Plastic piping for central heating

[Worcester]

.. have started to use hep2o more as does have benefits and these are only plastic fittings I have confidence in at the moment.

That's why we use polysure; fittings not cheap, however they are secure

 

[Staffy85]

personally i find the expansion of your regular plastic/barrier pipe to be to much! everything has its pros and cons but i do think there are a lot of people abusing plastic pipes by not clipping and not using it to its full benefit of its length over copper by using manifolds to minimize fittings in walls, under floors and generally places that cant be accessed, obviously more pipe will be used but IMO its worth it ,

Iv been using the new TEC mlcp for awhile now , i like it , doesnt expand like your plastic and behaves more like annealed copper , not keen on the bend radius but with its 3 piece liner it makes the joint double sealed as to what it would normally be , coupled that with the 316 stainless fittings and you have a very good joint! expensive but good!!

 

[jtsplumbing]

personally i find the expansion of your regular plastic/barrier pipe to be to much! everything has its pros and cons but i do think there are a lot of people abusing plastic pipes by not clipping and not using it to its full benefit of its length over copper by using manifolds to minimize fittings in walls, under floors and generally places that cant be accessed, obviously more pipe will be used but IMO its worth it ,

Iv been using the new TEC mlcp for awhile now , i like it , doesnt expand like your plastic and behaves more like annealed copper , not keen on the bend radius but with its 3 piece liner it makes the joint double sealed as to what it would normally be , coupled that with the 316 stainless fittings and you have a very good joint! expensive but good!!

Are you bending it using a pipe bender ? find it bends as good as copper, like it that you can pipe right up to the boiler and the white pipe looks good where its visible, and the customer doesn't cover it in paint !

 

[Worcester]

We use mlcp (from emmeti) in our underfloor heating, goes down a treat (PE-RT/AL/PE-RT Alpert MLCP UFH Pipe – 16 x 2mm)

 

[Staffy85]

Are you bending it using a pipe bender ? find it bends as good as copper, like it that you can pipe right up to the boiler and the white pipe looks good where its visible, and the customer doesn't cover it in paint !

just by hand , i thought that you couldnt do it with benders? just my opinion but you know when you use benders on copper it fixes the copper and then pulls/stretch's it around a radius , i didnt think this was suitable for it being pex/al/pex & plus tectite make bending springs for it which is another reason otherwise it does state that bend radius is the same as a bender 4xO.D {think thats the same?} but tectite bending springs should be used but ill give it a go on a scrap piece and see what its like, but yea its good, only downside i think is the bore size and the liners seem abit restrictive ? but otherwise its joints with liners are almost fool proof

 

[tolly]

That's why we use polysure; fittings not cheap, however they are secure

Doesn't Polysure still rely on rubber O-rings to seal though?

I've used a lot of Rehau PEX with there everloc fittings over the last 3 years or so for new builds and prefer that, no grab rings and no rubber O-rings to deteriorate, pipes flared and then a brass sleeve is pulled on to the barbed brass fittings with a machine. I'd imagine its atleast twice as expensive as polysure though.

I would be tempted to look at Buteline if I wanted a cheaper alternative, as again theres no grab rings and no O-rings, the PB pipe is just slid into the barbed fittings and crimped on with there crimp tool which is only £30 or something. Hugely popular in NZ but a few places stock it here now.

 

[Worcester]

Yep they have o-rings, though we've played around a bit and it has sealed up to > 6 bar without them - never took them to destruction, the crimping process works on an annular basis so squeezes / seals/ locks it all round.

At least these kinds of fittings are getting more professional and less diy

Product / component availability is the key element.

 

[jtsplumbing]

just by hand , i thought that you couldnt do it with benders? just my opinion but you know when you use benders on copper it fixes the copper and then pulls/stretch's it around a radius , i didnt think this was suitable for it being pex/al/pex & plus tectite make bending springs for it which is another reason otherwise it does state that bend radius is the same as a bender 4xO.D {think thats the same?} but tectite bending springs should be used but ill give it a go on a scrap piece and see what its like, but yea its good, only downside i think is the bore size and the liners seem abit restrictive ? but otherwise its joints with liners are almost fool proof

Had a chat with rep about it ,was him what told us that you can use a normal bender !! seems to work OK

 

[Staffy85]

Had a chat with rep about it ,was him what told us that you can use a normal bender !! seems to work OK

ah nice, yea using it today my boss put an off cut in the bender to test it out and came out looking alright, good to know cheers,

 

[TFGplumbing]

Hi all,
What are your thoughts and experience on using plastic piping for the central heating run?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Copper all day every day, if the client wants a faster cheaper job i'am not the guy that's going to do it.

 

[Worcester]

Copper all day every day, if the client wants a faster cheaper job i'am not the guy that's going to do it.

One day you'll have no choice as you'll be underpriced by everyone else and all your work will dry up.

I'm not saying it's better or worse; done properly plastic has it's place. Our projects are time and hence labour costs sensitive. Hence we are not looking for shortcuts, we are looking for more efficient ways of doing our work, yet maintaining a very high standard, hence mapress/xpress and polysure.

Our first choice is always copper with xpress; sometimes, plastic is the right solution.

Sure you wouldn't rather be sweating lead pipes together? (Lights touch paper and retires to safe distance )

 

[TFGplumbing]

One day you'll have no choice as you'll be underpriced by everyone else and all your work will dry up.

I'm not saying it's better or worse; done properly plastic has it's place. Our projects are time and hence labour costs sensitive. Hence we are not looking for shortcuts, we are looking for more efficient ways of doing our work, yet maintaining a very high standard, hence mapress/xpress and polysure.

Our first choice is always copper with xpress; sometimes, plastic is the right solution.

Sure you wouldn't rather be sweating lead pipes together? (Lights touch paper and retires to safe distance )

There's always someone cheaper no matter what materials you use. My preference is copper guess iam a dinosaur at the age of 30

 

[DirksPlumbing]

MLCP most of the time (Unipipe and Tectite). I love the fact, it's oxygen tight like a copper pipe and of course the fact, you can bend it but it will not sag if fitted correctly. It is white, no painting needed normally. If the outer layer gets a score it is not the end of the world. You can get it in coils which means no unnecessary joints in attics or underneath floors.
No hassle with rodents either.

That's the kind of bender I am using:
Bing Images

The great thing about Unipipe is the crimping. No tampering, rapid, secure. The pipe sizes can be advance or not. The 20mm is great on HWC with many take offs as it still has a small volume and therefore delivers faster than a Tectite 22mm or worse copper 22mm.

But on a CH backbone I prefer the Tectite 22mm.

Nearly forgotten, the price is similar to plastic.