What is polybutylene?
Polybutylene pipe (PB-1) a polyolefin produced utilizing Zeigler-Natta type catalysts, resulting in a positively isotactic thermoplastic with superior mechanical, thermal, and chemical resistance properties, creating it the functionally preferable material for the producing boosted hot and cold water piping systems.
What should you do if your property has polybutylene pipes?
From the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, polybutylene pipes were installed in 6-10 million U.S. households. They were inexpensive and simple to install, but homeowners and plumbing professionals discovered a severe flaw: over time, oxidation and exposure to chlorine in the water supply caused the pipes to swell and crack, resulting in prevalent flood damage throughout the home, usually without warning. The issues prompted a class-action lawsuit in the 1980s. If you have recently purchased a property and are unsure whether your pipes are polybutylene, you should check with a plumbing specialist before you experience severe water damage.
Hot and cold.
Polybutylene is resistant to freezing temperatures, making it suitable for heating and water applications. Plumbing and warming pipe coils are lighter than equivalent systems, making installation easier and faster.
Polybutylene pipe also offer the added benefit of allowing more materials to be carried in either straight lenghts or coils, and they can be quickly fitted directly from the coil.
Once installed, these materials provide exceptional performance in low noise transmission and water hammer effect, giving houses a peaceful and efficient system.
Underfloor advantages
When constructing pipes for underfloor heating systems, we provide polybutylene barrier pipe in 15mm coils of 25, 50, 80, 100, 120, or 150 meters.
While it is suited for all underfloor heating applications that employ 15mm pipe, including solid, suspended, and over-the-floor applications, the additional benefit of adopting this type of piping is that any excess pipe can be used in radiator systems and hot and cold potable water installations.
Polybutylene is also suitable for use in particular applications. For example, some polybutylene pipe explicitly designed for underfloor heating installations, offering greater flexibility and compatibility with the lowest-profile retrofit systems.
The Issue with Polybutylene Plumbing
Polybutylene (or P.B.) pipes were touted as the “pipe of the future” in the 1970s. Between 1978 and 1995, about one out of every five homes in the United States used P.B. plumbing made of a flexible, inexpensive, freeze-resistant, and easy-to-install plastic resin.
So, what went wrong?
Specific contaminants in the water supply, such as chlorine, cause polybutylene to become brittle. Suddenly, the flexibility that made P.B. pipes an excellent choice was creating leaks 10-15 years after installation.
While the manufacturers never confessed to product weakness, they did pay $950 million in a class action lawsuit in 1995 (Cox v. Shell Oil Co.). This brought a stop to the usage of polybutylene pipes in residences.
Unfortunately, this order did not remove the material from homes, and massive plumbing leaks (not to mention costly water damage) persisted. As a result, many insurers will refuse to cover homes with polybutylene plumbing.
How can you know whether your house contains polybutylene?
Inside Your Home – Look near your hot water tank, across the ceiling in your utility room, crawlspace, or unfinished basement, beneath your kitchen sink, and through walls to supply sinks and toilets.
Outside Your Home – Polybutylene water mains are typically grey, blue, or black. (Note that black polybutylene can resemble polyethylene pipe). Service plumbing generally has a diameter of 1″ and enters your home through a perforation in the concrete slab. (Tip: The water main typically enters the house around the water heater, just before the main shutoff valve).
If you are in Canada, look for the usual piping manufacturer’s stamps or identifying codes on the pipes.
• “POLY” or “POLY-B”
• “PB2110”
• “B 137.8” or “CSA B 137.8”
• “ASTM,” “D3309” or “ASTM D-3309”
• “QEST” • “SDR11” or “SDR-11” •
“POTABLE” The pipe is stamps “MIN 690 kPa @ 82C” or “100 psi @ 180F” to confirm its safety for drinking water.
Note: The absence of these codes does not always imply that the plumbing is not polybutylene. The plumbing material may still be polybutylene if it fits all other requirements.
Why Does Polybutylene Plumbing Fail?
Historically, there has been controversy concerning why polypipes fail.
In previous disputes, the polybutylene plumbing industry argued that the failures resulted from to installation errors and improper pipe couplings, rather than issues with the polybutylene tubing itself. They highlight the ongoing success of polybutylene plumbing systems in Europe and parts of Asia, where various P.B. connection systems are still in use, as evidence that their product is reliable. When polybutylene leaks occur in U.S. plumbing systems, they are frequently at or near connectors.
In the United States, it is widely accepted that chemicals in municipal water supplies reacting with to with polybutylene likely caused the failures, which is one of the direct reasons homeowners won a large class-action lawsuit against Shell Oil. Under U.S. construction codes, polybutylene is no longer an acceptable plumbing material for potable water systems.
It is now primarily an academic exercise to determine why a particular system failed and whether an existing poly-b system will fail. Your first polybutylene leak can occur anytime, even if you’ve had years of leak-free operation. Furthermore, even if your poly pipes never leak, their existence will negatively impair your home’s value and may affect your homeowners—insurance policy.
What Is the Effect of Chlorine on Polybutylene Piping?
Although there was insufficient scientific evidence, chlorine in public water sources produced a chemical reaction with polybutylene pipes and acetal connections (grey and white plastic insert fittings). This reaction damages the polybutylene pipes in the following ways, with each effect leading to the next until the pipes are ruined.
Scaling.
Scaling refers to the formation of mineral layers on a pipe’s inside surface caused by chlorine in the conveyed water. This process gradually reduces the pipeline’s efficiency. Polybutylene pipes gradually begin to scale due to the chemical reaction triggered by high amounts of chlorine in public water supplies. This is one of the impacts of chlorine on polybutylene pipes, and it does a lot to weaken the pipe and make it more susceptible to damage. With less space for water to move through the pipe, the pressure inside the pipe rises, thus jeopardizing the integrity of the Polybutylene pipes.
Flaking.
Flaking refers to removing scales off the surface of polybutylene pipes as flakes. Scale buildup will unavoidably reduce room and increase pressure within the pipes, causing the pipe to flake. The flaking of polybutylene pipes thins them from the inside, progressively decreasing the pipes’ stated thickness. Flaking makes pipes more likely to become brittle.
Brittle.
Chlorine has ongoing effects on polybutylene pipes. After flaking for a while, the pipes become delicate, shatterable, and prone to shattering quickly, although appearing hard. When polybutylene pipes become brittle, they can break into pieces without warning, causing uncontrollable water leaks.
Although additional variables contribute to the failure of polybutylene pipes, excessive chlorine levels have emerged as the primary culprit in degrading their integrity of polybutylene pipes and causing them to collapse. The failure of polybutylene pipes led to multiple lawsuits, with damages totaling at least $950 million, despite the producers refusing to concede that the polybutylene pipes were defective.
Meanwhile, the continued use of chlorine in public water sources promotes the corrosion and degradation of polybutylene pipelines. As a result, polybutylene pipes can fail at any time without notice, Therefore it is strongly recommended to return them if they are still have installed in your place or commercial facility.
Why Should You Replace Polybutylene Plumbing?
Polybutylene water pipes are no longer permitted under U.S. building codes. Polybutylene piping deteriorates over 10-15 years, but because it deteriorates from the inside out, determining the degree of the damage can be difficult. A licensed plumber can identify the material and age of your pipes. Polybutylene.com provides more information.