The problems in the USA with Polybutylene (PB) were generally installation, not PB related. As the major UK manufacturer of Polybutylene plumbing systems Hepworth Plumbing Products take a great interest in this matter, and in over 25 years of manufacturing and selling Hep2O & Acorn, we have not seen any of the problems experienced in the USA.
Failures in the USA associated with polybutylene were extensively on large diameter cold-water installations. Independent assessment concluded that such failures were related to metal fittings and incorrect installations rather than pipe performance.
Other failures of polybutylene systems were due either to the use of acetal fittings that degraded rapidly in contact with water, or with crimp type fittings that failed many months after the installation of the system.
A very small number of Polybutylene system failures were on hot water services. All failures recorded were in ringmain installations, operating at a temperature of 70-80 deg C. Such installations are not often encountered in the UK. Advice on the use of Hep2O in ringmain systems is given in the Hep2O Installer Guide.
The only common factor between the failures in the USA and Hep2O is Polybutylene, which has not, however, been identified as the cause of system failure.
Hep2O is Kitemarked to BS 7291 and guaranteed for 50 years against defects in materials or manufacturing. Hep2O has a design life expectancy of over
50 years based upon the operating parameters as shown in the following table: -Peak Life Cycle Operating Temp/Pressure
Temperature Deg C 20 40 60 80 95
Safe Pressure-Bar 12 11 9 7 6
In addition Hep2O will withstand short malfunction at 114 Deg C at 3 Bar
Hep2O was first sold over twenty-five years ago (then known as Acorn) and has been successfully used in many hundreds of thousands of central heating and domestic water distribution installation since then. There have been no reported failures of Hep2O in the manner seen in the USA in this time.
The Hepworth Plumbing Products Team