Plumbing

andyb2, Dec 27, 9:38pm
Planning a new build and the specs are for " polybutylene din 8077/8078 " plumbing. Any thoughts ? Is this a common material ? Is copper even used for new builds these days ?

shanreagh, Dec 27, 10:11pm
You can Google search under 'polybutylene din 8077/8078' and sift through the results. I specified copper for my middle-aged build 20 years ago.

Hope you get it sorted out OK.

budgel, Dec 27, 10:32pm
I did similar, but just specified copper inside the walls. The house had a wooden floor on a raised site, so was easy to get to underneath.

happychappy50, Dec 28, 7:31am
^^^^^^
Did this when I re did my bathroom,as the old stuff was showing signs of breaking down.House is 24 yrs old,also rodents love it,so another reason to replace with copper.

lythande1, Dec 28, 8:26am
The Buteline Plumbing System is designed for hot and cold water reticulation using Polybutene-1 (PB-1) pipe and thermoplastic polymer fittings, utilising Buteline's proven and efficient clamping technique.

Buteline always represents quality and only selects materials which are specifically designed for their applications.

* Please note that 'Buteline' and 'Polybutene-1' ('Polybutylene') are not the same thing -- 'Buteline' refers to our brand of plumbing system (pipe, fittings, tools), 'Polybutene-1' is the name of the raw material from which plumbing pipe can be made.

http://www.buteline.com/nz/buteline-plumbing-system/

Buteline is the common stuff used today.

pauldw, Dec 28, 2:20pm
Wellington Hospital is proof that even copper has problems. They have recurring pinhole leaks in their 10 yr old copper.

martin11, Dec 28, 2:27pm
Copper in both Blenheim and Rangiora is asking for trouble because of the water quality .

aredwood, Dec 28, 11:12pm
If you are going to go with copper. You can now get crimp systems for copper. Far faster to install compared to old style copper. http://www.conexbanninger.com/product_range.php?brands_id=1

Reece Plumbing are the NZ agents for that brand. As above check what sort of water you will be using. As some areas will quickly rot copper. Also in the 80s, there were bad batches of copper imported, which were never cleaned properly from the factory. These pipes would fail if used for cold water, and be fine if used on hot - as the hot cleans them after installation.

Not fun having to repipe an 80s house because the copper pipes in the floor slab have failed. Also it was the cold pipes that had failed, had to replace both hot and cold. As they had never been wrapped. So only a matter of time before the hot would also fail.

pauldw, Dec 29, 6:21am
I see that Reese also sell a PEX brand. Do you have any comment on PEX vs PB? There's a Wgtn firm making gloomy predictions about the life of any PB systems. If true you'd have to wonder why it was still permitted in new builds.

aredwood, Dec 29, 11:35pm
It is the usual situation, If it is not installed properly, then any system can and will fail. Common problem in the pipe installed under stress due to not using enough elbows.

I personally use Dux Secura as my main pipe system. But I do lots of maintenance and smaller scale renovations. And often there is existing polybute that I need to join onto. If I used a different system - I would have to use a crazy number of conversion fittings.

Have also been caught out by a pipe system disappearing from the market, making obtaining fittings for renovations or repairs difficult. There is lots of polybute out there, Plus at least 4 different brands available. So You will always be able to buy fittings for it in the future.

Just earlier tonight, had to do an emergency repair - dux quest failed in the ceiling. Not bad that a known faulty piping system managed to last 30 years.

omamari, Dec 30, 6:45am
Have a look at this
http://www.johnguest.com/our-products/
We used it in our new house 10 years ago. Our plumber was so impressed he's used it ever since.

supernova2, Jan 19, 5:46am
I think that's a better product than polybute. But like everything who knows how long it will last.