Overview of Flexible Pipes for Water Supply

Repair work in the house is often associated with the replacement of plumbing communications. And if everything is very clear to the master with direct open sections of the room, then inaccessible places for the installation of the highway cause difficulties. To solve them, the craftsmen began to use flexible pipes for water supply. More often they are made from polymers. But there are also stainless steel products.

Scope of flexible water pipes

Bending elements are used in such areas:

• hot and cold water supply systems;
• gas supply;
• ventilation and air conditioning;
• heating systems (including underfloor heating);
• sewer collectors.

Flexible pipes can also act as a protective casing for different types of cables.

Varieties and specifications

There are several types of flexible water pipes. Each of them is optimally suited to certain conditions.

Polypropylene

The flexible polymer pipe for water supply has the following technical characteristics:

• The presence of thermal insulation coating. This allows the use of polypropylene elements for the design of domestic hot water (hot water) systems or heating lines.
• The maximum temperature load from the inside is +95 degrees.
• The optimum working pressure for a polypropylene system is 10–13 atm.

Additionally, the products are environmentally friendly. Even under the influence of high temperatures, toxic substances are not released into the atmosphere.

PVC

Flexible pipes can be used for both cold water and hot. The main technical properties of PVC:

• The permissible temperature limit for the transported medium is +90. +100 is allowed for a short time.
• The working pressure inside the network of polyvinyl chloride is 6-46 atmospheres.
• Lack of propensity to burn. Only at a temperature of +400 will the pipes melt and only then release toxins. The rest of the material is completely environmentally friendly.
• The weight of products depending on the length and diameter is from 200 g. up to 2 kg or more.

Thanks to such a mass, a private master can cope with the device of the PVC line.

Metal plastic

Bendable plastic pipes for water are especially common when installing heating systems. Due to the reinforcing foil layer, the elements have low thermal conductivity, resistance to any mechanical stress. Structurally flexible tube made of metal polymer has several layers, alternating alternately - polymer, aluminum foil, polymer. Each of them is firmly glued.

Additionally, pipes have the following characteristics:

• Resistance to aggressive environments.
• Stability of working pressure in a network. It is provided by perfectly smooth inner walls of the elements.
• Possibility of pipe operation at minus temperature indicators.
• Inertia to strong expansion from hot coolant or water.

When installing heating systems, craftsmen prefer to buy German pipes Rehau.

Steel pipes

Water elements are made of stainless steel. Therefore, in addition to the high strength of the products, they also have an inertness to corrosion. Additional technical properties of pipes:

• service life up to 50-70 years;
• resistance to temperature fluctuations;
• the absence of linear tension, which ensures the preservation of the shape and clearance of the highway for the entire period of operation.

Often, it is steel pipes that are used in the equipment of gas supply systems in the house.

How to choose flexible pipes

Turning to a specialized store for bending tubes, you need to rely on these selection options:

• Material of products. For the street and cold unheated rooms suitable metal-plastic, steel, PVC. If the pipeline section is additionally subjected to mechanical stresses, it is better to choose a stainless steel. For internal work, it is desirable to use polypropylene.
• Tube section. Must match the diameter of the main pipeline.
• The material of manufacture of the main highway. It is desirable that the flexible pipe and the rest of the water supply are made of one polymer or metal. This eliminates the uneven linear expansion of the network under the influence of temperature fluctuations.
• The destination of the highway. It is necessary to pay attention to the permissible temperature indicators for the transported medium for each type of flexible elements.
• Skills of the master. It is easier to install PVC and polypropylene pipes. Steel and plastic require more experienced action.

Budget is not the last criterion when buying plumbing elements. Here, the master is guided by its capabilities.

Installation principles for each type

Install pipes of different types in accordance with the material of their manufacture. Docking methods:

• For steel, only special threaded metal fittings are used. Seal the joints with special sealants. Previously, threads are cut into pieces of two pipes for installing a flexible element. The connecting fittings are already screwed onto it.
• Polypropylene is joined using a special welding machine (soldering iron) and scissors. If there are no last masters in the arsenal, you can use a hacksaw. But then before welding, the ends of the elements must be carefully cleaned. First, with the help of scissors, they cut the desired length of the flexible pipe. Special nozzles of the desired diameter are mounted on the soldering iron and heated. The end of the joined pipe made of polypropylene and the same fitting are placed on the soldering iron for several seconds and then driven into one another. During cooling, the polymer forms a reliable connection.
• PVC In this case, the craftsmen use special scissors, PVC fittings and glue. The composition of the latter slightly dissolves the upper polymer layer, due to which there is a tight docking. First you need to cut the desired piece of pipe. Its outer edge and the inside of the fitting are treated with emery (slightly) and a cleaner. Then on the prepared elements with a brush apply glue around the circumference. It remains to drive the pipe 2/3 of the depth of the fitting into it and slightly turn it clockwise to better distribute the composition. It is advisable to hold two elements in this position for 1-1.5 minutes to fix.
• Plastic pipes are connected using crimp fittings. This requires a special tool.

In order not to spend money on the purchase of expensive equipment for the installation of a metal polymer, you can rent it in a specialized store.

Advantages and disadvantages

All flexible pipes differ in such positive aspects:

• Convenience of installation of any highway in hard-to-reach areas.
• Large bending radius in different directions.
• Service life equal to the duration of operation for each type of material.
• Resistance to pressure and temperature drops.
• High mechanical strength due to reinforcing spiral fiber.

Of the minuses, you can highlight the cost of the material and sometimes the need to buy pipes in bays.