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Default copper-plastic-copper - any drawbacks?

Virtually all my plumbing will be threaded through studwork, so
plastic pipe is by far the easiest.

But some runs have to be copper, e.g. boiler to thermal store, vent
pipe from store etc.

Other bits would be better in copper for the rigidity/robustness e.g.
exposed pipes up to appliance taps, network of stuff supporting pumps
etc.

So that would mean overall, almost every pipe run (hot, cold, heating)
will be a mixture of plastic and copper.

I can't see any disadvantages to this, I've used plastic a lot with
never a leak I can recall, nor any leaks in solder-ring fittings in
new copper pipe (and very rarely a leak in reworking existing copper
pipe - though compression fittings have occasionally had hard-to-cure
drips).

So I can't see a downside to mixing plastic and copper as appropriate
- anyone think differently?

(Obviously such earth bonding as necessary will be done around boiler
etc - and there's no need I can see for electrical continuity on any
of the pipe runs)
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Default copper-plastic-copper - any drawbacks?


I made the transitions between copper and plastic with standard brass
compression fittings rather than plastic pushfit stuff for robustness.


Never tried that. Always used pushfit for copper to plastic, and never
had a leak, even where I've cycled the same mains-pressure fitting
several times - though I can understand the feeling that those tiny
stainless steel teeth in a plastic compression don't seem an awful lot
of substance to hold it all together.
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Default copper-plastic-copper - any drawbacks?

On Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:43:05 -0700 (PDT)
" wrote:

Virtually all my plumbing will be threaded through studwork, so
plastic pipe is by far the easiest.

But some runs have to be copper, e.g. boiler to thermal store, vent
pipe from store etc.

Other bits would be better in copper for the rigidity/robustness e.g.
exposed pipes up to appliance taps, network of stuff supporting pumps
etc.

So that would mean overall, almost every pipe run (hot, cold, heating)
will be a mixture of plastic and copper.

I can't see any disadvantages to this, I've used plastic a lot with
never a leak I can recall, nor any leaks in solder-ring fittings in
new copper pipe (and very rarely a leak in reworking existing copper
pipe - though compression fittings have occasionally had hard-to-cure
drips).

So I can't see a downside to mixing plastic and copper as appropriate
- anyone think differently?

(Obviously such earth bonding as necessary will be done around boiler
etc - and there's no need I can see for electrical continuity on any
of the pipe runs)


I just repeat usual my warning about little rodent teeth. Plastic is
all very well, but....

R.

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