Advantages and features of using polypropylene
With all the abundance of building materials, polypropylene is the most popular in plumbing. What qualities does he have?
Advantages include:
- Resistance to corrosion, as the plastic does not rust;
- Resistance to mechanical stress;
- Smooth inner surface does not allow accumulation of lime scale;
- Do not enter into chemical reactions with liquids, which is convenient for use in the aqueduct;
- Service life up to 50 years;
- Low noise conductivity even with strong water pressure;
- Light weight with respect to steel or cast iron counterparts;
- Affordable price.
When buying polymeric structures, be sure to pay attention to the marking, because all pipes are classified according to the classes: rigidity, operation and purpose. All these classes regulate the scope of the pipes at certain temperatures and usage characteristics.
Ways of connecting polypropylene pipes
Another argument in favor of replacing metal pipes with polypropylene is the ease of their installation, since polymer pipes are connected in a very simple way in several ways:
- Fittings( tees);
- Soldering iron;
- Adhesive.
The easiest way is to use connecting parts that are fastened for a few minutes. Special tools for this are not required, enough of the usual set of home master.
Alternatively, you can use solder joints to join joints, in which case the seam will be better and more reliable. In this case, the pipes must be absolutely dry and clean, which will ensure their tightness. When working with a soldering iron, you must carefully check that there is no overheating, which can lead to deformation of the joints. The optimum heating temperature corresponds to 270 degrees. After heating, the parts are connected to each other and fixed until they cool down completely.
Bonding of structures is performed by a special means, which is alternately applied first to the pipe, and then to the inner surface of the coupling. After that, they are connected together and fixed for some time.
Step-by-step installation
- Using a hacksaw, cut a piece of pipe of the correct size;
- The butt is peeled off with burrs and roughness by sandpaper or sharp knife;
- Markers draw marks at the joints of the pipe and tee;
- With the aid of a soldering iron with nozzles, the heating elements are heated;
- After heating the parts to a certain temperature, they quickly attach to each other. At this stage, you need to be extremely careful to avoid distortion.
- Then the fixed structure cools down for one minute;
In this way, all other parts of the pipeline can be connected together.
If you do not have a soldering iron on hand, you can do just the connecting elements. For this purpose, a special coupling is established, consisting of a metal fitting and a plastic section. It is important to remember that the metal edge connects to the threaded connector on the meter, and the plastic one directly to the pipeline. All other parts are connected by a constructor principle with fastening fittings.
The final step is to start the water in the system and check the seams for the presence or absence of leaks.
