Black/dark brown plastic pipe in house plumbing

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by vaughan007, Nov 29, 2003.

  1. vaughan007

    vaughan007 New Member

    The plumbing was installed by the previous owner.

    It is not copper pipe, but dark brown, almost black, fairly rigid plastic piping. This piping goes to all the radiators and all the upstairs taps. I appears to be 15mm in diameter. It looks in good condition and not very old.

    I wish to change the taps and radiator valves all over the house.

    Is there any special fittings that I need to use on this type of piping before fitting taps/radiator valves.

    I know that there are lots of manufacturers of plastic plumbing. Are any of the fittings interchangable between different manufaturers of the piping?

    Any advice that anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated as I have no previous experience of this type of piping.

    Thanks,

    Vaughan.
     
  2. brian

    brian New Member

    pass,
    unless it has been painted and you havent had a close look at the finish in day light or with a good light source.

    i cant remember seeing pipe like you are typing about, if i do ill get back to you.
     
  3. brian

    brian New Member

    how do you know its plastic,
    you cant have plastic pipes running the taps,
    find a piece of pipe that wont been seen and scratch it and if its shiny then its copper,
    just like normal pipe work.
     
  4. vaughan007

    vaughan007 New Member

  5. brian

    brian New Member

    Seems I am doing some of the educating!

    Here is the newest type of plastic pipe fittings that can be used for cold and hot water systems (taps included).

    brian
    sorry but i have never seen this before i was trying to help you.
    the link you have given dont show colour of pipe or anything.
    you did say brown,
    well anyway if its the pipe you are talking about around my way its grey/white. cheers.
     
  6. leadlotus

    leadlotus New Member

    Your Black/dark brown pipe sounds like the first version of Acorn pipe. They changed the colour (to grey) and altered the make up of the brown pipe because mice were nibbling it where as they arent attracted to the grey.
     
  7. vaughan007

    vaughan007 New Member

    Hello,

    Thanks for the replies so far.

    Yes I think the newer version of this type of plumbing is usually white or grey. As well as the mice thing I also think it is because white is generally more aesthetically pleasing where the pipe is visible (dark brown is not the nicest colour!). I know that in other countries you can also get it in lots and lots of different colours, so I think the colour is largely irrelevant.

    What I would like to know is whether I will be able to use the newer fittings with the older piping I have. In my opinion it is the size of the pipe that is important, but I was just seeking someone elses opinion before I started dismantling my plumbing system!

    Cheers.
     
  8. vaughan007

    vaughan007 New Member

    Just looked around on the web.

    Yes I think you are right that it is the old brown version of the Acorn Pipe.

    So does anyone have any ideas about fittings? Will these new fittings, availabe from plumb centres and screw fix, designed specifically for 'plastic' pipe work OK with what I have?

    Once again any advice is appreciated.
     
  9. vaughan007

    vaughan007 New Member

    From what I can gather Acorn Pipe is now called HEP20. Made by a company called Hepworth Plumbing.
     
  10. bilco

    bilco New Member

    Yes I believe hep2o was acorn...I vaguely recall the Brown (copper coloured) pipe...It was 15mm and the fitting fitted 15mm copper...So all current push-fit should be ok using hep2o inserts.
    If I remember correctly Acorn didn't specify using inserts when using their push-fit fittings and you may find that's the case with your installation...
     
  11. vaughan007

    vaughan007 New Member

    Thanks for that Bilco,

    Yes I think your right. But it is always nice to have a second opinion!

    I know that Hep20 does not use inserts. Unfortunately I dont think I will know if there is any inserts present in my pipe until I take it to pieces!

    The pipe I have does seem very rigid and my initial guess would be that there are not any inserts as they would not be required...but in my experience DIY and houses in general can throw up any number of surprises!

    Thanks for everyones help. You have all helped me get to the bottom of this!

    Cheers,

    Vaughan.
     
  12. brian

    brian New Member

    ok so i was right about my previous post
     
  13. Bitty

    Bitty New Member

    Your pipework is almost certainly Acorn (polybutylene), which has, as said by others, become Hepworth Hep2O. The original Acorn pipe absolutely DID require stainless steel inserts, and these MUST be used!
    About 15+ years ago, Acorn changed the internal bore size of their, I think, 15mm pipe, and new sized inserts were needed(and they didn't tell us - lots of cussing when they wouldn't go in...).
    Outside diameters are exactly 15 & 22mm, so both push-fit and compression fittings can be used, but you MUST use inserts. I'm afraid I don't know if alternative makes of inserts such as those supplied by screwfix will fit.
    Hope this helps.
     
  14. mj

    mj Guest

    hep2o will fit acorn pipe although you may have to re-use some of the old inserts (carefully removed)when connecting to the old pipe. I bet the existing acorn ain't leaking after 15 years! which is more than you'll be able to say for 'speedfit'in the future
    just shows how good it was? now replaced by hep2o which is in a league of its own in the plastic/pushfit market
     
  15. vaughan007

    vaughan007 New Member

    Thanks for all your help.

    I am a lot more knowledgable than what I was 3 days ago.

    If worse comes to worse I will, as you say, re-use the old inserts and carefully remove them.

    Howeve, I am hoping that I will be able to find a new insert that fits.

    If anyone has any idea of a manufacturer that produces inserts that fit, please let me know.

    Thanks.
     
  16. Bitty

    Bitty New Member

    As mentioned above, you should be able to re-use existing sleeves - use a knife (carefully...) to catch the top lip of the sleeve, and pull gently.

    If you need extras, Hep2O should fit. However, if it was installed more than 15-20 years ago, the 15mm pipe will have a thinner wall with larger bore, and will require slightly larger sleeves (there's not much in it - about 1mm max, but it's enough to make the difference...). Not much you can do about this, unless other makes happen to fit.

    Good luck.
     

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