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Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

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Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#151

Post by gkhartman »

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...

When I saw the finished model at the start of the video, my first thought was "clearly there must be some PVC sheets used". You clearly said that he's flattening the tubing with heat, but my brain just couldn't accept the work involved in doing that for every flat surface I was seeing. Truly remarkable.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#152

Post by bombcar »

cmclaughlin wrote: post #142
amluto wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only Uponor would flesh out their fitting portfolio for 3/8”. 3/8” PEX is a near-perfect material for hot water distribution to sinks and showers — jurisdictions seem to have settled on the 0-2gpm range for sinks and showers, and 3/8” PEX high velocity at moderate pressure loss at these flows, which is exactly what you want. [0] But Uponor has very limited 3/8” parts, and using their brass fittings in that small s…

> 3/8” is permitted by code, but not by the tables in the UPC Can you elaborate on this please? It takes 90 seconds for hot water to flow from my water heater to my kitchen in the winter. I’m not sure if I have 1/2 or 3/8 pex (I’d have to crawl under the house to check). I’ve been thinking of adding a small Bosch water heater under the sink or a recirculation like, but maybe I should reduce the size of the pipe too

Code will have requirements like "pipe must flow X gallons/min" or something - and then a table of pipes of various materials and if they meet the requirements at a given length.

But they don't list all possible pipes, or all lengths. And the argument is that 3/8 PEX will flow to requirements and have a smaller amount of water sitting in it.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#153

Post by Too »

elihu wrote: post #57
iancmceachern wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can wax on about what plastic would be ideal, but ultimately this is about making things from stuff you can find at a local hardware store. So rather than go down this path, the way to go is to lobby hardware stores to carry "better" (by whatever metrics your judging PVC). It's not like we, as average humans, have unlimited choices in building materials. We choose from what's available at the store. PVC is at the…

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?

Wood. Most, not all, of the examples from the page would have been equally easy and cheap to build with a set of rods or 2x2 beams. Looks a lot less tacky too.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#154

Post by laurencerowe »

cameronh90 wrote: post #24
amluto wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh. In the US, HDPE outdoors is somewhat common in larger installations and for utilities, and PVC is used for almost all landscape irrigation. Galvanized steel is still surprisingly common indoors and outdoors despite its near complete lack of redeeming features. Indoors, fancy contractors seem to prefer copper and less fancy contractors seem to prefer PEX. Those fancy copper-using contractors seem to mostly mess u…

Landscape irrigation isn't that common in a domestic setting here. We get plenty of rain normally, but in the (increasingly common) periods of drought, most people just let their lawns dry out and manually water the flowers. Domestic fire sprinklers are also, sadly, quite uncommon. They've started to become more common in flats, particularly since Grenfell, but still, I've never had cause to touch the pipework for on…

> Fire safety in the UK is pretty poor compared to the USA.

The tighter fire regulations in the US are a result of building everything from far more combustible materials. Even so, the fire death rate in the US is more than double that of the UK, 11/million vs 5/million annually.

Living in California it's probably a good thing my home is made of wood rather than bricks if there is ever an earthquake, but coming from the UK it all seems a bit flimsy!

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#156

Post by avar »

frogpelt wrote: post #94
sgt wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the paint handle some friction?

Ok, that part wasn't too great actually. I guess you could put some clear finish over the paint to help protect it.

Why paint it at all? If it's a curtain rod that uses moving rings the friction is almost entirely at the top. Just apply some painter's tape at the top when painting it.

If you do want to paint it spray paint gives great results, but make sure to use plastic primer. To make it even sturdier apply a clear coat spray paint over the colored spray paint you use (so 3 layers: primer, paint, clear coat).

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#157

Post by datavirtue »

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #58
datavirtue wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Colors vary depending on application. You can get sch 40 and 80 in white. Just realized that no one mentioned potato guns. I used sch 80 for those. That quickly leads to using iron pipe with a sparkplug and a propane fitting threaded in though.

Don't use PVC for any pressure applications like potato guns!

Agreed. Had one blow up in my hands, which kind of reduced my enthusiasm for the sport.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#158

Post by scotty79 »

genter wrote: post #12
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…

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.

The only thing I really trust is pex-alu-pex. Flexible thin aluminum pipe with plastic on the inside and the outside.

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#159

Post by dbsmith83 »

elteto wrote: post #116
dbsmith83 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was wondering about that myself... It also gave me the willies when he was using the table saw cutting those tiny little strips with his fingers so close to the blade!

It’s not a blade, it’s a sanding disk (at least the one seen in the first few minutes of the video).

ah, that's a relief!

Re: Everyday uses for PVC water pipe

#160

Post by iancmceachern »

Too wrote: post #153
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?

Wood. Most, not all, of the examples from the page would have been equally easy and cheap to build with a set of rods or 2x2 beams. Looks a lot less tacky too.

Awesome example, also bamboo depending on where in the world you are
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