On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 10:36:06 -0000, "M.D.Palmer"
wrote:

Hi there,

We've just bought our first house and we need to move some radiator pipes. I
want to try and have a go at this myself before calling a professional.

I'm after some advice as to what type of pipe is best to use. I've read that
plastic pipe is simpler to use as it avoids the tricky soldering of copper
pipes.

So I was thinking of using plastic piping for under the floor boards and
then just connecting copper pipes for the upshoots to the radiators.

Does this sound like a good idea? Are plastic pipes to way to go? And does
anyone know any good websites with plumbing guides?

Many thanks in advance.


You could do either.

Actually, doing soldered plumbing in copper is not very difficult at
all. The main thing is that everything needs to be drained and dry
and very importantly, cleaned with steel wool etc., before fluxing and
heating with a blow torch. You can get solder ring fittings where the
solder needed is already there = heat and you are done. You do need
to avoid disturbing the joint for a few seconds to make sure that the
solder doesn't move and result in a dry point, which can leak.

An alternative copper approach is with compression joints. A bit more
expensive than copper, and you need a couple of wrenches, but quick
and good results.

Plastic is also easy to work with. If you use it for heating, it does
need to be supported in more places than copper because it will sag
otherwise. You can push copper tubes into the fittings for plastic.

It is very important when using plastic fittings to have the ends of
the tube square and burr free. You can damage the fitting otherwise
and end up with water everywhere.

For cutting copper, a tubing cutter is a really good idea. These
clamp on to the tube and you rotate them, gradually doing up a knob
which causes a sharp wheel to slice into the copper. The result is a
square cut with a slightly rounded outside at the end. It will fit
easily into a plastic fitting or a copper or brass one.

For the plastic, a proper slicing cutter is important. These are a
simple tool like a set of shears and simply slice cleanly through the
tube, square.

For plastic plumbing, have a look on the John Guest web site. They
have a variety of application notes.


--

..andy