Projected lifespan of pushfix plumbing?

Do manufacturers quote mean time to failure of pushfit plumbing? I'm trying to decide whether to do some re-plumbing using trad methods or some more of this new new fangled stuff.

Peter.

Reply to
Peter
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In the larger B&Qs they have a least 3 ranges of pushfit. The quoted life span is up to 50 years. Thats for the Equator range the others are 25-30years

Reply to
BillR

So reckon on ten to be safe!

Reply to
Peter Crosland

In message , Peter Crosland writes

Well, at least 'till xmas eve

Reply to
geoff

Upto?? Then why would one buy this stuff?

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

The Hep2O flexible Push Fit Plumbing System has a design life in excess of

50 years when installed in normal domestic central heating or hot and cold water services, and carries a 50 year guarantee against defects in materials or manufacturing.

The Hep2O system (previously Acorn) has been manufactured and used for 25 years.

Further informtion is at: -

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Hepworth Plumbing Products Team

-- Tel: +44 (0)1709 856 300 |Hepworth Plumbing Products Fax: +44 (0)1709 856 301 |Edlington Lane, Edlington Email: snipped-for-privacy@hepworthplumbing.co.uk |Doncaster, UK

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|DN12 1BY

Reply to
Hepworth Plumbing Products

Hi

It seems crazy to me to save an hours work and fit something that may flood the place 20 years later. I wouldn't touch it myself.

The future can seem a long way off, but it comes anyway. Imagine if you'd fitted pushfit in 1972, thinking 'millennium? hah' and now got flooded from it. Not for me thanks.

Proper pipework fittings are a) known to work well from experience b) have a very long life c) are a bit more work, but not much.

Some things are no big if they fail, but plumbing has consequences out of all proportion to its cost.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

If Mr or Ms Hep can provide a) independant data that shows pushfit to be as reliable as solder, solvent and compression and b) a 50 year guarantee that covers damage to the house and will still be genuinely claimable on in 50 years time

then I might well be convinced.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

I'd be dubious about the longevity of the o-ring seal. Normally, I see up to perhaps ~20 years life of those in similar circumstances.

d) need [more] skilled workforce to correctly assemble. This is the big one -- plumbers have become impossible to get hold of. (A friend having an extension built has been told by the builder that he will not be able to get a plumber to do the plumbine parts, due to extremely short supply.) A less skilled workforce can probably do a more reliable pushfit installation than they could a soldered copper one.

Personally, as my DIY time is free and I can do soldered copper fittings without any problems, that is what I use. However, I can see a market for pushfit.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

I use pushfit because I'm crap at soldering and haven't got the time and resource to practice until I'm any good - most often a job needs to be done NOW, like today when I unscrewed a floorboard and discovered that a year ago I'd managed to screw into the cold water pipe that feeds the bath :)

As an aside I was in the local plumbers merchants for another reason (bloody 1 1/4" waste on the bath innit) and noticed ALL the current plumbing products, even Kuterlite and Yorkshire, were guaranteed for

25 years. Doesn't that drop us into a swings/roundabouts scenario?

cheers

witchy/binarydinosaurs

Reply to
Witchy

The time-cost justifications change when you are getting paid a fixed price to do the job.

20 years would be quite enough to get me out of the house and paid 8-).
Reply to
Ed Sirett

Yup, tho compression would be as easy as pushfit, skill wise. A compressed metal ring should last way better than a rubber washer.

Me too, but once you understand the ins and outs of it I still can't see a reason to choose it. I suspect it may become one of those no-nos like aluminium wiring. They seemed like a good idea at the time, but with a bit more thought we could have avoided them. I can see plumbers in 30 years saying 'pushfit? well you'll need that replumbed for your insurance to be valid'

Having said that, pushfit used for external downpipes shouldn't matter too much if they leak.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

I tend to agree. What the makers seem to be saying is it has roughly the same lifespan as elctrical wiring (give or take a decade or 2). Thus in future having a house re-plumbed for insurance purposes will be as standard a proceeedure as re-wireing is now.

I think i'll carry on doing what I'm doing now - use pushfit when in a hurry on easily accessable areas and copper when doing a proper job.

Thanks to everybody for their contributions.

Peter.

Reply to
Peter

message news:...

Has anyone seen a guarantee for Bosswhite and Hemp or CAF joints? I think there is just as much chance if not more that EPDM seals will be around and giving good service for longer than Hemp or other fibres

YMMV

Reply to
John

Organic rubber degrades after 30 years or so. Butyls are probably good for longer.

Thats what the pipes and O-rings are made off.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

In article , N. Thornton writes

Pushfit has been in use for 25yrs, probably longer in fact, how long do you want to wait before it proves itself? The only plumbing damage I've had was caused by pinpricks in copper pipe, probably thin imported stuff, and leaking compression joints, do you want to hang on while I look for the guarantee that covered them? Do you know of any plumbing related materials and devices i.e boilers, radiators, appliances etc., that have a guarantee that covers damage to the house if they fail?

Reply to
David

I didn't know that.

I dont know. How long does soldered copper piping last? How long do compression fittings last? How long does pushfit last? I dont have any definitive answers to those qs, but I would expect [on a gut level only] that synthetic rubber seals are unlikely to last as well as solder or copper olives. I'd be perfectly happy to be proved wrong on that.

No, and thats just why I am still at this point wary of installing something that I expect to fail some day, with, in this case, possibly rather damaging consequences.

If someone actually has hard data I'd love to see it. After all, its perfectly possible that pushfit could turn out to be more reliable than the others. Until I have more info tho, I'd prefer to avoid it.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

being in a plumbing field, i personaly think that solvent based upvc pipes and fittings (sewerage purpose) are much more reliable then push fit or o-ring type. the reasons are as follows...

1.solvent jointing is much more cost effective then the push fit.. 2.easy installation (no additional precautions are required) 3.doese not effect from freezing or icing conditions.( cold areas) 4.withstand 100 degree celcius boiling water . and much more
Reply to
monis ali

As we're now at 17 years, any advance on #20 years?

And is it a serious problem given the tendency of cheap copper pipe to pinhole?

Owain

Reply to
spuorgelgoog

18 years and not a sign of an issue
Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

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