What plumbing metal pipes are used now

25-03-2018
Pipes

The history of the use of metal pipes for the installation of plumbing or sewage has not less than 150 years. In the past few decades, a host of new advanced technologies and materials have appeared that would seem to oust the usual metal. But it was not there, in any store there are mountains of metal pipes. What is the secret of such amazing endurance, we will try to figure it out.

Photos of a warehouse of metal pipes.

Traditional Pros and Cons

We are not going to take the side of the adherents of this type of products or their opponents, because for each product there is a buyer. It is more reasonable to bring the pros and cons, leaving the highly respected reader of our site the freedom of choice.

What is good stuff

  • Metal structures are used primarily where high mechanical strength is required.. Laying a branch under the rail or road canvass, you prefer metal.
  • In networks with high internal pressure, even the best plastic will not last long. For example, when installing pumping stations, even if the main wiring is made of polymers, steel is installed immediately after the pump. Firstly, because the probability of a water hammer is high and then plastic will not withstand constant vibration from the impeller of the hydraulic pump.
Wiring in the house with steel pipes.
  • In terms of cost, the price of metal products is in the middle niche, but that's not the point.. Often, people prefer this material because most of the houses owned by municipalities, as well as trunk lines, are still equipped with metal structures. And the diameters of the metal water pipes will be the same.
  • As already mentioned, the operation of such systems has long been. Therefore, fittings for any size of metal pipes in bulk. If you sometimes have to look for a fitting or a tee for polypropylene, then steel or cast-iron corners, shafts and tees lie in any rural store.
Cast iron knee.
  • Adherents of the metal immediately indicate its complete fire safety. And they are right, in any fire, steel and cast-iron structures will not only survive, they will not even lead them.
  • Finally, the instruction here has been tested and tested for decades.. This is the alphabet of plumbing. If you do not take welding, then everything is extremely simple. I bought the parts, wrapped fum-tape or hemp on the thread and twisted it with my own hands.

Important: metal is often chosen because of the low coefficient of expansion when heated. This is especially important when the pipes are laid in a screed or hidden under a layer of plaster, where as a result of thermal expansion of the material, the monolith can crack.

Material disadvantages

Decrease clearance.
  • As is well known, only changes are eternal in this life and any, even the most ideal material has a number of disadvantages. For products from ferrous metals, the sore point is corrosion. This is especially true for cold pressure or non-pressure systems, where water acts not only from the inside, but also condensation from the outside.
  • Both cast iron and steel structures have another common problem, they are prone to overgrowing from the inside with slags. In the language of professionals, this is referred to as lumen reduction. Moreover, if the fluid transported in the system has a large amount of impurities, then the whole structure may fail for several years.
Soldering polypropylene.
  • Assembling steel water can be quite problematic. If you tighten the crimp fitting on metal-plastic or solder polypropylene in a couple of minutes, the welding of steel structures will take time, the presence of a welding machine and sufficiently high professional skills. Threaded pipe connection is easier, but it is if you do not need to cut the thread.
  • Another problem is the serious weight of the structures. First, acquiring a large volume of such goods, immediately have problems with transportation. And secondly, steel or cast-iron pipe wiring requires quite serious fastening. Moreover, bearing structures must be capital.
Cast iron pipes.

A few words about the types of metal

Under the common name of metal structures lies a large range of products, each of which has its own characteristics, purpose and production technology.

Cast iron pipes

Cast iron is a metal with prohibitively high carbon content. On the one hand, this material is perhaps the most durable, it is practically not susceptible to corrosion. Plus, the blast furnace technology in metallurgy has long been mastered and is not considered difficult.

It is either poured into special shapes. Or, in the manufacture of pipes, centrifuging technology is used.

Installation of cast iron pipes.

But on the other hand, cast iron products have enormous weight, which creates additional problems during installation. Cast iron cannot be bent or deformed, it is fragile and simply breaks.

Important: the most common sector of the use of cast iron are sewer systems. Such pipes do not make noise, are completely fireproof, and most importantly, cast iron is resistant to chemically aggressive environments, such as sewage.

Steel Products

In the niche of metal products, steel structures have the widest range. They are used everywhere, from sewage to the food industry. They can be boiled, bent or joined with fittings. This material withstands extremely high pressure and temperature.

Pipe repair.

Depending on the production technology, all steel pipes are divided into: welded and solid-rolled. Production of welded structures is much lower in cost, so this product is the most common.

Solid products are made on special expensive mills according to a special technology. But their characteristics of strength and mechanical stability exceed the welded ones by an order of magnitude.

A conventional ferrous steel pipe is known to be highly susceptible to corrosion. In particularly advanced cases, it can rot through. Repair of holes in a metal plumbing pipe, according to the rules should be carried out by welding. But often plumbers prefer to impose a so-called clamp with a rubber gasket, it is much faster.

Welding stainless steel.

The most common method of protecting steel structures is to coat them with a thin layer of zinc. The method is quite reliable, capable of extending the life of the structure by at least 10 years. The weak point here are joints and welds.

A special place of honor is occupied by products from alloyed stainless steel. The characteristics of these products are many times higher than that of ferrous metal products. The only serious disadvantage of stainless steel is the high price. But the initial cost of the purchase and installation is more than offset by a long service life.

Corrugated pipe for plumbing.

Important: stainless metal corrugated pipe for water supply, in its pure form is rarely used. As a rule, a soft rubber or polymer hose is placed inside the steel corrugated casing. Steel in this case plays the role of reinforcing coating.

Copper structures

Copper pipes for plumbing pleasure is not cheap. The cost of such structures is several times higher than the price of steel products. But, despite this, economic Europeans are trying to mount the copper water supply. It is caused not only by the high warranty period of operation, about 100 years, but also by the antiseptic properties of copper.

Copper pipeline.

The video in this article shows the use of certain types of plumbing.

Conclusion

All of the above suggests an idea, although the metal is in many ways inferior to modern polymers, but it is too early to discount it. Experts predict the widespread use of metal water pipes, especially stainless steel or copper, for another 20-30 years.

Constructions from non-ferrous metals.