal opinion, that's the problem with US housing. We build stuff to last 20-30 years(if properly installed) , instead of 100s of years.

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