I'm gluing some water pipes in my basement using Flowguard Gold medium cpvc cement. The instructions say "allow one hour cure before pressure testing". Does that mean that after one hour I can just turn the water on and leave it on? It gives no further instructions about drying time.
The cement I've used usually states the curing time relative to a particular temperature and gives a pressure, eg ok to 120psi after 2 hours at 60F. It takes longer to cure at lower temps. So, as long as you meet the temp spec for the 1 hour cure, and your water is normal pressure, you are good to turn the water back on. Personally, unless there was a critical need, I would wait an extra hour to have extra margin.
Second the extra wait. If there is a leak from the pressure, you will not be able to take the pieces apart, so wait the extra time for cheap insurance.
I gave it a third hour. I wasn't sure whether my basement was above/below
60, it seemed a bit cold and I was too lazy to get out of bed and turn the water on after two hours. An hour later I had to use the boys room, so decided it was time to turn the water on :). 24 hours later, no leaks.Tomorrow - off to Home Depot for some copper pipe parts to replace the plastic so that it never breaks there again.
Speaking of which - is there any real reason to use cpvc over copper, other than it's cheaper and easier to put together? This isn't the first time I've had plastic pipe break, but it is most definitely the last time I'll ever use plastic in my house.
Plastic is fine for drains/ no pressure uses.
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