Pipelines in the heating system of a house or apartment play a key role. With their help, the coolant is transported, uniform thermal distribution is ensured. Along with steel highways heating of a private house with plastic pipes and radiators is increasingly common.
Features of the use of plastic pipes in heating
In order to make plastic heating with your own hands, you should first find out all the nuances of using this type of pipe. They are made of polymeric materials of various types, which ultimately determines their functional features.
High-quality wiring of plastic heating has a number of advantages. These include ease of installation, affordable cost of materials and the ability to manufacture complex systems. However, the technical characteristics of polymer products must be taken into account. Some of the pipe models are not suitable for operation in heating systems. Therefore, before making plastic heating in a private house, you should choose the pipes correctly.
After a professional installation, water heating from plastic pipes should have the following properties:
- Minimal heat loss. Polymers have the lowest heat transfer value. This minimizes the return of thermal energy from the coolant during its transportation to radiators and batteries;
- Critical System Pressure. This indicator is decisive when choosing pipes. Many models are designed for maximum pressure up to 20 atm. However, the installation of plastic heating is carried out using soldering or mechanical fittings. Most often, breakdowns occur in these places;
- Maximum water temperature. Before choosing plastic pipes for heating, a preliminary calculation of the temperature regime of the system is carried out. Almost all models of polymer pipes are designed for a maximum temperature effect of up to + 90 ° C;
- Thermal expansion. This is one of the properties of polymers. During operation, pipes and plastic heating radiators can increase their overall dimensions by 3-5%. Therefore, to prevent increased surface tension, special compensation units are installed.
Reinforced plastic pipes for heating are used for heat supply. In their design, a layer of another material is provided (aluminum foil, fiberglass), which provide adequate rigidity.
With the possible formation of ice plugs, the plastic heating manifold and pipes may lose their tightness. To avoid such situations, it is necessary to insulate the pipelines or install a heating cable.
Types of plastic pipes for heating
Currently, manufacturers offer several types of plastic pipes for autonomous heating. The difference between them lies in the materials used, which ultimately determine their properties. Therefore, before making plastic heating with your own hands, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the pipes.
The types of plastic pipes used for heating can be divided into three types - metal-plastic, polypropylene and cross-linked polyethylene products.Each of these species has unique performance properties. The choice is determined by the initial characteristics of the heating - pressure, possible temperature changes, intensity of operation, etc. Therefore, for the manufacture of high-quality plastic heating in a private house, we consider the most significant parameters:
- Temperature operating mode. The pipes with cross-linked polyethylene have the least stiffness - deformation starts already at + 80 ° С. Reinforced models of polypropylene products have a larger temperature threshold - up to + 90 ° С. The best indicators are characterized by plastic pipes - up to + 95 ° C;
- Connection reliability. A lower reliability indicator has water heating from metal-plastic pipes. The clamping joints are subject to depressurization during sudden pressure surges. Crosslinked polyethylene pipes have the same negative properties. For autonomous or centralized plastic heating with your own hands, it is recommended to use polypropylene pipes, which are connected by soldering;
- Durability. Subject to the norms of operation, the time of non-repair operation of the wiring of plastic heating can be 20-25 years. However, this indicator directly depends on the characteristics of heating and many external factors.
Experts advise choosing plastic pipes for heating from polypropylene. They have optimal indicators of cost, reliability and can be installed independently.
The determining indicators when choosing this type of piping are the diameter of the product and the type of reinforcement. To maintain the rigidity of the plastic shell when exposed to high temperatures, the following materials can be used in the manufacture of reinforced plastic pipes for heating:
- Aluminum foil. The disadvantage of this type of reinforcement is the probability of delamination of the plastic from the reinforcing layer. This happens when pipe manufacturing technology is not followed;
- Fiberglass. A relatively new material that is characterized by a high degree of reliability. The only drawback of fiberglass-reinforced plastic pipes for heating is its high cost.
Given the large number of types of plastic pipes for heating, both by manufacturing material and by brand, when choosing, you need to pay attention to their appearance and marking. Knowing the latter will allow you to correctly determine the type of plastic pipes for a particular heating system.
For a water floor heating system, cross-linked polyethylene pipes are best used. They have sufficient flexibility, which is a big "plus" in the formation of a warm surface. To install this type of plastic heating with your own hands, you should choose pipes with a protective layer that prevents oxygen from entering the coolant.
Labeling of plastic pipes for heating
Heat supply from polypropylene plastic pipes should be done only after a detailed study of the marking. It will help determine the maximum allowable pressure, class and compliance of the product with regulatory documents. This is also necessary when making a plastic heating manifold with your own hands.
High-quality soldering of plastic heating pipes is carried out only with products designed for exposure to high temperatures. For heat supply, PPR pipes should be selected, which can withstand constant thermal effects up to + 90 ° C and short-term up to + 95 ° C. An important factor is the manufacturer. Information about this can also be found in the labeling of plastic pipes for heat supply. Visually, polypropylene pipes for heating can be identified by a longitudinal red bar.In some models, besides it, blue is also found, which indicates the possibility of use in plumbing systems.
Before choosing and installing plastic heating, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the following data from pipe marking:
- Operating pressure. This parameter is indicated after the letters "PN". For heating, welding of plastic heating pipes PN20 and PN is carried out. The latter option is highly reliable, therefore it is installed in central heating;
- Operation class. You need to know for maximum temperature in heating. For water heating from plastic pipes, products of class 4 and 5 are used. The first is designed for low-temperature systems (up to + 60 °), and pipes of the 5th class can withstand a maximum temperature of up to + 90 ° C;
- Pipe diameter. For plastic lines, an external indicator is indicated. Therefore, as additional information, the manufacturer gives the value of the wall thickness.
Knowledge of the wall thickness is necessary for the correct soldering of plastic heating pipes. The time of thermal exposure to the material depends on this. For the correct manufacture of plastic heating with your own hands, it is recommended to study the regulatory documents, links to which can be found in the marking. Internal specifications do not always comply with general manufacturing standards.
The marking of plastic pipes for heat supply is applied along the product along its entire plane. Its absence indicates a low quality pipe. Therefore, you do not need to purchase such models.
Self-assembly of a plastic heating pipe
One of the advantages of heat supply from polymers is the possibility of self-welding of plastic heating pipes. To do this, you will need a minimum of tools and at least basic skills in using them.
To form a high-quality pipe connection, including in a plastic heating manifold, a soldering tool is required. It is a heating element on which nozzles for pipes are installed. They are designed for products of various diameters. In addition, the following tools are necessary for installing plastic heat supply in a private house:
- Scissors for polymer pipes. They have a wide base, due to which an even cut is formed;
- Measuring tool - tape measure, building level;
- Surface degreasing fluid - acetone or alcohol;
- Chamfering device. Before welding plastic pipes for heat supply, the reinforcing layer should be removed at the end.
Before making plastic heating, a piping layout is compiled on its own, their diameter and location of the heat supply components — radiators, safety groups — are calculated. According to this scheme, the volume of necessary material is calculated and its purchase is made. After this, the pipes should lie at room temperature for 1-1.5 days. Only then is the soldering of the plastic heating pipes carried out.
In the room where the plastic heat supply will be installed, air ventilation should be provided. During soldering, vapors harmful to humans are released, which, if exposed for a long time, can damage the respiratory system. The procedure for installing plastic heat supply with your own hands:
- Measure the pipe section.
- Cut the workpiece with scissors.
- Do the same procedure with the second segment.
- Heat the soldering iron to the required temperature.
- Install the fitting and pipe into the nozzles on the heating element.
- After a certain time, remove the workpieces and connect together.
- Wait for the cooling unit to cool completely.
According to this scheme, high-quality installation of heat supply is carried out. It is important not to turn the parts in the soldering iron during the warm-up.The same goes for joining a pipe fitting.
During the soldering of pipes or a plastic heating collector directly into the heat supply system, it is necessary to monitor the state of the elements. They should not be rotated in the nozzles of the soldering iron, but at the same time go as tightly as possible into them.
A sharp knife can be used to remove the reinforcing layer. If the amount of work is planned large - it is best to use a special manual machine. Its design allows you to process pipes of various diameters with sufficiently high accuracy.
The air temperature in the room should not be lower than + 15 ° С. The same applies to the degree of heating of the surface of the pipes.
If you over-hold the workpieces in a soldering iron - when connecting the pipe and fitting, the diameter of the pipeline will artificially decrease due to the large volume of the direction. With insufficient surface heating, the quality and reliability of the joint will decrease.
Plastic manifold for do-it-yourself heating
Pipelines of the heating system can be installed according to several schemes - one-pipe, two-pipe or collector. In the latter case, to distribute the coolant in the system sections, it is necessary to make a plastic heat supply collector.
The best option is to purchase an already finished design. But in the case of the presence of a soldering tool and a pipe of the desired diameter, it can always be done independently. To perform this work, the dimensions of the future collector are first calculated.
They directly depend on the diameters of the connection pipes and the number of heat supply circuits. It is important that the cross section of the inlet pipe is equal to the sum of the diameters of the connected circuits. In this way, the appearance of excess pressure or a discharged coolant region in a given heat supply section can be avoided.
For the manufacture of the housing, it is recommended to use a pipe with a maximum pressure rating of at least PN20. According to a pre-calculated scheme, all the necessary nozzles are installed on it - inlet and distribution. For control in the wiring of plastic collector heating, shut-off and control valves are mounted. It can be of the following types:
- Ball Valves. Designed for quick shutdown of the coolant in a specific heating circuit;
- Needle cranes. With their help, you can manually adjust the amount of inflow of hot water;
- Temperature controllers. In automatic mode, they will limit the flow of the coolant, depending on its temperature and the previously set operation indications.
In addition, a mixing unit and a circulation pump may be included in the package of the plastic collector. This equipment will optimize the operation of the entire heating system. When installing multiple collectors, balancing the heat supply system should be done. It is necessary to stabilize the heat distribution and pressure in all parts of the system. For this, special balancing cranes or similar equipment are mounted.
To compensate for the thermal expansion of the plastic pipes, ring elements are installed on long sections of the line. They will not allow surface tension to form during prolonged exposure to high temperature.
The video footage details the options for choosing plastic pipes for various systems:
