Which plastic pipe and fittings are best for central heating?

Speedfit or Hep. Just follow the instructions precisely and it will be very reliable indeed. Most problems with plastic pipe and fittings are caused by poor cutting, bad/incorrect/missing inserts and failure to clip the pipe properly...also rats and mice love it so avoid if they are a problem

 

Where a lot of diyers also go wrong is forgeting to lock them in place!

 

For central heating, the PEX-AL-PEX pipe is the best choice, there are 7 key factors for PEX-AL-PEX pipe as follows when you are considering its properitis:
1.  Healthful ,not poisonous Cleamn, sanitary, safe;
2.  Resistance to high temperature(110?) and pressure;
3.  Flexible and no rebounding;
4.  Light weight, easily transport and storage;
5.  Service life of over 50 years, (Base on normal use)

any question, you can e-mail me!

 

SPAAAAAAM!

 

As a DIYer, I plumbed much of my son's house (currently under refurbishment) with Speedfit last weekend, cold on sat in 15 mm, hot on Sunday in 22 mm.

We have extension to the central heating yet to do and a new bathroom to fit later.

I used Speedfit thanks to the help i got on here (http://community.screwfix.com/thread/127797?tstart=0) plus a local plumbers merchants for some help in connecting to a 50+ year old mains pipe.

I'm not in the building trade, but am technically biased (but drive a desk nowadays, ha ha).

My son, who worked with me, likened the plumbing to Lego  (ha ha - I liken designing digital electronic  to that too).

Regards, Steve

 

I only counted 5, wheres the other 2 to make 7????

 

dunno but the properitis are healthful, cleamn and there is no rebounding....

 

Well being a sparky I've been called out several times, once at 11:30 PM on a sunday night, because water is dripping/pouring out of the down lights/pendans etc. And every time it's a speedfit type fitting that has popped.
I've had my central heating replaced 18 months ago. The Plumber said he would use plastic. I said "You use copper and solder the joints or you don't get the job". Never had a problem.
All the manufacturers claim their fitting are bomb proff. If they fit them I'm sure they are, but I think thay are cr$p. Just a thought

 

During a life time of plumbing in the UK and USA I can tell you that there are no more problems with plastic than there are with copper. The main 'problem' with plastic is that it appears to be so easy that installers are sloppy, no inserts, rough cut edges, not pushed home , unclipped pipe, straining joints etc etc

Copper pinholes, erodes, cracks and joints fail too.

 

Without a doubt the main problem with plastic over the last 40 years is that each manufacture (cleverly?) made their brand slightly different to that of their competitors so that once it becomes obsolite you cannot buy the correct fittings for it anymore!
Copper is a standardised size.
Who's to say the current crop of plastics won't eventually go the same way?

 

Where a lot of diyers also go wrong is forgeting to lock them in place!

Where's the evidence? I would say the opposite. Some "Professional" installations have not locked them in place. My sister-in-laws kitchen taps - fitted by a pro. and leaked after about 3 weeks. Reason? fittings not locked!!

diymostthings

 

And every time it's a speedfit type fitting that has popped.

I rest my case for the DIYers!

diymostthings

 

"installers are sloppy, no inserts, rough cut edges, not pushed home , unclipped pipe, straining joints etc etc"



They wouldn't have been installed by a pro now would they?
diymostthings

 

When I extended my central heating into the old part of my house last autumn I used Speefit. I don't much like Speedfit but I used it because of the following reasons. It's easy to get hold of and seems to be the most popular brand, so I hope that if I need to alter the installation in the future I will still be able to get compatible fittings. The system is still showing exactly the same pressure as it did when I put the inhibitor in, so, so far it seems fine. The new part of the house was plumbed in Osma Gold which I much preferred, but when I went to the merchant to get some fittings to make an alteration I was shocked to find it was discontinued. I think Osma was bought out by Hepworth who dropped the Osma Gold line. Hopefully the same thing won't happen to Speedfit.