Why do pvc and cpvc pipes fail

If your plastic piping has metal fittings, the acidic water can cause those fittings to deteriorate, leading to CPVC and PVC pipe failures. Water with a Ph level greater than 7 is considered hard water. While there is no health risk, hard water can leave scale deposits on water fixtures.

Certain water treatment plant chemicals, including chlorine and ferric chloride, can cause stress corrosion , which can lead to CPVC and PVC pipe failures. Over time, the chemicals used by the water treatment plant can cause the plastic to crack, leading to water leaks. The effects are typically most noticeable in buildings that reside close to the water treatment plant.

Zinc is found in brass and galvanized steel plumbing pipes. If your building or the municipal water system still contains brass or galvanized steel plumbing pipes, the zinc in these pipes can combine with chloride to form zinc chloride, which can contribute to PVC and CPVC plumbing failures. Spray foam is fast becoming the insulator of choice when it comes to residential and commercial buildings.

This is because the foam can fit and expand almost anywhere, including around water supply and drain lines. These tests indicate that contamination can cause everything from hairline cracks to total disintegration. This stress on the pipes, along with the chemicals that are trapped inside during the original pressurization, leads to environmental stress cracking ESC.

Related: National Fire Safety Association guidelines. Some of the most common failures caused by improper installation include: excessive or insufficient glue, the wrong antifreeze, pipe misalignment, or clamping issues.

The wrong filler content can also cause a failure. With the glues, their organic solvents soften the pipe and fitting surfaces to allow the polymer molecules to intertwine to form a permanent bond. These solvents are volatile and meant to quickly evaporate. The problem arises when the installer uses too much glue that runs down inside the vertical runs of the pipe.

It there serves as a place where contaminants can be absorbed and trapped underneath because the glue cannot dry as quickly on the inside of the pipe. The hairline cracks are often found when the excess glue is scraped away. On the other end of the spectrum, if insufficient glue is applied, a void may form between the pipe and the fitting, resulting in a weaker fitting that lowers the burst pressure of the fitting. When CPVC pipes contact other non-metallic materials, like fire caulk, failure may happen.

Plastic pipe failures can lead to water damage, mold, and hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in repairs! Contact Us. Common Pipe Failures Below are the most common pipe failures and the causes of those failures.

Drain Pipes A larger issue with CPVC is that it is not chemically resistant to all chemicals; this leads to drain and drainage system failures. Learn More. Fire Sprinkler Piping Fire sprinklers with plastic pipe systems typically fail due to internal and external exposure to incompatible chemicals.

Hydronic Systems CPVC typically works well for hydronic applications however, leakes in a local heat exchanger can destroy entire systems. Potable Water Potable water systems and fittings utilizing CPVC tend to degradate and often fail after only a few years of service.

Drain Pipe Failures Inconspicuous chemicals are leading causes of failure. The hand lotion in this lab was the root cause of a drainage system failure. We were the first to advise of incompatibility between antimicrobial lined steel pipe and CPVC. We have performed failure analysis investigations on CPVC pipe samples removed from over 50 buildings in the past 12 years. Thousands of U.

We've developed non-destructive testing technology to evaluate fire sprinkler system piping system to determine potential risks.