Polybutylene Pipes VS Copper Pipes

[tjdmlhw]

We are in the process of redecorating out Guest Bathroom and need some plumbing work done. The pipes in our home are polybutylene with the copper fittings and friends have been recommending that I have the whole house redone with copper.

I have a someone from one of the refitting companies coming today to give me an estimate. The problem is that as I started in to this more, I have found articles about copper pipes having problems which sound worse than the poly problems. Poly is expected to last 10 to 15 years, articles I have seen say that copper is giving out after 4 to 5 years.

Does anyone have any knowledge in this area or can anyone point me to studies that have been done on this?

Any help you can give would be appreciated.

Hello,

Try asking your question in Techimo Community, as well. There may be some members there who can help.

http://www.techimo.com/forum/f3/index.html

[RobRich]

PVC pipes are perfectly fine, not the mention of the choice of most new home builders. Copper is nice, but it has its drawbacks, with pricing being the most obvious concern.

If your current system is working properly, I see no need to convert to copper. Someone is trying to take your wallet for a ride.

Robert Richmond

[dunbar]

I plumbed my new house with copper when I built it in 1983-4; today, in the kitchen and bathrooms, the metallic taste is very strong when the tap has been unused for 6-8 hours or more. My water has its own mineral content (and softness and ph) problems, yet the copper pipe taste is definitely there. When I run the tap for a couple minutes, the metallic taste dissipates.

The upstairs sink was added 2 years ago, has poly piping connecting to the copper piping, and at that tap, the first few seconds of water from that tap tastes ok, IMO. Then comes the copper taste after 5 seconds of full tap, and then the copper taste goes away after a couple minutes of running.

The moral there is that I can taste metallic water when the water rests inside copper piping. Maybe you would taste it as well?

The biggest question, and I can't answer it, is what level of ph is water in your house? And what minerals, hardness/softness, etc.? These all affect the water quality and the waters ability to dissolve the piping.

Then there is the issue of which solder to use, but there are answers for that question: Anything but lead based solder.