Tricks of craftsmen with polypropylene pipes and fittings. Plumber against controversial methods (repeated three life hacks)

  • Jan 19, 2022

During his work as a plumber, he saw a lot of unusual and vague things in apartments and houses. What just do not sculpt pseudo-specialists. After a little digging in the back streets of memory, I decided to repeat the most memorable "life hacks" and show it to the human court

1) What to do if you run out of Ø 20 mm couplings or there is no transition from 20 to 25 mm

Go to the store and buy a penny fitting. If it so happened that the plumbing stores are already closed, and the work is "in full swing", then a decent plumber always has a supply of spare parts (sorry for the tautology), in his garage or closet. Or he will always find the right part from his comrades. But what if laziness washed over the master and he decided to outwit others? Not so often, but sometimes I met such a connection in my practice (scroll through the gallery):

Pipes with a diameter of 20 and 25 mm. Polypropylene.
Pipes with a diameter of 20 and 25 mm. Polypropylene.
Characteristics of a pipe with a diameter of 25 mm
Characteristics of a pipe with a diameter of 25 mm
Tricks of craftsmen with polypropylene pipes and fittings. Plumber against controversial methods (repeated three life hacks)
Pipes with a diameter of 20 and 25 mm. Polypropylene.
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As a result, a joint is obtained that does not meet the requirements for the installation of a polypropylene pipeline. This joint looks ambiguous. The inner diameter of the pipe is narrowed. It is impossible to do this in an apartment building, it is fraught with problems.

2) Time bomb on water meters

Sometimes water meters are installed on polypropylene collars, instead of brass ones. This connection is quite common and the collars are in the "penny" stores. But sometimes, the masters even make such a detail handicraft, what drives them is unknown (fake in the gallery):

In order to make a shoulder, which is clamped with a nut from the meter, a 20 mm pipe is taken.
Insert it into a hot "iron", namely into a 25 mm nozzle. As shown in the photo

Quite often I met these homemade products when replacing expired water meters. And I had to cut and assemble these connections correctly, because the gaskets in them were poorly clamped, which led to leaks. Do not allow this craft at home, it can leak at any time, the resistant walls of a home-made fitting are thin and not monolithic like those of factory counterparts.

3) Reusable fitting without drilling

Combined couplings cut at the root are subject to firing and extraction of brass threads for subsequent delivery to the non-ferrous metal. Or at worst drilling. But there is another way, repeated, unreliable welding of fittings, at one time it was shown to me by a master of a wide profile at one of the objects.

Coupling PPR combined with internal thread 20/1/2.
Used PPR fitting to be recycled
On the "sting" of a heated soldering iron, a cut fitting and a 20 mm tube are placed under the "root"
Coupling PPR combined with internal thread 20/1/2.

Danne connections, I, as a plumber, do not welcome. They should not be found in your water supply, whether you live in a private house or in an apartment. Over time, polypropylene, like other plastics, "degrades" loses some of its properties and, therefore, will tear where it is weak. And these joints are time bombs. Keep an eye on plumbing installers to use reliable factory parts.

"Lifehacks" was analyzed by Viktor Mikhailov, go to channel, you will find a lot of useful. I am glad to every reader and viewer!