"Tim S" wrote in message
...
tonyjeffs coughed up some electrons that declared:

Aarrgh - need a break - I'm plumbing a new kitchen.

Lots of people say how good the plastic pipe is, and it is used on a
lot of newbuild, so I thought I'd try it.
But I hate it. It curls up on itself, you can't put a bend in it,
the joints are huge, and because it is flexable I find I measure it
inaccurately.
So I'm going to bin it and buy some 15mm copper.

What do other people think?

Tony

I'm coming late to this, but I'll put my ha'peth in.

I like copper. It's known to generally last forever (pin-holeing crap
aside). It looks neat when run and it can take a bit of abuse. After a bit
of practise, soldering joints doesn't take very long.

I'm not saying that doesn't apply to decent plastic, but I don't have 1st
hand experience that it does, so I'd rather stay with what I know.

The two things that worry me about plastic a

1) Will the push-fit grippers give way and blow the joint apart (same with
copper push fit)? My static mains pressure is 7.5 bar (fairly high).

I would avoid pushfit fittings at 7.5 bar. I have known Hep2O to shoot off a
pipe when a shower tap was closed fast, leaving an open end under a floor.
Failures in plastic joints tend to be catastrophic. I would always have a
shock arrestor on a pushfit plastic installation to protect the joints. I
have known a Speedfit cap shoot off a cylinder and embed itself in the
plaster on the opposite wall. Again an open end gushing.

2) How long do those O-rings actually last? I pondered this also after I
unclipped the cooker's from the gas bayonet open the other day...

Osma Gold's O rings have a "W" shape giving two points of contact. O rings
are used in aviation, however not to the same standard as domestic plumbing.

The snips the makers provide to cut plastic pipes don't help as they leave a
proud sharp point that can nip the O ring. I have looked at many "makers"
cutters and they are waste of expensive time. Rothenburger have brought out
15mm and 22mm "pipe slice" plastic cutters to prevent this. They "turn",
cutting the pipe properly.
http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;js...hbutton=submit

Most plastic pipe site installers would have a Stanley knife in their top
pockets and trim off after feeling around the cut ends after using snips..