Are there really two different types of plastic waste pipe? According to my book "The Readers Digest DIY Manual" it says uPVC is used for cold water waste but I must use MuPVC pipe for hot waste water such as from sinks and showers. I never knew there was different type of plastic waste pipe? How do you tell them apart? The book says they can both come in white / grey / black etc.
Waste pipe plastic uPVC or MuPVC?
Dec 11, 2007
6 Replies
There are... commonly polypropylene and PVC. The former used with solvent weld fittings, and the latter used with pushfit.
(Univesal (i.e. compression style) fittings can be used on either).
As far as I am aware all waste pipes that you are likely to buy are suitable for waste connections - regardless of the water temperature.
The pipe should be marked, but also IME the solvent weld fittings are different: with regular ones the socket is no more than a larger diameter pipe, whilst muPVC ones have a stiffening band round the mouth of the socket.
Polypropylene solvent weld? ABS surely, PP doesn't dissolve in much.
cheers, clive
Standard muPVC is also used as flue pipework for some condensing boilers (such as Keston). I don't think it's commonly used for waste pipework -- for solvent weld, thats usually uPVC pipe, and uPVC or ABS (yuk) fittings.
IIRC the makers say that muPVC should be used where there is a likelihood of the pipe taking very hot water for extended periods
- most probably in commercial applications.
You have got me thinking now.... I could have sworn that the last solvent weld pipe I bought had polypropylene written on it - but ABS would make more sense.
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