Expected Life-span Of Blue Pvc Water Pipes

[wpcoe]

What is the expected life-span of the ubiquitious blue PVC piping used for water and sewage?

What happens when such life-span is reached and the piping is encased in concrete, such as in a floor or wall?

[Rinrada]

if not disturbed..undue stress etc......100 years plus......

[GungaDin]

I'm going nuts trying to find 19 & 25mm White PVC piping.

End use is not for water.

[fremmel]

Global House has white PVC, along with yellow, in those sizes in the electrical conduit section. If you're talking about white CPVC for higher temperature stuff, I've never been able to find that.

[GungaDin]

Hi fremmel.

That sounds good. E-Conduit would do fine

I can't find a bkk address for them at globalhouse.co.th

Also, I can't read Thai, maybe that's why!

cheers.

[Crossy]

if not disturbed..undue stress etc......100 years plus......

I concur with the above. However when exposed to sunlight its life can be considerably reduced becoming bleached and brittle (at least it's easily replaced). The better quality stuff is apparently UV stable but I've no idea how to tell what we've got simply by looking at it

The main issue we've seen is poorly made joins such as:- pipes too short to reach the fittings properly, insufficient glue, glue applied with oily fingers or to dirty pipe (or a combination of any / all), the whole lot then buried in concrete and forgotten until it starts leaking

[wpcoe]

Thanks for the reassurance. Even with the caveats that Crossy brought up, I think I'll not worry about this.

Another PVC question, though: Is there a difference between the different color pipes? Is it simply a matter of color coding so that if you see a yellow one you expect it to have wires, and if you see a blue one you expect water? When the local handyman buried my previously on-the-wall-surface wires into the bricks, he used blue PVC ... is that a problem?

[Gary A]

Our local village shop has two grades of blue PVC. One is cheap and thin walled. The other is easily recognized because of the thicker wall. The budget grade will quickly get brittle if exposed to the sun and will break very easily even if just stepped on. Both are the same color.

[steelepulse]

You can always use the black PE which costs more, but supposedly will last a whole lot longer.

[Naam]

there is also a thick-walled green pipe available (suitable for high pressure und temperatures above water boiling point). never saw it in the market but it was used when my pool heating was installed.

[mdechgan]

PVC pipes will last a very long time if not exposed to UV.

Its the glue that fails.

If its in a wall and you have a leak no choice but to just break down the wall.

[marshbags]

PVC pipes will last a very long time if not exposed to UV.

Its the glue that fails.

If its in a wall and you have a leak no choice but to just break down the wall.

After cutting off the supply... ...O.k. just joking

Re routing the piping is the way to go and the cost / time factor is minimal.

Pipiing, even of the better quality is not going to be so expensive, even on a longer route.

IMHO of course.

marshbags

[Boksida]

I get all the information I need (except price) on Thai PVC and HDPE pipe at this site.

[harry]

Apart from price.... would it not be better to use steel (caoted or not) or copper piping for water. I think it is a no worries solution, or not?

regards,

harry

[Gary A]

Apart from price.... would it not be better to use steel (caoted or not) or copper piping for water. I think it is a no worries solution, or not?

regards,

harry

About 15 years ago a friend of mine built his house along with outbuildings which contained showers, toilets and a kitchen. He used black pipe in the house rather than galvanized because the quality of Thai galvanized is VERY poor. He used all PVC in the outbuildings. The plumbing in the house has rusted and corroded and all must be replaced. The plastic in the outbuildings is still in good condition.

[GungaDin]

Global House has white PVC, along with yellow, in those sizes in the electrical conduit section. If you're talking about white CPVC for higher temperature stuff, I've never been able to find that.

I had the pleasure of visiting a Home Pro store on Sunday, for the first time.

What a civilised place! I can add them to Fremmel's short list.

Loads of white PVC pipe, 19mm & 25mm, whether it's UV stabilised or not, I don't know.

19mm is only 54bt for a 3m length plus all the joints.

Just what I needed.....

[hansnl]

What is the expected life-span of the ubiquitious blue PVC piping used for water and sewage?

What happens when such life-span is reached and the piping is encased in concrete, such as in a floor or wall?

What the life span might be, I have no idea.

In Global House two qualities of blue water pipe are available, guess the best quality stays the best.

I also know in a house we rent out, 14 years old, all of a sudden the water meter went beserk, in one month 84 m3.

Normal was about 4-5 m3

Most of the piping was inside the concrete or under the floor, finding the leak was impossible.

New piping, the expensive quality, not inside the concrete.

Maybe encasing the piping into concrete makes it less vulnerable maybe more vulnerable, who knows.

However, the same material is used in The Netherlands for waste water.

In my house in Gouda the PVC wastewater piping is there already for 30+ years, and no problem.

So I guess PVC piping is ok, and there for quite a long time.

Copper piping would be better, but I have no idea if available in Thailand.

Edited March 21, 2009 by hansnl

[Pdaz]

Apart from price.... would it not be better to use steel (caoted or not) or copper piping for water. I think it is a no worries solution, or not?

regards,

harry

Be great fun to watch Somchai the plumber try to glue it together....

[canopy]

PVC breaks down when exposed to sun. This results in toxins leaching into the water. It is a code violation in the US for PVC used for drinking water to be exposed to sun. Another vulnerability of PVC is fire that would not be the case say with copper.

[longball53098]

Copper pipe and fittings are available here.

Copper Pipe

I sent for and got a quote from this company for pipe for my new house. They answered my questions as asked.

I decided to go with the blue pvc in the 13.5 class rating as its cheaper and easier for my builder to install. I insist that we closely monitor the gluing of all joints and fittings and use the higher grade of glue

[Artisi]

For peace of mind, I would always install copper pipe and fittings internal of the house, especially if run in the walls or to be encased in concrete etc. PVC outside is Ok, at least you can get to it in case of any failure.

Edited March 22, 2009 by Artisi

[phaethon]

if not disturbed..undue stress etc......100 years plus......

On my soi the life expecancy is about three days - they laid it over the top of the footpath, so obviously it gets run over by vehicles a few thousand times a day. Then they 'repair' it by wrapping bicycle tyre inner tubes around it and when they leak they heap sandbags on top... so it's probably good for another couple of weeks

[hardy1943]

PVC pipes will last a very long time if not exposed to UV.

Its the glue that fails.

If its in a wall and you have a leak no choice but to just break down the wall.

The reason the glue fails because they dip there finger in the glue and then apply it.

First time I was told that, I thought they where joking, there are not it is very easy to go along

and twist each joint and break it loose. In the US one uses pipe cleaner first and then apply it with a brush.

Here a dirty clay finger is good enough. It is also very toxic and will be absorb thru the skin.

I having a house build right now and I insisted that they will clean everything with sand paper and then

apply it with a brush.

[tatom]

I think pvc should never be encased in concrete. When the concrete cracks and moves it will crack the pipe as well. When burried in soil, the pipe can move without breaking.