Pipes For Hot Water

[Etrigan]

Planning to install a multipoint to supply kitchen sink and lower-upper floor showers with hot water. The local Home-Pro didn't sound confident regarding installation.

Any tips, recommendations, or contacts for plumbers/installers would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[apetley]

Don't know where you are but if your in Kanchanaburi I know a very good plumber.

Copper pipe seems to be very hard to source outside of Bangkok so I am using some other metal pipe that is more readily available locally.

Here's a pic if your interested.

http://coolthaihouse.com/forum/viewtopic.p...c&start=150

[oldgit]

Planning to install a multipoint to supply kitchen sink and lower-upper floor showers with hot water. The local Home-Pro didn't sound confident regarding installation.

Any tips, recommendations, or contacts for plumbers/installers would be appreciated.

Thanks.

For a gravity fed system,the multipoint must be installed higher than the basins and sinks it is serving,possibly inside the roof space with access for maintenance.If this is not possible,a booster pump will be neccessary.Make sure the multipoint you get is the right capacity to serve all the appliances,also some are tank fed and some are mains.My experience of HomePro is you'd be lucky to get one person who knows what he's talking about.Ask around locally in a Thai plumbing store where it is in their interest to know their business.

[Gary A]

This story starts fifteen years ago. A friend of mine built his house and faced exactly the same problem. He was appalled at the quality of galvanized pipe and copper was no where to be found. He settled on what is commonly called black iron pipe.

Now for the end of the story. The black iron pipe has lasted fifteen years and has now reached the end of its life. It is springing leaks everywhere.

I might add that he did find some copper sweated joints and copper pipe. Due to the well water properties, it only lasted a few years. His conclusion is to continue to use black iron and completely avoid copper.

[Franz]

Planning to install a multipoint to supply kitchen sink and lower-upper floor showers with hot water. The local Home-Pro didn't sound confident regarding installation.

Any tips, recommendations, or contacts for plumbers/installers would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Franz]

Hi,

if you are in the Isan you can contact Thai German Solar. They do professional piping as well as solar hot water

Franz

Thai German Solar Co. Ltd.

043449499

[kamalabob2]

PE Lined Steel Pipe is readily available in Thailand in many locations. Syler is the Brand name with information at

www.thaippr.com They have at least one staff member who Understands and speaks English. They will mail you a printed color catalog with a price list. I have seen this specific product at various stores, some very small in Buriram, some large such as Home Works in Bangkok. Now the "trick" is will the seller cut on site, or how accurate are measurements when cut at a dealership with the proper cutting tool? Believe me that is a huge part of the success of this type of product.

We have Syler PE lined steel Hot Water pipes connected from our Stiebel Eltron Multi Point Hot Water Heaters going to all showers, bathtubs and sinks. No leaks so far even with a High pressure water supply. When I attended the Architect Expo at Impact Convention Center in late April 2008 I noted that there were at least five different "pipe" companies with booths similar to Syler. I believe Syler has "dealers" who will come to your home, take accurate measurements, cut on site with the proper tools and install the pipes. It is worth checking into this option in my opinion.

[cgjtt]

We intend to install a hot water system using solar heating. For the water lines, It was suggested using Thai PPR, more specificly the 95' product. What I'm refering is the same as what kamalabob2 is refering to. Though, I was told not to install the steel lined pipes. Why not steel lined, the 95'c stuff is cheaper than the steel lined pipes and much easier to install, although you still need the proper equipment. My hot water guy has always used this particular product in homes and remarks that it is trouble free.

If anyone has a different opinion, I would very much like to know, as I should be installing the stuff very soon.

[Etrigan]

Thanks for the info. I didn't realise just how difficult it could become for something I always assumed was so straightforward.

I worry about long term pipe cracks in the inaccessible areas between ground and first floor. Due to this, I am starting to think that it might be better to install two seperate hot water systems for the two floors. Although more costly, it just seems more "do-able" and less risky in terms of damage should cracks appear.

I contacted the thaippr and still await their reply. Lack of communication leaves me with wondering just how "pro" this company is.

Ideas, anyone, please?

Thanks again.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

We rented a house that had central hot water. It took forever to reach the 2nd floor master BR. I could turn on the hot water in the shower, brush my teeth and shave before the hot water got there. Huge waste of water.

In the place we have now we have a water heater for each bathroom and the kitchen. No waiting for the hot water to arrive.

[longgone]

just finished building a house just outside Sukhothai we installed hot water using insulated plastic/aluminium pipes

try asking at air conditioning installers as they use this pipe.

we paid 450 baht per meter that included all fittings . 2 bathrooms (sink, shower & bath ) + 3 tap off points in the kitchen

we live in a village (water keeps being cut off) we used a 1000 ltr. water tank and pump whole lot cost 26000 baht including a 100 ltr. water heater.

[fremmel]

The HomeMart Max on the ring road in Udon has a plastic pipe system that's supposed to be rated to 90 degrees C. I didn't collect much info on it but the details as best I recall the salesman telling me are that 4 meter lengths were 450 baht, fittings are around 50, and the daily rental of the machine to make the fusion welds for the fittings is 185/day.

[chiangmaibruce]

OK I would put forward a different perspective and say maybe don't even bother with a separate hot water plumbing system. If I had my time again I don't think I would.

First, our situation. We have a small cottage, 2 storey but all plumbing on the ground level. I installed a separate hot water system at the same time we did a major renovation including building a new & larger western style bathroom. I put in an Everhot electric system and galvanised pipes (insulation jacket for the hot pipes). As the pipes had to run under the new slab floor for the bathroom, I duplicated the pipes. That is, I put in separate hot and cold pipes for the kitchen/laundry and for the bathroom. The idea was that if there was a blockage or failure of one set then we could isolate those pipes and run everything of the other set. The builder was hopeless and the plumber likewise (we sacked the first plumber and the second was only a little better). I didn't have time to research the pipes issue as was too busy stopping the constant errors in construction that were going on at the time all the time

Now a few years down the track and after fixing many small leaks ... it all works ok but,

* we worry all the time that our little boy will push the shower mixer across to hot and get scalded (we have turned it down on the heater but it is still very hot)

* much of the year it is so warm that we hardly need to use any hot water in the shower anyway

* the electric bill is pretty high & we would rather spend it on aircon than keeping a big tank of hot water heated

* we have never used hot water at the laundry tub (or for clothes washing) & I doubt we ever use hot water in the bathroom basin either.

* my wife and any other thai people only ever use cold water for washing in the sink (only the funny farang does the rubber gloves and sink full of hot water + suds thing)

So all in all we could have quite happily got by with two of those Thai wall-mounted instant water heaters with money saved and worries reduced ....

- CB

[Crossy]

We don't use huge volumes of hot, so we're going with individual instant electric or gas heaters with a solar pre-heat. Hopefully the heaters won't even kick in during summer

[longball53098]

Planning to install a multipoint to supply kitchen sink and lower-upper floor showers with hot water. The local Home-Pro didn't sound confident regarding installation.

Any tips, recommendations, or contacts for plumbers/installers would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hey check out this type of plumbing----------------->>>>>>>>>maybe it is something you can use?

http://siamgpi.com/solarpower/wavin.html

[Iolare]

I’m using PPR, the green pipe and fittings, for the hot side of the water piping system in the house Im building. You need to use an electrically powered heating device that melts the fittings and ends of he pipe enough to allow them to be fused together. It was quite easy to use, and it seemed to me to be the best solution after considering plastic lined galvanized pipe and copper as the other alternatives.

[thatguy]

http://www.polybutylene.com/

[dotcom]

Is copper hot water pipe available in Thailand or not?

[longball53098]

http://www.cranecopper.com.au/agents/thailand.asp

[ClaudeFeller]

Copper pipes are terrible to install. PPR is very easy and maybe the best choice. A friend of mine is now using flexible pipes with plastic fittings - I wonder about lifetime.

[longball53098]

http://siamgpi.com/solarpower/wavin.html

Looks like a great alternative,,,,,,,,,,I wonder about cost?

[Cuban]

Is copper hot water pipe available in Thailand or not?

I believe it is available, but considering that few Thai homes use it, it will not be commonly available or as cheap as in countries that use it for hot water based central heating. The copper pipes that are used for air conditioning in Thailand have, I understand, thinner walls than pipes used for hot water.

An earlier thread on the same subject.

Another link for a supplier. - Contact.

HTH