What are the types of water supply pipes?

ARTICLE CONTENT

Types of water supply pipes

1. PVC pipe & fittings

PVC full name is polyvinyl chloride. Its color is usually white, but there are other colors. Of course, you can also use the other colors and signs on the pipeline to distinguish them from the difference. For example, there is a black line of purple tubes that are dedicated to recovering water.

Among the all round plastic pipes used for water supply and drainage, PVC is the most frequently used, such as plumbing water and drainage systems. Of course, it is mainly used for irrigation and domestic water. In addition, PVC in the use of swimming pools and some spa systems are also common. Most importantly, different thickness of the PVC tube, the use is not the same. The most popular thickness standard is SCH40.

PVC water supply pipe is usually used in cold water, in many countries, the local government and the relevant departments to prohibit PVC pipes for hot water. Because PVC pipe can withstand the maximum temperature is 75 ℃, if used for hot water, the temperature is too high, PVC may melt. So if you want to use PVC pipe for hot water, we must first confirm whether the customer’s government restrictions.

If the PVC water supply pipe is used in the same building, in order to distinguish between the plumbing water system and the drainage system, the PVC pipe is labeled accordingly.

PVC pipes are connected with PVC glue.

2. CPVC pipe & fittings

CPVC full name is chlorinated polyvinyl chloride. Its color is usually ivory. The CPVC water supply pipe is usually able to withstand a maximum temperature of 110 °C, so it is often used in household water supply (hot water & cold water) CPVC embedded in the thread standard and copper and PEX thread standards, so they can be universal.

CPVC glue is usually used CPVC connection, it should be noted that, CPVC glue and PVC glue material is not the same, the two can’t be mixed. The color of the CPVC glue is usually not the same as the color of the PVC glue, so we can also distinguish it according to the color.

3. PEX pipe & fittings

PEX full name is cross-linked polyethylene, but usually referred to as PEX. PEX water supply pipe is usually used for domestic drinking water, either for cold water or for hot water.

PEX is now more and more widely used, because its price is very advantageous, and very durable.

PEX can be connected in many different ways, such as push-in connections, or PEX tools.

4. Brass pipe & fittings

Brass water supply pipe is mainly used for cold and hot water, and often used in air conditioning systems. Previously the brass tube was also used for natural gas pipelines, but slowly, more and more people in the area did not accept the use of brass for natural gas.

Brass can not only be used on the ground, but also can be used for underground. But may be affected by the soil, for the underground copper water supply pipe, usually with some sleeve to play a protective role.

As the price of copper is very expensive, and the installation is more complex, copper slowly replaced by PEX or other pipes.

Copper tubes have different thicknesses, and their thickness grades are divided into M, L and K. Where M is the thinnest wall thickness in the copper tube.

5. Galvanized pipe & fittings

The water supply tube surface is usually plated or galvanized. The surface coating of this galvanized water supply pipe is usually intended to prevent water from corroding the tube. Due to the relatively cumbersome cutting and installation, the family rarely use these water supply tubes.

Galvanized water supply pipe has been regarded as a safe drinking water transport pipeline. If you see the old house before the 1970s, you will find that there are a lot of galvanized water supply pipes in these old houses.