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Tips on Connecting Dissimilar Plumbing Pipes




23.01.18


Tips on Connecting Dissimilar Plumbing Pipes

How often would you need to connect dissimilar pipes in your home? One of the factors that would help you determine this is the age of your home. Obviously, with all the advances in plumbing technology during the past few years, any home that is around 10 years or older will have plumbing pipes that are not in use today. Is that bad? Not really. Because current plumbing technology allows you to connect dissimilar pipes without adverse effects. Let’s take a look how.

Different Pipe Connections

Pipes definitely can be connected in a number of ways like soldering, crimping, or simply pushing them together. There is no difficulty in that, the challenge lies in ensuring that the connections do not leak and that the piping materials used will not negatively affect your home plumbing system. Here are some useful tips for you in connecting dissimilar pipes.

Copper to PEX

One of the ways to connect a Copper pipe to a PEX one is to solder them together. Normally, when this is done, you will need a transitional copper fitting to preserve the integrity of both pipes. It is important to remember to wait for the fitting to cool down before you start attaching the PEX pipe. It is equally important to point out that PEX does come with some drawbacks, the most common of which is that many of the connectors are patented to a specific manufacturer so it would be almost impossible to get a generic connector. This means that you would have to stick to the manufacturer-approved connector to ensure its integrity.

CPVC to PEX

With this connection you would need a CPVC adapter in place. The connection itself is quite easy to do. All you have to do is to glue the end of the CPVC to that of the PEX and secure the connection using a cinch clamp. The female end of the CPVC has a band so take note of that. Allow ample time for the glue to cure properly before you turn the water supply back on. Depending on the type of CPVC cement that you are using, the curing time can be a couple of hours at the very least.




Galvanized Steel to Plastic

A steel to PEX connection is normally done when the galvanized steel pipe reaches the point where its interior wall has thinned out. This normally happens after years of use. The thinning can be observed even at the male ends of the galvanized pipes where the threads have been cut into. At this state, the threads have become so thin that screwing in a new female fitting at the end will not solve any leaks that is happening. The best way to resolve the leak is to use a transition fitting that will allow you to fit a PEX pipe.

PVC to ABS

What is one of the most affordable ways that you can connect an ABS pipe to a PVC one? The inexpensive solution that many professional plumbers would recommend is to use a male and female fittings. When working with threaded fittings it is always a good practice to put on pipe thread tape before you attempt to screw them together. You may then glue the pipes together via the fittings. Make sure that you use the right cement to get a secure connection. It is important to that the flow of water would go past the threads of the male fitting and not into it. This will ensure that solid materials would flow through the connections without being trapped in it and causing blockage.

CPVC to Copper

With this type of connection, one of the important things to remember is that metal and plastic materials will contract and expand at different rates. This will happen and cause a problem with this type of connection especially when threaded pipes are concerned. To make sure that you do not run into this particular type of problem when dealing with CPVC to copper is to rely on union adapters. The rubber washers will provide enough flexing to ensure that the connection of the pipes remain properly sealed.

Bottom line is that when in doubt, call a professional plumber out. Contact Emergency Response Plumbers for all your plumbing needs.




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