Need to connect old plastic BS3505 pipe to modern pipework

We have a flat which was originally plumbed with BS3505 plastic pipes.

I need to re-plumb a section which starts as the old BS3505 pipe and ends with modern 15mm push fit. The re-plumbing will involve removing the existing converter from old to new. As the BS3505 bits are glued (solvent welded) I can't re-use the converter very easily.

So, where can I get some sort of converter to go from the old plastic pipe to modern sizes? I can't find anything about BS3505 at BES and a Google Shopping search tells me nothing except that a copy of the standard will cost me £92! :-)

The old pipe is marked:-

Yorkshire Imperial Polyorcb BS3505 1/2" CL E

(Not absolutely sure about some of that)

Reply to
tinnews
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Never come across this before and don't know about converters, but from BS

3505:1986, the pipe is UPVC and for half inch nominal, the OD is 21.2 to 21.5 mm and the wall thickness 2.1 mm. It's rated to 15 bar.

If you've access to machine tools, you could buy a short length of solid UPVC round bar from ebay, bore one end to take the old pipe and tap the other end to take a suitable modern brass fitting. Then glue the old pipe into your new converter making sure you use cement intended for PVC (not ABS).

I don't know if you might just get away with a modern 22 mm push fit connector. But I suspect that if a 22 mm insert was a reasonably snug fit, you might get away with using a 22 mm compression fitting (with a metal olive) on it. Don't try it without an insert, though.

Reply to
newshound

Sizes as BS3505.

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like just normal Imperial Size Pipe.

Baz

Reply to
Baz

Search BES for 3505, not BS3505, and it comes up with one fitting, which may be a start...

Reply to
Kevin Poole

Is that the plastic that's just a bit bigger than 15mm?

My local plumbers merchant in Wellington sells them - there are quite a few houses round here that still have some of the old stuff and he keeps a few fittings handy. They're under a tenner - not cheap but you hardly ever need one.

Go ask at the local proper trade place - take a scrap of pipe if you can.

Reply to
Skipweasel

Yes, I found that much too.

That's one approach I suppose!

A 22mm insert will be nothing like the right size will it? The walls of the BS3505 pipe are *much* thicker than 22mm push fit plastic pipe aren't they?

Reply to
tinnews

So what fits it? It's neither 1/2" nor 3/4" so the normal 1/2" to

15mm or 3/4" to 22mm adapters won't help.
Reply to
tinnews

Yes, I found that later, it goes from the BS3505 to 25mm MDPE which I suppose I can then adapt to 15mm copper but it'll be a bit of a mess. I was hoping for something simpler.

Reply to
tinnews

No, it's around 21.5mm diameter.

Reply to
tinnews

Ah - different kettle of fish. Sorry.

Reply to
Skipweasel

You need to go to the best local Plumbers Merchant. Not BES or PTS chains, an independent who has been there a long time.

It'll probably be a pipe from the early 70's when copper was in short supply. The merchants will keep the couplings to fit to copper pipe.

There are 2 or 3 estates here in Leicester that have old plastic pipe coming into the house, i have one of the convertors here, the OD of the plastic is around 17mm. There is one of the local merchants who keep these in stock, no-one else knows what they are (probably as the staff were'nt born in the 70's). A place 10 miles away is unlikely to have heard of them, as they didnt use the same pipe there.

Yours sounds very like the nickel plated steel pipe that was available at the time too. This is just a bit smaller than both 3/4 and 22mm.

Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

That will be BS 3505:1986 "3/8", which is 17.0 to 17.3 OD

There is one of the local merchants who keep

Reply to
newshound

Very good call. Looks like part 10173 takes you to 25 mm MDPE (i.e. "modern" rising mains pipe)

Reply to
newshound

Chris .. if you measure OD and ID and post the result, a suitable fitting can be suggested.

Reply to
Rick Hughes

Well this is DIY!

Bore of your obsolete pipe will be about 17.0 mm. From samples of 1 from my spares, Acorn insert is 17.5, Speedfit is 17.7. But if your OD is no more than 21.5 then an Acorn insert will take the OD up to 22.0 and I'm sure you can persuade a compression fitting on to that. If your OD is at the bottom end of tolerance, then even the larger and more readily available Speedfit is probably OK, especially if you remove the smaller O ring. May be worth warming up your plastic parts gently. THIS IS UK-DIY!

Reply to
newshound

IIRC imperial pipe measures the ID, metric the OD.

17OD - (2 wall x 2) = 13 pretty close to 1/2"... 1/2" compression would take up the slack but finding an insert might be fun get the tightest fitting one you can.
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Actually, on trying it (I've found an old bit of the BS3505 pipe too!) Speedfit inserts fit the pipe perfectly and it feels like Speedfit will actually work 'as is'.

Reply to
tinnews

As noted way back at the beginning the OD is 21.5 mm.

It's so close to 22mm push-fit that I think I may get away with using some 22mm push fit.

Alternatively I have found that solvent weld 21.5mm overflow fittings are a good fit too.

The object of the exercise is to remove about 10 feet of redundant (and wobbly) pipework that runs up the side of a cupboard and then back down again. It used to fill a hot water cylinder at the top of the cupboard, now it's just the mains feed to a combi boiler that's elsewehere.

Thus it may be that the easiest way to do the job is to re-use the existing old plastic to 15mm connection (which is perfectly sound), cut out all the redundant intermediate bit and rejoin the two old plastic ends with a 21.5mm solvent weld fitting. I wouldn't use an overflow *pipe* for mains pressure but the simple solvent weld straight join will be almost totally supported by the inserted ends of the existing pipe so I'm sure it'll be strong enough.

Reply to
tinnews

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