Polypropylene manifold with cranes - manufacturing features

At parallel connection of several heating devices or arrangement of the heating system "warm floor" be sure to use collectors. These devices can be bought in a plumbing store or make yourself. In this article, we will look at how to assemble a plumbing collector with shut-off valves from such durable and affordable material as polypropylene.

General information

To date, collectors, which are popularly referred to as combs, are used for the cumulative connection of a number of heating and sanitary appliances. Externally, this device is a cylindrical part with one input and multiple taps. Each tap is supplied with stop valves.

The principle of operation of this device is the following - water or other liquid is supplied to the inlet under pressure. Further, it is distributed among the taps, which allow connecting several plumbing fixtures in parallel, or, for example, several contours of a floor heating system.

Collector connection allows for uniform water pressure in all plumbing fixtures when they are simultaneously turned on. In case of use of combs in heating systems, uniform heating of all heating devices (radiators or contours of a warm floor) is ensured.

It is quite simple to assemble a polypropylene comb with your own hands, and all you need is a set of tees and ball valves.

In this case, the device will have a number of advantages, such as:

• Corrosion Resistance.
• Tightness, as the fittings are welded securely to each other.
• Durability - on the polypropylene walls of the fittings almost no scale accumulates.
• Cheapness, due to the fact that the price of polypropylene pipes and fittings is not high.
• Reliability, since polypropylene is a fairly durable material.
• The ability to perform exactly as many taps as required.
• The ability to use the product for both the water supply system and for heating.

For these reasons, many experts prefer metal collectors of the device, assembled independently from polypropylene parts.

Manufacturing collector

Materials

So, to independently assemble a polypropylene manifold with shut-off valves, the following materials are required:

Note! Ball valves can only be used to open and close a stream. If it is necessary to regulate its intensity, then a different type of valves should be used.

Diameters of pipes and fittings may have other parameters. The main thing is that they correspond to the diameter of the pipeline.

Assembly

Instructions for assembling the comb are quite simple, the main thing is to adhere to the following sequence:

• First of all tees interconnect. Each tee serves as a tap.
• Then, a plug is installed on one side of the device, and an angle fitting on the other. at 90 degrees (if the water supply will be at the bottom).
• After the collector without cranes is assembled, you just need to install a shut-off valve for each outlet. To do this, a small piece of tube is welded to each tee, to which a polypropylene ball valve is soldered.

To connect all the parts together you will need a special welding machine (soldering iron).

The following is the sequence of fitting connections using this device:

• The first step is to heat the soldering iron to the operating temperature. The readiness of the instrument will be signaled by a green LED.
• Since the fittings are interconnected by pipe sections, the welding machine is heated up, it is necessary to clean the section of the pipe that will be welded to the fitting. This is done with the help of a special tool that is put on the tip of the pipe and turns.

• After the soldering iron reaches the working temperature, insert the fitting and the pipe into the tool nozzles and wait until the plastic surface melts. Complete with a soldering iron, there is a table that shows the melting time for parts of different diameters.
• After the expiration of the time specified in the table, it is necessary to remove the parts to be joined from the nozzles and join them together. In this position, they need to hold until solidification, trying not to move or turn.
• After that, the tube connected to the fitting must be cut off, leaving the tip, for welding another fitting to it.

Tip! In order to “get a hand”, you should practice on scraps of pipes and couplings, as an incorrectly soldered part can ruin the entire collector.

By this principle, all the details are interconnected. If the collector with ball valves will be used for the heating system, then you need to perform another such device for return.

Conclusion

In many cases, the collector is a necessary element of the layout. As we found out, to make this device out of polypropylene is within the power of every home craftsman who knows how to handle a soldering iron for plastic pipes. At the same time, the quality and characteristics of the product will not be inferior to branded combs.

From the video in this article, you can learn some additional information on this topic.