This is one of the most widespread and adaptable types of plastic piping. It has been in use for more than 80 years, serving a variety of applications in various market sectors all over the world.
These are incredibly sturdy and durable, with excellent corrosion resistance. They have little risk of succumbing to thermal expansion or contraction than metal piping.
These pipes are both affordable and durable, and they come in a variety of sizes with various attachments. Regardless of the type of PVC variant, you may use them for both warm and cold-water applications.
What Is It Used For?
Plumbers broadly apply them in constructing sewer and water mains. They’re also used for irrigation systems. Since they are easy to install and lightweight, they are both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
They’re also strong and durable, with the added benefit of being easily recyclable. This component has a smooth surface. It helps water flow faster due to reduced friction than tubing constructed of other materials like cast iron or concrete.
You may have them in various lengths and wall thicknesses. They also come in various diameters to meet international sizing requirements like DIN 8061 and ASTM F441. ASTM D1785 is another standard to know about.
PVC is used for a range of items and categories, including:
- Butterfly valves
- Ball check valves
- Check valve wafers
- Diaphragm valves
- PVC bushings
- PVC unions (including CPVC)
- PVC wyes
- Couplings
What Are Its Benefits?
- They are the principal means of transporting water and electricity in many industries. The key reasons for its extensive use are its extreme heat and corrosion tolerance.
- Compared to concrete and metal, bits flat surface has low friction with traveling liquids. As a result, it’s a common material for water supply tubes.
- It’s light and small, making it perfect for laying tube lines across long distances. This cuts down on the fuel needed to transport them, making them more eco-friendly.
- It is cost-effective since it has excellent mass production using a relatively simple method.
- It’s easy to form into various shapes and sizes, making it an excellent material with a wide range of uses.
- It’s challenging and long-lasting, and it can withstand a lot of pressure. As a result, it’s a good choice for subsurface tubes and lines that must carry pressurized fluids.
- Its chemical inertness or resistance to chemical interactions with other compounds is a valuable chemical feature. This ensures and transports drinking liquids used for home purposes safely.
- When put underground, they can endure a hundred years. This makes it a low-maintenance and preferred material for large tube line networks. Historical substances like steel and iron would have extremely high maintenance and overhaul costs.
- Installing and maintaining them is simple. Compared to traditional materials, its failure or break rate is exceedingly low.
- It has a low carbon content, which results in less hazardous emissions during production. They are simple to recycle and reuse for different applications. Whether from building trash salvaging and repurposing or industrial waste recycling, it doesn’t matter. 8,000 tons of them are recycled each year throughout Europe through the Vinyl Plus program.
How Are They Made?
These tubes are made by extruding Polyvinyl chloride as raw material. They generally follow the same procedures as standard pipe extrusion operations:
- Direct materials pellets/powder supply the PVC twin screw extruder.
- Many extruder zones are melting and heating.
- Polymerizing material through a die to form a pipe
- The shaped pipe is cooled.
- Finally, workers or machines cut them into the desired lengths.
Despite having a manufacturing process similar to that of most plastic piping, they have inherent properties. They present significant hurdles in production and trade placement to pipe makers.
PVC, CPVC, and UPVC
Polyvinyl chloride is rigid and brittle in its original form. It is an additive to industrial and commercial uses. For more flexibility and softness, manufacturers add plasticizers.
The addition of heat stabilizers makes it resistant to extremely high temperatures. Long sunlight exposure would damage most plastics, but the addition of UV stabilizers makes the product resistant.
One of the variants of PVC is CPVC, where higher chlorine content is present. Higher chlorine makes its high-temperature threshold more than the regular PVC.
It can withstand temperatures up to 200 F, while the regular variant can only stand up to 140 F before it starts melting. CPVC is the preferred type for transporting hot water in Heating-Ventilation-and-Cooling systems (HVAC). There is a mandate on building codes that require the use of CPVC.
UPVC is the original form of polyvinyl chloride. It does not contain softening additives, making it rigid and brittle. This type is best for construction requirements, where flexibility is not a primary concern. Manufacturers use it as a weatherboarding or siding material on the walls of houses across different countries.
What is OD?
They have a somewhat greater outer diameter than their name suggests. They also employ a nominal system. They are compatible parts that have identical designations. All 1-inch pipes will fit in 1-inch fittings, and so on.
The dimensions in its names represent the nominal sizes, not necessarily the length. This is a challenging notion to grasp, but the goal of the nominal system is to make finding the correct parts easier.
OD Chart
| Your Measurement | Average Outer Diameter (OD) |
| Diameter, in inches | Size Translation, in inches |
| 0.84 | ½ |
| 1.05 | ¾ |
| 1.315 | 1 |
| 1.66 | 1 ¼ |
| 1.9 | 1 ½ |
| 2.5 | 2” |
| 3.5 | 3 |
| 4 | 3 ½ |
| 4.5 | 4 |
| 5.563 | 5 |
| 6.625 | 6 |
| 8.625 | 8” |
| 10.75 | 10 |
| Works for Schedule 40 and 80 pipes |
