bathroom plumbing

[Colin Bear]

Hello all

We have just had a bathroom re-fitted professionally. I would be interested in your views re:

15mm Plastic pipe has been used extensively, is this better or worse than copper? Does it need to be lagged ? (it isn't)

We have an inline extractor fan with light in the shower. The fan unit is mounted about half way between the inlet and outlet, a run of about 3m. Does this make any difference to the efficiency? Should the fan be mounted closer to the shower?

thanks!!

Colin

[Palindr☻me]

Better IMH (and not plumber)O - unless a "Victorian Look" bathroom where you want polished copper pipes to show. For dozens of reasons including much lower thermal conductivity.

If you look at the fitting instructions for an inline extractor fan (eg look in

you will see that they show the fan midway along the run.. Not that it really matters, it won't have much effect on the efficiency as the air flows are so low.

[troubleinstore]

Sorry I can't help you with the extractor fan, but can with respect the plastic plumbing. The heating engineer a few years ago installed a combi boiler for us and linked the new pipework to the existing pipework from the old heating system. In the bathroom, the water on the sink takes ages to get upto a decent temperature and wthe bath, well, we decided to have showers instead. I installed a new kitchen earlier this year and used plastic pipe throughout. I connected it very near to the point that the heating engineer did. In the kitchen the water is hotter faster and it stays hotter in the pipes for longer. Some may say that I have short pipe runs, but this is not the case, infact it was out with the old and in with the new. If I wasn't leaving this house next week, I would put plastic plumbing to the bathroom as well. Certainly going to use it in the new house.

-- troubleinstore

[stevej]

Plastic plumbing, breaks the electrical bonding (for earthing) what's people's view on this ?

[Palindr☻me]

The IEE's views may be a bit more useful:

"You do not have to earth plastic pipes. Plastic pipes make for a safer electrical installation and reduce the need for earthing. Festooning an installation that has been plumbed in plastic pipe with green and yellow earth wire is not necessary and is likely to reduce the level of electrical safety of the property, not increase it."

[stevej]

Thanks for the link, this is something I have wondered for sometime as I have used a few speedfit joins here and there.

cheers Steve

[Palindr☻me]

You are welcome - however, the link considers installations where there are lengths of plastic pipe installed - not installations with copper pipes and the odd plastic joint. It is a length of plastic pipe (even when full of water) that provides a high resistance and thus limits the severity of an electric shock. If you don't have a significant length of plastic pipe then I would suggest treating it as all copper, as you won't have the current limiting effect.

[Ian_m]

When I fitted a shower pump in the airing cupboard using plastic pipes to "intercept" the hot and cold shower feeds, the shower pump leaflet advised bonding the now isolated sections of copper pipe together.