copper or cpvc water pipes?

[Zootal]

My house has cpvc water pipes - the person who owned it before me re-plumbed the house and this is what he used. Is this superior to copper? Is one preferred over the other?

[Harry K]

For durability, I doubt there is much difference. Copper will corode and CPVC won't but...

For ease of maintenance and making changes, it is CPVC hands down.

Harry K

[Zootal]

I've always used copper. Very durable and strong. If I have to change something, I solder them together, ready to go, no waiting for glue to dry. However, gluing is admittedly faster and easier then soldering, and modern pvc glues dry in full strength in a few hours. How strong is cpvc? I'm afraid I'll accidently hit the pipe and break it, or twisting it when I thread a fitting on and break it. I keep thinking of PVC, which is relatively brittle.

[hallerb]

Well plastic wouldnt get ripped off!

My dad used to rent homes in phoenix, he had to go all plastic since tenants would steal the copper pipes and everything else of value out of the homes....

with todays high copper prices people are finding their gutters downspouts and other copper stuff has grown feet and left the building:(

Plastic is safe at least for now:)

[gfretwell]

The blue stuff is ready in a minute or so.

If it hasn't been out in the sun for 10 years I am not sure how you would break it.

Again, only if it has been out in the sun a long time. People build lawn furniture out of PVC

[Zootal]

Hmmm...learn something new every day. Full pressure in a few minutes?

I've seen PVC chairs collapse. But it didn't break - it was just too thin, and could not hold the weight.

[Sacramento Dave]

PVC gets brittle in time especially in sun light ( you should always paint it) definitely never use it for air lines regardless of what any body says. Now CPVC I have never used for water but have used it for chemical lines, I'm not sure if it gets brittle over time. Myself I'll stick with copper but there are situations plastic is better ( pools, chemical lines, waste from soda machines ) This is pretty interesting

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, And weak to hot temp. Now they use PEX tubing.

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

I've always used copper as well. In saying that however, I just had to re-route water lines and install and aerator etc.... I found the selection of copper fittings to be rather poor and the prices were outrageous. Have you priced a 10' stick of 3/4 Type L recently? $34! And the fittings are all running a few bucks on up (each). So I could definitely see the advantages of CPVC given what appeared to be a better selection of fittings and much, much cheaper. For the odd bit I do, I'll prolly stick with Cu but if I were outfitting a whole house, I'd sure be looking at plastic! Cheers, cc

ps. I prolly just like copper cause of the torch and such.....just don't get the same effect with a little stick with glue on it :)

[gfretwell]

They call it "wet or dry". Irrigation techs usually turn the pumps back on as soon as they can walk back to the switch. They say it is good in 30 seconds but I think a couple minutes is a better number. I know you can't pull a pipe joint apart after a minute or so.

[Bates]

I've been planning to re-plumb most of an old house we bought in my home town for vacations, using pex products. My investigation so far hasn't revealed much in the way of negatives about pex pipe. The Lowes around here are stocking a good selection of Zurn brand pex pipe, fittings and tools. BTW, Zurn now has a new tool, and new crimp rings, so one needs only the one (expensive) tool to do 4 sizes of tubing. The new tool is the kind that pinches an ear on the crimp ring, as opposed to the tools that surround and squeeze the entire ring. That means that it can be a bit smaller, and thus fit into some tighter spaces. Ease of installation, resistance to freezing, and manifold type of installation seem to be pluses to me. If anyone has had bad luck with pex, I'm probably not the only one who would like to hear of it. I'm getting ready to puchase the tools and supplies pretty soon. Home Depot seems completely unaware of pex plumbing, and Menards home centers do carry pex (Durapex), but perhaps not as complete a set as that of Lowes. Thanks for any input.

Bates

[Alan]

I replaced most of my old rusty galvanized pipes under the crawl space with oversized copper pipe when prices for copper hit rock bottom just a few years back. But, I also used pex tubing for my radiant floor system around the same date, due to concerns about concrete/copper chemical reactions. Pex won't collect so much calcium/magnesium on the interior of the pipe I understand either, so for long term plumbing like the radiant floor, I had no choice.

I found the pex to be relatively easy to work with because fewer joints are required. The tubing can bend around wide corners, and squeaking is a thing of the past with this material. Be careful not to pinch the hose when bending, or a weak spot will develop. If necessary, a little heat will make the Pex rebound to new though. I used stainless steel hose clamps and brass fitings for connections with the pex and haven't found any problems. Heat the Pex slightly, and it will fit over the barbed fitings, and then when cool fits pretty tight anyway. The new fittings probably are better, but it's not a big deal. The only problem with Pex that I've heard of is under very high temperature situations. If your solar water flows through at temperatures above

180F, I'd be worried about a meltdown, but I run 140F through my system all the time without concern. Copper won't face this high temp problem, so I'd probably use copper for solar panel and hot water heater connections.

As for using PVC or anything related to that inside the house, I wouldn't do it. Outside, for irrigation lines, and maybe even for the main water line leading to the house, yes, but a burst water pipe in the wrong place is a real expensive nightmare to be avoided at almost any cost. PVC degrades much faster in sunlight, but it does dry out even in the dark, and becomes brittle over time regardless, and so shouldn't be used inside the house. I still used soft copper tubing for a recent water main to house connection. Even though it's buried two feet down, I still worry that seismic or shovel action could crack PVC.

If you can afford c> I've been planning to re-plumb most of an old house we bought in my

[Alan]

I forgot to add--No, copper will not corrode. There are some houses with copper lines that are over a hundred years old and still working fine. The Gothic cathedrals of Europe have copper roofs that are nearly a thousand years old. It does however allow for build-up of mineral deposits inside the hot water tubing, that can be a nuisance in maybe 50 years or so, depending upon how bad your local water supply is. Use plastic, copper hangers with brass screws, or wrap electrical tape around the pipe if steel straps are used, as copper will produce electrolysis and corrode other metals when in direct contact with them.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Certain water supplies have had a corrosive effect on copper. This is mostly in the south western states. People have had problems after 20 years.

[Sacramento Dave]

Over sizing pipes can cause more wait time for hot water. Larger pipe= more volume to move, especially these days with all the low flow fixtures. PEX is fine until a Rodent decides to bite in and that dose happen. You need to have someone size the system for you it is all based on fixture unites( Lavi = 1 fixture unite) there is some science to it.

[Stormin Mormon]

Seen the price of copper, lately?

[Stormin Mormon]

I have seen corroded copper.

If copper doesn't corrode, why do we have to sandscreen and wirebrush it before we sweat?

[gfretwell]

You should talk to the people in Cape Coral Florida. They have plenty of pinholed copper piper..

[HerHusband]

I chose CPVC piping when I plumbed our house a couple of years ago.

I decided against copper because we have acidic water that can cause pinhole leaks in the pipe over time. It also takes a bit of skill and practice to solder copper fittings, and there's always a small risk of starting a house fire with the torch. Copper pipe is also rather expensive these days.

PEX was my second choice, but very few stores in my area stocked it. If I needed to make an emergency repair or small addition, I may not be able to find the pipe or fittings nearby. PEX also required a special crimping tool that was rather expensive at the time.

In the end, I chose CPVC pipe. It won't corrode like copper, and doesn't require any special tools to install. It's inexpensive, and widely available at any home center or local hardware store. It's quick to install, and very easy to work with.

Anthony

[scott21230]

The builders use that plastic stuff because it's cheaper, and even a Mexican can install it. Other than that, it has no real advantage over copper. The slight flexability of copper may make it advantageous in some circumstances. Both are fairly reliable, but I have my doubts about threads on anything plastic. Obviously copper will cost more. I would probably not mix the two types in a house.