Anyone have had experiences with cracked PVC?

[Len]

Just curious if anyone here has had PVC crack on them due to age or light/heat exposure? Trying to gauge how real this danger is since some of my PVC above the tank is subject to 400W halides.

 

[Anonymous]

What does it matter to you? You asking for a friend? We know you dont have a tank.


Good question though on the PVC and the light.

 

[Anonymous]

PVC are pretty bristled when exposed to UV light. For exposed water pipe, there are different UV-resistant PVC that you can get, typically for lawn and garden.

They usually get yellow and turn harder when exposed to UV and ozone. Heat does not seem to do much to them unless it is very hot.... there is a temperature rating on the plastic, something like 200 F :?

 

[Len]

I'm using gray PVC, and I do notice some discoloration. I should swap it out, but I'm a bit lazy

 

[bleedingthought]

Does the discoloration affect the sturdiness of the pipe, though?

 

[Len]

It's still holding water if that says anything I haven't applied lots of pressure on it to test it though.

 

[Anonymous]

It's still holding water if that says anything I haven't applied lots of pressure on it to test it though.

Try it and let us know.

 

[Anonymous]

Just curious if anyone here has had PVC crack on them due to age or light/heat exposure? Trying to gauge how real this danger is since some of my PVC above the tank is subject to 400W halides.

:lol: Don't even sweat it. I've seen plain old schedule 40 PVC sit for nearly a decade outdoors in subtropical sun, unproctected on systems with no cracking or self-destruction. Discoloration and brittleness? Yes.

 

[Len]

I don't like RobRob.

 

[Len]

:lol: Don't even sweat it. I've seen plain old schedule 40 PVC sit for nearly a decade outdoors in subtropical sun, unproctected on systems with no cracking or self-destruction. Discoloration and brittleness? Yes.

Sweet. Some peace of mind. Of course, when we get the next big quake, I might not be so confident

 

[Anonymous]

Schedule 80 PVC is rated for direct sunlight FWIW.

Louey

 

[Len]

The gray i have is sch 40 (ya, not very common).

 

[Anonymous]

Actually, schedule 40 is common. It's what you'd get if you just went to HD or Lowes. Schedule 80 is far less common.

Schedule 40 is a step above sprinkler pipe though. That's a plus for you.

I wouldn't worry about it unless it starts to sag due to the heat, which it already would have if it was going too.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah and thinking that the water goign through the pipes is cooling them down as well.

 

[Len]

I meant gray colored Sch 40 isn't too common

 

[rbursek]

the schedule 80 I used is grey, I always seen 40 in white, I thought they where color coded for visual inspection in the construction industry. I should ask my plumber buddy.
Bob

 

[Len]

Ya, gray is usually 80, but i special ordered 40 in gray as I didn't want the more narrow ID of sch 80.

 

[Anonymous]

Len, tap it with a rubber mallet. If it crack, then you know you need to replace it right away.

 

[Christeon]

I bought gray sch 40 from US plastics as well and it said right on the website "For UV resistance of PVC pipe and fittings, paint with a white water based latex paint."

 

[Anonymous]

my experience with cracked pvc is that if you whack someone on the head hard enough with it, it'll crack