How can polypropylene pipes be welded. Do-it-yourself plastic pipe welding video lesson Plastic pipe welding equipment

Polypropylene pipes are currently widely used for laying water pipes and pipelines.

When PPR pipes and fittings are heated on the sockets of the welding machine, local depolymerization of polypropylene occurs, and when the surfaces of the pipes being welded are tightly aligned and cooled, mutual diffusion of the material and repolymerization occur. Thus, while respecting all the subtleties welding technology the welded surfaces of pipes and fittings become one.

Equipment for diffuse socket welding of polypropylene pipes

For work you will need:

Pipe cutter. The most common option is pipe shears. However, such a pipe cutter does not guarantee an even cut and may partially deform the pipe. A smoother cut is achieved when using a circular pipe cutter for plastic pipes. In the absence of a special cutting one, you can use a hacksaw with a fine tooth and a miter box.
Trimmer. When using pipes reinforced with metal foil in heating and hot water supply systems, to prevent delamination of pipe walls during hydraulic shocks at high temperatures, it is recommended to remove the inner foil layer for up to 2 mm. Also, the trimmer allows you to get a smooth cut chamfer and remove possible burrs.
Ruler and pencil. On the pipe it is necessary to measure and mark the recommended welding depth. If you do not comply with the norms for deepening pipes into fittings during welding, polypropylene rollers can form inside, narrowing the pipe clearance. Also, marks on the pipe and fittings are useful for welding pipes in a certain relative position.
Alcohol wipes. The place of welding of a polypropylene pipe must be thoroughly dedusted and degreased to prevent the formation of capillary passages in the thickness of the material to be welded.
Welding machine with interchangeable socket nozzles (mandrel couplings). For most cases, a conventional and inexpensive welding machine with a sword-shaped heating element with a power of up to 1 kW is suitable. Such a device can provide welding of pipes with a diameter of up to 63 mm. Professional welding machines are more powerful, more accurate in temperature control. Also, professional devices allow you to simultaneously heat two pairs of sockets different diameter so as not to waste time replacing them when welding pipes of different diameters. For welding PPR pipes in hard-to-reach places, there are welding machines with a thin round heating element, which can be located either straight or at an angle of 90 degrees. The sockets for such welding machines are made as a single unit with a hole for the heating element between the sleeve and the mandrel. When choosing a welding machine, it is important to pay attention that the sockets in the kit are coated with a Teflon non-stick coating (referred to as PTFE) to prevent plastic from sticking to the sockets. IN domestic use two light indicators of heating are sufficient: red (operation indicator) and green (indicator of reaching the set temperature). The handle of the heating regulator must have a clear graduation and good fixation in the selected position. There will be no extra clamp on the stand of the welding machine: it allows you to fix the machine so that it does not move when the heated pipes are disconnected.

How to weld PVC pipes?

Until recently, steel pipes were the only material from which heating and water supply systems were created. Today they have been replaced by products made of polypropylene. Pipes made of polymer plastic are easy to work with, environmentally friendly, corrosion resistant, strong and incredibly durable. Plaque does not form on their inner walls, which reduces the likelihood of clogging of water communications to zero. If you know how to weld plastic pipes, then you can create reliable engineering systems with your own hands that will be operated without incident for decades without repair and maintenance. To do this, you need to understand the features of working with polypropylene pipes and the nuances inherent in welding.

Features of polypropylene pipes

Plastic pipes have different section, section length and wall thickness. These factors determine the areas of application of polypropylene products of different brands. So, if ordinary pipes are used for the installation of a water supply system for cold water, then for hot water supply and heating systems it is necessary to purchase products reinforced with aluminum. The metal insert does not allow the purlins to change their size and deform under the influence of high temperature.

Knowing how to properly weld plastic pipes different type, you can avoid errors that arise due to violations of the technology of this process. Since polypropylene products have a sufficient margin of safety and absolute tightness, disadvantages arise due to the wrong choice of tools, fittings and incorrect actions when welding pipes.

Before you cook plastic pipes, it is advisable to plan the upcoming work. This procedure involves drawing up a water supply scheme, carrying out calculations building materials and preparing the necessary tools.

What tools and materials will be required?

Required Tools

First of all, you need to realize a simple but necessary truth - you should not save on purchases. You can only get high quality results reliable equipment and with proven material. Knowing how to weld plastic pipes alone will not be enough if you buy budget tools and material of unknown origin. Even for a one-time action, you need to have at hand all the best. Otherwise, there is a high probability of leakage or rapid destruction of the manufactured system.

Let's start with the main thing - choosing a fixture for welding plastic pipes. For this, household soldering irons are used, designed to connect polymer pipes from various materials.

Experienced craftsmen who know well how to cook PVC pipes recommend purchasing devices with the following characteristics:

power not less than 2 kW;
the presence of 2 heating elements;
microprocessor thermostat;
staffing with additional interchangeable nozzles;
Teflon coated drones and shells;
packing case with a set of documentation and equipment.

Pipe welding machine bodies are made of aluminum or stainless steel. It does not affect the quality of work. But, steel appliances are more durable. They should be purchased only when you have to cook plastic pipes in extreme conditions and in large volumes.

In addition to a soldering iron, you need to stock up on the following property:

special scissors or pipe cutter;
roulette;
building level;
marker;
sandpaper;
perforator;
fittings (corners, tees, crosses, contours, couplings, taps, plugs);
polypropylene pipes diameter 20, 25, 32 mm;
clamps for fastening pipes to walls;
safety goggles and gloves.

Note: Before welding PVC pipes, you must carefully read the instructions that come with each device.

How are plastic pipes made?

Pipeline manufacturing

Before starting work, it is necessary to mark the floors and walls. After that, you need to make holes for the passage of the water supply and install the clamps. They will greatly facilitate the welding process, since the sections to be welded can be attached to the clamps. Next, blanks are cut from the sections.

This procedure requires compliance with the following rules:

work should be carried out only with a sharp tool to prevent plastic from crushing;
cutting products must be strictly at right angles;
on the blanks, you need to mark the depth of their immersion in the fittings with a marker so as not to make a mistake when welding;
clean the welding places from dirt, dust and sawdust, wipe with alcohol;
check the integrity and correctness of the geometry of all parts before welding PVC pipes.

After the preparatory work the welding machine is turned on. Its readiness for operation is signaled by a light indicator. At the same time, both parts to be welded are attached to the soldering iron. The wide one is mounted on the drone, the narrow one is inserted into the sleeve. Heating lasts exactly as long as it is provided for a specific material with specific parameters.

After the end of heating, both parts are simultaneously disconnected from the device and joined. This process is done slowly and carefully. The progress of the section into the fitting stops when it reaches the ledges or before the mark on the pipe made in advance. Experienced craftsmen know when to stop.

The fusion of parts begins. It lasts exactly according to the time indicated in the table. At this time, the joint can be adjusted, but only vertically.

You can continue working after the cooling time has elapsed. It is also indicated in the regulatory tables. After the weld has cooled down, the next part can be soldered.

Video about soldering plastic pipes

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The mythical rod of Poseidon or welding plastic pipes with a soldering iron

In the photo - engineering systems of a private house, collected by the method welding of plastic pipes.

I have a neighbor (regular readers are already familiar with him in absentia), who has begun to make repairs in his bathroom and toilet. And since he had little money, he decided to install the pipes himself. And if he succeeded with the sewerage the first time, then welding plastic pipes for the water supply caused some problems.

It seems that he has instructions, and he bought (and did not rent) a device that is far from the cheapest, but for some reason the connections are not tight.

After fumbling for some time, he again came to me for advice (by the way, the last time we spent a good time over a glass of tea). Well, why should I refuse a good person? We sat down in the kitchen with him, and I laid out the whole process for him.

By the way, in connection with this, there was an occasion to tell you, readers, about how to choose a machine for welding plastic pipes and how to use it correctly.

General rules

As a practitioner, I know two ways to weld plastic parts of pipelines:

with the help of bells;
butt.

Below I will talk about both technologies, but before that I would like to mention some general rules to help you follow the recommendations below and achieve the best connection quality:

I always weld pipes only at positive air temperature. Otherwise technological process requires major changes, which negatively affects the tightness and durability of the connection.

Welding of pipes should be done only at positive air temperature.

For piping installation by welding, I always buy parts from the same manufacturer and variety to ensure the uniformity of the chemical composition of the plastic.

For work, you need to take parts from one manufacturer.

In this case, when heated at the same temperature and for a strictly fixed amount of time, the polymer acquires the same mobility, which ensures a reliable and waterproof connection.

We are talking about the same chemical composition of the pipes, and not about their color. Tinting is done by adding a small amount of coloring matter to the raw mass, which has no effect on the melting time of the plastic.

And never take pipes for work, the price of which is too low compared to similar parts. Most likely, this is a fake and you will not be able to hermetically join the pipes into a reliable water supply system.

The parts to be joined must be thoroughly cleaned of dust, dirt and grease stains. It is the latter that greatly affect the quality of the welded joint. I always wipe the ends of parts before welding with alcohol, white spirit or other suitable solvent.

Pipes must be thoroughly cleaned and degreased before welding.

Also, make sure that the cloth you use does not leave fibers on the pipe (such as a bandage).

A factor affecting the quality is also a damaged polymer. Sometimes the pipes lie in the sun for a long time, and the ultraviolet destroys the plastic. In this case, the damaged layer must be removed. special tool or take another part that has been properly stored.
It is equally important to ensure that the pipes are dry. Condensation sometimes forms on them, which will not allow welding products at the molecular level.

The surfaces to be welded must be dry.

And the last point that I wanted to mention at the very beginning. Cooling of the joint after connection should occur in natural conditions. If you pour cold water on it or speed up the process with chilled air, you can achieve the opposite.

On the contrary, in some cases (for example, if the air temperature in the room is too low), it is necessary to slow down the process by insulating the fitting with the pipe with fabric or heat-insulating material.

Socket welding

Socket soldering process - in fact, there is nothing complicated here

Welding plastic pipes is the most common way to connect parts for plumbing. It is used for joining products of small diameter, which are sufficient for the design of intra-apartment engineering systems.

Schematic representation socket welding poly propylene pipes.

General information

To connect polypropylene parts, so-called fittings are used - products in the form of corners, tees, bends, taps, and so on. They are made from the same type of plastic as the pipes themselves.

Previously, it was believed that additional fittings are a lack of welding technology. water pipes, however, practice shows that it is in this way that an effective engineering system can be designed without special costs and difficulties. For example, corners allow you to rotate the pipe by 90 degrees, without any fear of reducing the diameter of the internal section of the product.

Briefly, I can describe the whole process as follows: when welding pipes using a socket method, the surfaces of the elements to be joined are melted (special equipment is used for this), after which they are connected, forming a strong connection with the mutual penetration of molecules.

Compared to butt welding, I consider this connection more reliable. The very fact that you insert one part into another during work provides additional strength. In addition, in this way there is practically no need to worry about the correct alignment of the longitudinal axes of the pipeline.

A socket connection is more reliable than an end connection.

What can I say, several times for the sake of interest my wife tried to weld plastic pipes. And after a little training, everything turned out to be quite easy and quite reliable.

Required Tools

For work, you definitely need a soldering iron for welding plastic pipes. This miracle machine can also be called an iron or a welding machine.

Structurally, the tool is a heater with a special head, on which replaceable elements with couplings and mandrels are put on. The latter are just what are needed for the simultaneous heating of the pipe, which is inserted into the coupling, and the fitting, which is put on the mandrel.

Soldering iron for welding plastic pipes in detail.

As a result, the parts are heated evenly, which ensures a reliable and completely waterproof connection.

My iron is equipped with heating elements made in the form of an elongated triangle. However, the store sells many other models. The appearance of the soldering iron does not play any practical role.

When buying, pay attention to what diameter pipes (maximum) can be welded using the device model you like. And also ask how many heating pairs (couplings and mandrels) can be installed at the same time.

I will give you a few more tips for free, which, I hope, will help you choose a quality and reliable tool that will be a pleasure to work with:

How more area heating element, the larger diameter pipes can be soldered. The fact is that the couplings must be screwed so that they Bottom part completely touched the heater, and did not protrude beyond its boundaries.

The head size determines the maximum diameter of pipes that can be welded.

The power of the soldering iron does not matter. If the working bodies are installed correctly, the desired temperature will be reached in any case. And power only affects how long you have to wait for this moment.
Some soldering irons a heating element made in the form of a cylinder. Such devices take up less space than classic ones. As for others specifications I personally don't see any difference.

Soldering iron with a cylindrical heating element.

The type of temperature sensor installed in the device is important for operation. The more accurately it reads the indicators, the better the connection will be. That is, the more high-quality welding machine you get.

It is best to choose a device with electronic control units that read the indicators most accurately and as close as possible to the working heating elements. Welding machines equipped with such sensors have less thermal inertia (they respond faster to changes in device settings).

Capillary-type thermostats, as well as bimetallic relays, are not as accurate. They have a very large difference between the value indicated on the scale of the device and the actual temperature of the heater.

Regardless of the type of relay used, I recommend that after the light comes on, indicating that the device is heating, wait a couple more minutes so that the working element is definitely brought into working condition.

The thermostat and signal lights will help bring the device into working condition.

In addition to the welding machine with the required number of couplings and mandrels, you need to stock up on other devices, without which pipe welding, although possible, is very difficult.

I advise while working to have:

device for chamfering plastic pipes;
calibrator;
trimmer;
special scissors for cutting parts;
liquid that degreases the plastic surface.

Sometimes these devices are included with the soldering iron, but often they have to be purchased separately.

Pipe Soldering Tool Set

Welding technology

If you have accurate measuring instruments, then you empirically you can make sure that the actual pipe diameter is slightly larger than the value indicated in the technical documentation. Accordingly, the actual inner diameter of the fitting is slightly smaller than necessary.

The actual pipe diameter is slightly larger than the nominal one.

For example, if you buy polypropylene water pipes with a diameter of 20 mm, then their actual size will be 0.5 mm larger. Accordingly, the fitting will be 0.5 mm smaller.

The mandrels and couplings of the heating device have a conical surface and exactly in the middle, if measured from the edge, their diameter becomes equal to the nominal one.

That is what I want to say. If you try to stick a pipe into a fitting without heating or slide them over a cold soldering iron, you will not succeed. This is done in order to ensure the most dense, tight and durable connection after the end of all procedures.

So, in the process of connecting parts with a molten outer layer, a small part of the plastic is squeezed out, forming the so-called burr (low roller). And the inner layers of the pipe are compressed a little to enter the fitting.

When properly connected, a small bead (bead) is formed at the fitting.

As a result, it turns out that the heated surfaces of the fitting and pipe press each other a little, displacing the air inside and ensuring the mutual diffusion of plastic molecules.

This is me a little off the side of the theory, which, however, you will need to understand internal processes occurring during welding. As for the practical part, a short list will be given in the diagram, and I will talk about each stage in detail later.

Technology for welding plastic pipes.

Pipe preparation

So, I'll start with the preparation of the pipes. First you need to cut them into segments of the desired length. To do this, it is best to use special scissors, thanks to which the cut will be located strictly at an angle of 90 degrees.

There are mechanical devices on sale, but if you have a huge amount of work to do, you can also find units powered by electrical network. Although I have used a hand cutter all my life and my hands, believe me, did not fall off.

Automatic pipe cutters allow you to make cuts without the slightest physical effort.

After that, you need to prepare the cut pipes for the welding process. If you bought ordinary pipes, you just need to clean the end of dirt and debris, and then degrease the plastic surface using special solutions.

But often reinforced polypropylene pipes are used to construct domestic water pipes. For this, either aluminum foil or fiberglass is used. Similar engineering solution helps to reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion of plastic, as a result of which you do not need to install special expansion joints in the plumbing and heating system.

Reinforced polypropylene pipes have a minimum coefficient of thermal expansion.

Aluminum, among other things, excludes the penetration of oxygen into the water, which is very important for closed-cycle climate systems (airing of heating mains is excluded).

So, if you have to weld metal-plastic pipes, that is, parts with an aluminum reinforcing layer, you need to carefully clean off the entire foil layer with a shaver - a tool specially designed for this. If this is not done, a tight connection between the fitting and the plastic pipe is not worth even dreaming of.

Shaver is such a simple device.

Parts with fiberglass do not require special handling, they can be prepared for welding in the usual way.

I met pipes for sale, where the reinforcing metallized layer was located not near the surface, but in the thickness of the plastic wall. Then, instead of a shaver, you need a special trimmer that removes metal from that part of the part that is to be joined. Otherwise, water can penetrate the reinforcing gap inward and cause the plastic to swell.

To achieve the best result, you can purchase couplings that have a special design and are designed for reinforced pipes. During the soldering process, the plastic seals the hole with the foil, completely eliminating water leakage.

To be 100% sure of the final result, I advise you to always calibrate the pipe from the outside and chamfer the end of the part. Sometimes the product may have a slightly elliptical shape, which is leveled by sizing. A small bevel will make it easier for you to install heated parts.

But this is mine personal advice and the rules for the installation of plastic pipes, such an operation is not provided.

Soldering iron preparation

So, we sort of figured out the preparation of pipes, now I’ll tell you how to properly prepare a welding machine for work or, in other words, a soldering iron.

First of all, the device must be firmly fixed on special legs, in a bracket or on a suitable frame. When you insert cold plastic parts to warm up, you need to apply a certain amount of force. Therefore, in order to avoid deformation of the polymer, it is necessary that the sleeve and the mandrel are absolutely stationary.

After fixing the entire soldering iron on its heating element, you need to screw the so-called pair - the coupling and the mandrel - the size of which will correspond to the diameter of the pipes currently being mounted.

Then you can turn on the device for warming up. After a while, it will heat up to a temperature of approximately 260 degrees Celsius. This far exceeds the mark at which the plastic becomes fluid. As a result, it is possible to quickly melt the surface of the pipe and fitting, but at the same time not violate the integrity of the deep layers of the part.

The end of the heating process is signaled by a light on the handle of the device (at least for me, but I don’t think that the device you bought is significantly different).

Warming up parts

As soon as the soldering iron has entered the operating mode, you can proceed to heating the parts. To do this, you must simultaneously put on the mandrel and insert into the coupling, respectively, the fitting and the pipe. If you can’t do it all at once (lack of dexterity), first slide the fitting on, it is more massive so it can warm up 1-2 seconds longer.

All products for the installation of water supply, as I said, have a special allowance. Therefore, when putting them on the heating element, you need to apply a little effort. However, it is important not to overdo it, acting gradually.

Parts for warming up must be put on at the same time.

As the parts are put on, the excess polymer will be squeezed out, forming a small influx (burr). If the parts for heating are installed too freely, I consider this a sign of marriage, I throw out the prepared pipe and fitting, starting the operation again. Believe my experience, a high-quality connection in this case will still not work.

It is important to feel the depth of installation of products on the heating element. As soon as the pipe rests against the bottom of the coupling, and the fitting against the edge of the mandrel, in no case should you press anymore. Otherwise, you can hush up the end of one part and the limiter of the other, that is, everything will have to be redone again.

Some make marks on the pipe with a pencil to understand how deep it needs to be inserted into the heater. However, I can tell you with confidence that you will feel everything in the process of work yourself, do not bother with marks.

After installing the parts, you need to hold them on the soldering iron for a while so that the plastic surface has time to melt a little. It is very, very important to maintain a specific period of time. If overexposed - the pipe is deformed, underexposed - diffusion will be incomplete, the connection will be leaky.

Each plastic pipe manufacturer provides tables to guide you. For example, I will give indicative parameters for polypropylene pipes of the PN20 brand.

Table of heating times for plastic pipes before welding.

You need to note the time from the second you pushed the details all the way. As soon as the required amount of time has passed, the products must be removed at the same time, also applying a certain, but not excessive force to this.

Assembly of parts

After warming up, without delaying a second, you need to start welding. To do this, the pipe must be inserted into the fitting. And do it no later than 5 seconds after the end of the warm-up process. Otherwise, the plastic will cool too much. You will either not be able to assemble the pipes at all, or the end result will be very far from ideal.

After warming up, you need to connect the parts and leave them to cool.

It is very important during assembly not to rotate the parts about the longitudinal axis. The maximum offset must not exceed 5 degrees. Otherwise, the tightness and strength of the assembly will also be violated.

A properly done job will be indicated by the influx of plastic (burr), which forms near the joint. It must be the same height around the entire circumference of the part.

Parts cooling

After connecting the parts, they must be left for a while so that the polymer hardens. This will take only a few seconds, during which they can not be touched.

However, I advise you to take about 2 minutes to cool. During this time, the diffusion process will be completely completed and there is no need to worry about the strength of the knot.

Butt welding

Butt welding steps

In addition to the socket welding of plastic pipes, which I described in detail above, the so-called butt welding is used in construction. Its essence lies in the heating of sections of polymer parts with a special device (mirror) until melting, followed by connection under pressure until an airtight seam is formed.

The technology of the work is quite simple. The result is a very strong, airtight and durable seam.

Butt welding machine.

However, this is only at first glance, since I, as a person who understands this matter, can point out several features.

It is necessary to ensure a very precise alignment of adjacent parts along the longitudinal axis. The walls of the pipes after the end of the process must coincide with each other by at least 90%.
When welding, it is necessary to apply a certain force to the products, pressing the part against the welding mirror. Then exactly the same should be done during the solidification of the seam.
When cutting parts and processing the end, you need to carefully ensure that the cut is located at an angle of 90 degrees to the wall.

Everything here is quite simple, but only if you use a special device in your work - a centralizer, which is equipped with a special drive that provides clamping force. You also need a pipe cutter and trimmer.

Therefore, for the installation of domestic plumbing systems, where pipes of small diameter are used, and the amount of work carried out is small, socket welding is used. Moreover, I tell you, the resulting connections are almost stronger and more durable. In the latter case, a kind of lock is formed, which in no case will let water through.

Butt welding is more often used in the design of large trunk systems.

It is unlikely that you will do this at home

Typical mistakes at work

Now you know everything I could tell you about welding plastic pipes. I just want to dwell a little on the typical mistakes that novice craftsmen make when welding pipes. It was they who prevented my neighbor from doing the job well the first time.

Dirty and wet parts

Any experienced master, among which I dare to include myself, always wipes the end of the pipe and the inside of the fitting before starting soldering. This is done already at the level of the reflex. The fact is that during repairs, all parts are usually dumped on the floor, which is hardly clean. Sometimes I had to dismantle wrong assembled pipes, so, there was usually always a strip of dirt or dust.

Pipes must be cleaned of dirt before welding.

Another worst enemy is moisture. Even a drop of condensed water evaporates when heated, causing the joint to deform. By the way, I came across cases when such a “wet” connection even withstood preliminary tests, but gaps still appeared during operation (in my case after 5 months).

Yes, yes, this can happen.

And once again I remind you about the foil. Not a single piece of the metallized layer should get into the connection, since you can completely forget about reliability.

And yet, it is necessary to clean not only the pipes from dirt, but also the working element of the soldering iron. Sometimes traces of polypropylene remain on the sleeve or mandrel. They also need to be cleaned with a rag before you solder the next node.

Wrong placement

Once you have finished heating the pipes, you need to connect them immediately. And not just stick the part into the fitting, but correctly position it in relation to each other. This is where beginner welders have problems.

After inserting the pipe into the fitting, it must not be twisted or moved.

Often, after the joint, beginners begin to rotate the products or move them relative to each other, which is by no means necessary.

One more moment. It is not necessary to remove plastic slivers near the fitting before the connection has cooled. Otherwise, you can easily deform the assembly, which will lead to depressurization. By the way, if you warmed up the pipe exactly as much as indicated in the accompanying table, you will not have any sagging.

Poor quality material

Very often, a welded joint does not work if you saved money and bought poor quality polypropylene pipes from no one. well-known manufacturer. I have come across similar situations. So, even my experience did not help me to weld such details normally.

Even if you solder correctly, it’s not a fact that you won’t get such a picture over time

Therefore, you need to purchase materials only in a trusted store.

Some more "wise men" are trying to solder pipes from different manufacturers. I have already mentioned this. The unequal chemical composition does not allow the plastic to be heated correctly, which leads to violations of the technology.

Assembly rule violation

Here I will list the violations that I most often encountered in my practice:

When assembling the assembly, the pipe is not stuck into the fitting all the way, as a result of which a gap is formed inside. That is, the pipe wall will be thinner than specified by the technical specifications, and when force is applied (for example, water pressure) in this area, the part may burst.

Gap in the fitting - an error when soldering pipes.

Excessive force is applied to the pipe that is inserted into the fitting during assembly. As a result, plastic melts on the cut, which reduces the internal section of the pipe or completely seals the hole. Both that, and another negatively affects work of a water supply system.
Use when assembling damaged fittings. For example, you are assembling a pipeline and you have only one elbow fitting left, and a crack was found on it. Instead of going to the store and replacing it, negligent craftsmen install it into the system. I will not describe the consequences.

Conclusion

As you can see, do-it-yourself welding of plastic pipes is not as difficult as my neighbor imagined it to be. If you want to consider the process in more detail, you can check out the video in this article. I will also be glad if you share your own tips and stories about how you soldered plastic pipes. You can do this in the comments to this article.

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Professional and competent: welding of plastic pipes

Welding plastic pipes is a simple procedure. Polypropylene, or as they are more simply called - plastic, pipes also sometimes need welding process. It is not very difficult, although many are frightened by the very name of the work, even a novice welder can handle it. More precisely, someone who has the simplest technological ideas about how to cook at all.

Without special devices pipes, of course, cannot be welded. You need a welding machine. If we are talking about some domestic, non-industrial needs, a manual welding machine, the so-called "iron", is suitable. But it is intended only for socket soldering of polypropylene.

What is this device? The main part of the device is a heating plate with holes in which welding pairs of elements equipped with a Teflon coating are fixed. Also, the equipment has a thermostat and a convenient handle. Models may vary in configuration.

Plastic pipe welding process

The minimum configuration involves working with pipes of one, maximum two diameters. The average configuration is already several nozzles of various diameters, and the maximum configuration includes a complete set of different nozzles, as well as special tools needed for welding. And in addition to such a welding machine, you will definitely need scissors for cutting pipes. Also, it will not be superfluous to have a device for stripping reinforced parts.

Instructions: how to use a welding machine for polypropylene pipes

Any welder knows that in the technology of competent welding lies the heating of parts. It turns out that the surfaces to be welded are heated by Teflon nozzles, which are inserted into the apparatus itself. The fitting is put on the mandrel, the sleeve is a nozzle for the pipe, the welding machine itself is mounted on special legs. Next, you need to select, as well as fix the required diameter of the nozzle.

Then set the desired temperature on the thermostat, usually a table is attached to this tool, according to which you can see the temperature.

Plug into the outlet, while its indicators light up and they burn during the heating process;
Then the device warms up to the required temperature, the fitting is quickly and accurately combined with the mandrel, and the pipe, respectively, with the sleeve;
When the welding nozzle is combined with the pipe, then its outer layer is melted, and then comes out with a small bead;
The inner layers are also warmed up to a plastic state, they can be compressed quite closely, and the pipe enters the nozzle.

Work with a welding machine for polypropylene pipes should be very careful

A similar process occurs when the mandrel is combined with a fitting - the wall of the fitting is stretched, a burr appears on the inner surface. The nozzle advances, the outer cut of the fitting rests against the base and also melts a little. And this moment of emphasis of such parts, fittings and pipes, is perfectly felt by hand. And when you feel, immediately stop the pressure. Then the parts need to be held in place only until the desired heating temperature is reached.

When the elements are heated, they must be quickly removed from the nozzles. Attention: you need to work carefully, the movements are very precise. Already heated parts must be combined until it stops. The pipe will be elastically compressed, and the fitting will be stretched. It turns out that the parts to be welded put pressure on each other, thereby displacing the air that is in the seam. The molten material is mixed, and plastic pipes are firmly welded together.

General principles for welding large diameter plastic pipes

You can weld plastic pipes end-to-end or socket-weld. The method of connection is unimportant when it comes to certain rules, without which it is impossible to ensure high strength of the seam. The first rule is the installation of pipes at a positive temperature.

Installation of pipes must be carried out at positive temperature

Also, the general rules of welding can be considered:

The tool, as well as the pipes themselves and, in particular, the parts to be welded must be clean;
No need to try to cool the connection with water or cold air - this can be fraught with the appearance of stresses that reduce its strength;
Good welding is achievable only if these are thermoplastics of the same chemical composition, then when heated, the products will have the same fluidity, and this already guarantees a high-quality connection.

Of course, safety precautions must also be followed. Everything is done strictly according to the instructions. Pay attention to the quality of plastic, more precisely, polypropylene parts to be welded.

How to choose a plastic pipe welding machine

Coupling apparatus manual welding- this is exactly what the home master needs. No mechanical drive is needed, muscle effort will be enough. The design is as simple as possible.

Such a device has a handle from which the cable comes out. On the body of the device there are controls and controls. The thermostatic regulator allows you to set the desired heating temperature. If we talk about modern models, then some of them have a digital indication of the operating mode.

Complete set of the apparatus for welding plastic pipes

The equipment must be supplied with the device so that it can be installed on a workbench or floor. This is either a stand or a platform of a certain design, but having the ability to remove the device simply and quickly if you need to install it back.

The devices are different, some are designed for large diameter pipes. They are distinguished by the increased power of the heating element, as well as a special shape, thanks to which it is possible to install the necessary large mandrels and couplings.

How to weld plastic pipes (video)

When choosing a welding machine, always pay attention to the brand of the device. The reputation of the manufacturer, of course, is important. Ask the seller for a factory warranty, the product must be certified.

Good choice and good work!

heatclass.ru

Do-it-yourself welding of plastic pipes: learning to do it with high quality

In heating and water supply systems of apartments and private houses, instead of metal pipes Increasingly, polypropylene is being used. They do not need painting, are not subject to corrosion, and to everything, the installation of such a pipe is a very simple procedure.

Installation of such products is carried out by welding - it proceeds without soot and harmful substances, so that the laying of the pipeline can be carried out even after finishing works.

Considering that welding of plastic pipes is a very simple process, everyone can install plumbing or heating for themselves.

Set of tools

Tools and materials for pipe welding

In order to install a polypropylene pipeline on your own, you need to stock up on special tools and materials. These include:

pipe cutter;
alcohol with cotton wool;
fitting;
pipes;
alcohol marker;
roulette;
soldering iron.

Thus, a tape measure is needed to take measurements, and a marker is needed to mark the pipe. To carry out high-quality pipe welding, you need to cut the plastic pipe evenly with special scissors.

Cotton wool and alcohol are needed to degrease parts, pipes and fittings - to organize the pipeline, and a soldering iron - to connect pipes and fittings together.

The heating time of the pipe and fitting will depend on what diameter they have and what their wall thickness is.

There is another method that involves butt welding with a heated tool. In this case, two pipes are welded together without the use of a soldering iron or fittings. This method requires certain equipment. Since such manipulations require certain skills and equipment, it is better to call specialists for such work. Butt welding of plastic pipes video shows clearly:

Do-it-yourself plastic pipe welding process

Speaking about welding plastic pipes, it is worth noting that the very first and main step is the selection and installation of nozzles on the soldering iron. These nozzles are selected in accordance with the pipes and fittings that need to be welded together.

Usually all nozzles are included with the soldering iron, but sometimes you have to buy them yourself. In order for the welding of plastic pipes to be of high quality, the instruction manual for the welding machine should become your main document. Therefore, before starting work, you should familiarize yourself with it.

Everything is ready to go

After fixing the welding nozzle, the soldering iron is connected to the network and the temperature is set to 260 degrees. When the nozzles reach the set temperature, the corresponding indicator will inform the person about it. While the soldering iron is heating up, you need to prepare all the elements necessary for welding. We are talking about the marking of pipes and their cutting.

It is worth noting that the pipe will go into the fitting, and therefore the final length of the section must be calculated taking this into account.

Example quality work

Since rotation is not recommended for the most reliable fastening of pipes, it is better to put marks on the fitting and pipe in order to immediately solder everything correctly. Then the pipe and fitting are degreased and heated with a soldering iron. After the elements are heated, a person will have about 3-4 seconds for all manipulations. This gap is needed to place the pipe in the fitting, after which the connection is left alone for a few minutes.

If you do not allow the welding site to cool down, then a breakthrough in this place is possible in the future.

phoenix-master.com

Whether new individual housing is being built or a major modernization of engineering communications is planned in an old house or apartment - in any case, the vast majority of owners in ours prefer to refuse to use steel pipes. They are replaced by light, easy-to-install, aesthetically pleasing plastic ones. When assembling or heating circuits, no complex metal welding or cutting operations are required threaded connections, That's why installation work become available to any average homeowner - and this is a significant savings, since the work of a master is not cheap. And the material itself is much cheaper than the steel counterpart.

Of all the variety of polymer pipes, polypropylene is gaining one of the leading positions in popularity. The low cost of pipes and accessories, a wide range of various connecting and locking elements - all this allows you to mount systems of almost any level of complexity without excessive costs and quickly enough. However, there is one "BUT" - this will require special equipment. There is no need to be afraid of this - a special device is not so expensive, and you can learn how to work with it very quickly. So, which machine for welding polypropylene pipes to choose in order to have a reliable assistant, but at the same time - and not overpay too much? Let's try to understand this post.

Basic principles of polypropylene welding

In order for the welding of polypropylene pipes to be carried out with high quality, the master needs to clearly understand what processes taking place in this case provide reliable details.

Polypropylene is a thermoplastic polymer. When heated to a certain temperature, its softening and melting, the transition to the liquid phase begins, but when cooled, the material regains hardness without losing its physical and chemical qualities and mechanical strength. This means that if two parts made of are heated at the junction to the level of softening, but without allowing deformation of the element itself, and then combined with a certain force, then the molten layers will interpenetrate. Well, after reverse polymerization, a conjugation will be obtained, which is characterized by almost complete solidity - if you look at the section of a well-made joint, then the border between the two parts, most likely, cannot even be visually determined.

So, for welding polypropylene parts, it is necessary to provide two conditions - heating up to the stage of fusion of the joints and ensuring their compression for plastic interpenetration and final polymerization. This is achieved in two main technological ways.

Prices for machines for welding plastic pipes RESANTA

machines for welding plastic pipes RESANTA

Butt welding

This technology is used to connect pipes of the same type, of equal diameter. Extremely important conditions are ensuring the strict alignment of the joined parts and careful preparation ends for a perfect initial fit of the surfaces.

Then, simultaneous heating of both ends of the mating pipes is carried out to achieve melting to the required depth over the entire cross-sectional area.

Next, the stage of compression of the mating parts follows - this is ensured by the application of mechanical force, with counter vectors directed strictly along the axis of the pipe. As a result, in the places of melting of polypropylene, the effect of diffusion occurs - the mutual penetration of the polymer (pos. 2). This is followed by the necessary technological pause to ensure complete polymerization and obtain a monolithic compound (pos. 3)

The technology seems simple enough, but in reality it is not quite so. As noted, special requirements are imposed on the quality of processing of the ends of the pipes, on their strictly coaxial arrangement, and on the magnitude of the applied force. It is almost impossible to achieve this without special equipment, and the cost of such welding installations is very high. Therefore, this type of polypropylene welding in domestic conditions, as a rule, is not used - it is more in demand in a professional environment when laying main communications.

Sleeve welding

But this is exactly the technology that is available for use in any conditions. The requirements for careful centering of mating parts and ensuring the necessary compressive force do not go away, but their fulfillment is achieved in a completely different way - due to the carefully thought-out dimensions of the pipe and coupling.

Outside diameter pipes ( Dnt) is always slightly larger than the inner diameter of the coupling ( Dvm), that is, in the normal state, the connection is simply impossible.

To ensure the connection, the outer surface of the pipe and the inner surface of the coupling are simultaneously heated. In this case, the length of the heated sections relative to the edge of the parts is approximately equal.

After warming up, it is enough to apply hand force so that the pipe enters the coupling to the depth of penetration. It is difficult to make a mistake in ensuring the alignment of the connection in this case (although some control is still needed). The diameters of the parts are such that the necessary compressive force in the mating zone is provided by itself - it is enough just to hold the parts in a given position until the material interpenetrates and polymerizes.

The example shows a coupling, although in practice it can be a fitting, an adapter, a tap, a tee and other fittings - the principle does not change from this, since they are all equipped with exactly the same coupling connecting section.

A type of coupling is socket connection. The only difference is that pipe sections are connected without couplings - for this, a socket is provided at one end. Otherwise, the principle remains the same.

Device for welding polypropylene pipes

Butt welding machines

As already mentioned, butt welding of polypropylene in the conditions of private construction or repair is used very rarely. Nevertheless, the fundamental device of the apparatus deserves at least a superficial consideration.

Typically, such an apparatus is more like a machine, the mechanism of which is assembled on a frame with guides along which blocks with clamps for two pipes move, ensuring accurate coaxial fixation of the pipes. Most often, such clamp clamps are equipped with segment inserts designed for various pipe diameters.

The kit includes an electromechanical trimmer - a double-sided circular knife, which simultaneously brings the ends of the pipes to an ideal state. Trimming can be removable, in the form of a separate block, or folding, on a swivel joint.

After the stripping stage, the trim is removed, and in its place a flat round heating element is installed between the two pipes, which provides heating and the beginning of the melting of the material. The heater can also be completely removable or hinged.

The next step is the compression phase - the heater is removed (folded back), and the movable blocks with clamped pipes move towards each other. The required force can be provided by hydraulics or mechanical transmission - worm, screw, lever, etc.

Such devices are different in size and type of power drive, they can be universal or designed for a certain range of pipe diameters. common feature they have a high cost, which makes their use in domestic conditions completely unprofitable. Yes, there is no need for this - for the installation of any pressure and non-pressure pipelines in a house or apartment, socket welding is quite enough, especially since for short lengths it is the optimal solution, and the quality of the connections is even higher.

Machines for socket manual welding

But this is exactly the equipment that will be useful to the home master when creating or reconstructing a home plumbing or heating system. A mechanical drive, as already noted, is not required - human muscle effort is enough. Therefore, the design of the apparatus itself is extremely simple.

Any device has a handle (pos. 1) so that it is possible to carry out welding work on weight, in hard-to-reach places. As a rule, a cable (pos. 2) comes out of the handle for connection to the 220 V power supply.

On the body of the apparatus (pos. 3) there are controls and controls. These are heating indicators (pos. 4) and a thermostat regulator (pos. 5), which allows you to set the required heating temperature (when welding polypropylene pipes of small and medium diameter, +260 ° С is usually set). The red indicator indicates the operation of the heating element, the green indicator indicates that the required temperature has been reached and is ready for use. Some modern models welding machines can be equipped with digital indication of the operating mode.

The main working part of the device is, in fact, the heater itself (pos. 6). On most models, it is made in the form of a thick sword-shaped plate, although there may be other variations - this will be discussed below. Electric spirals are placed inside the heater, providing fast resistive heating of its surface.

There are several through holes on the surface of the heater - each of them is necessary for installing a pair of heating elements (pos. 7) before starting work - a coupling and a mandrel, designed for one pipe diameter. The coupling is necessary for heating the outer surface of the pipe, the mandrel is for the inner surface of the connecting element (fitting, coupling, adapter, etc.). These elements are fastened in pairs on both sides of the heater using a screw connection with a socket head. On the heating element, depending on the model of the apparatus, it is usually possible to install several (two or three) pairs of couplings and mandrels at once, so that during operation it is not distracted by reinstallation when switching to a different pipe diameter.

In the kit for almost all devices there are devices for its installation on the floor or on a workbench (pos. 8). .

Mandrel coupling pairs are usually included in the kit, but can also be purchased separately, for example, in case of loss or need to be replaced due to wear. As a rule, for domestic plumbing systems, the range from 16 to 50 is quite enough, less often up to 63 mm.

The most common design of the device was presented above. However, there may be certain varieties.

Prices for Wester plastic pipe welding machines

Wester Plastic Pipe Welding Machines

There are devices designed for large diameter pipes to be welded. They are distinguished by increased power of the heating element and its special shape, which allows the installation of appropriate large couplings and mandrels.

The xiphoid shape of the heating plate is also optional. Devices are produced with a shortened heater, designed for two pairs of nozzles located one above the other. With such a device it is much more convenient to operate in hard-to-reach places.

IN Lately the original models of devices with a cylindrical rod-shaped heating element rapidly began to earn popularity. For them, however, somewhat different couplings and mandrels are used in configuration and method of fixing - they “wrap around” the heater cylinder in the likeness of a clamp, while being located diametrically opposite.

The installation of the coupling and mandrel in this version is in no way tied to any positions specified by the holes - the master is free to place them in any area of the rod, shifting to the very edge or, conversely, in the handle, placing several pairs at the same time, etc. In addition, you can set a certain turn relative to the horizontal plane - this is sometimes useful when welding particularly complex assemblies directly at the installation site. By the way, devices of this kind can also have a lateral location of the heating cylinder - for some craftsmen, under certain conditions, it is more convenient to work with just such a tool.

Such devices are usually referred to as a professional class, but they increasingly began to appear in the arsenal of home craftsmen.

Video: presentation of the welding machine for polypropylene pipes "Dytron SP-4a"

We will not talk about the methods of conducting welding work in this publication. Firstly, this was already mentioned at the beginning, when considering the basic principles of polypropylene welding, and secondly, a special article is devoted to this topic.

Installation of a polypropylene pipeline is available to everyone!

The process of welding polypropylene pipes is simple and understandable, it requires only a good apparatus and compliance with established technological methods and modes. More about this in a special portal article dedicated specifically to.

And in this publication, it is better to immediately go to the question of how to choose the right device, what criteria to evaluate when buying.

Criteria for choosing a machine for manual socket welding of polypropylene pipes

First of all, you need to correctly determine the range of tasks that will be solved using the purchased device. If the device is needed for one-time housework with polypropylene pipes of small diameter or for upgrading existing engineering networks in a house or apartment, then there is no point in choosing expensive equipment. With such problems, a high-quality inexpensive device of medium power will quite cope. The main thing is that the owner should be comfortable working with him. Well, in the case of planned regular use, intensive load - it makes sense to look after the device more seriously.

The power of the welding machine. Usually, for household needs, devices with a power not exceeding 1 kW are purchased. It should be correctly understood that any welding machine is heated to the desired melting temperature of polypropylene, and the power indicator in no way affects the quality of pipe connections. It's just that a more powerful device is brought to a state of readiness from the moment it is turned on somewhat faster. In addition, after the release of a certain amount of heat to warm up the parts to be joined, any device needs a certain time to make up for this “loss”. It is clear that for more powerful equipment, such an interval will be shorter. But this is noticeable, rather, with a "conveyor" professional installation, and in home use, when welding of any joint is preceded by marking and fitting, the difference is unlikely to be noticeable.

Higher power ratings will also be required when installing large diameter pipes - from 75 mm and above. In practice, in a house or apartment, you don’t have to deal with such details.

The next parameter is usually directly related to power - the maximum allowable diameter of pipes to be welded. You don’t have to repeat too much - most home craftsmen operate in three sizes - 20, 25 and 32 mm, but medium-power machines themselves, as a rule, are capable of welding parts up to 63 mm.
According to this parameter, the device is usually equipped with couplings and mandrels. However, often household-class appliances have only three pairs of heating nozzles in the kit - from 20 to 32 mm, and this is quite enough.

By the way, when choosing a tool, special attention should be paid to the quality of such equipment. Conscientious manufacturers accompany their equipment with Teflon-coated couplings and mandrels (may be abbreviated PTFE in the passport). This non-stick coating prevents molten plastic from sticking to hot elements, which greatly simplifies and speeds up work.

With frequent use of the equipment, the non-stick coating gradually becomes thinner - this will be immediately noticeable during operation. So, you need to think about purchasing a new set of nozzles of the required diameter.

Heating temperature and thermostat, other controls. Almost all welding machines for polypropylene provide heating in the range from 50 to 300 ° C. Most often you have to work at a 260 °C installation. The designations on the thermostat scale should be clear and legible, the position of the flywheel should be well fixed, without looseness, so as not to bring down the set temperature with an accidental light touch.

Some models are equipped with a digital display of the heating temperature. The need for this option home use apparatus - is very doubtful, and the cost grows very significantly. Two indicators, which have already been mentioned above, are quite enough.

The device can be equipped with a general power button - this is more convenient than simply starting it by plugging it into a power outlet. In addition, two levels of heating power can be provided on professional-class devices - it is possible to switch depending on the intensity of the work performed.

On high-quality devices, an emergency system is provided for disconnecting from the network in case of a threat of overheating.

The user-friendliness of the tool must be evaluated. The handle of the device should “lie well in the hand”, have an anti-slip coating, and not heat up during operation.

Attention is drawn to the design and reliability of the stand. Too light tripods or arcs are sometimes inconvenient from the point of view that they slip on a flat surface of a table or floor - in this regard, a stand made like a platform is more reliable. If the bulk of the work is supposed to be carried out in the workshop, on the workbench, probably the best choice the device will be equipped with a stand with a clamping device for fixing on the edge of the working surface - this will achieve maximum stability of the device.

Equipment set. Most often it makes sense to purchase a device that comes with everything you need. additional tool and accessories. Usually everything is packed in a compact metal case, that is, the owner of the tool will have everything at hand during installation work.

The illustration shows a well-equipped welding machine:

It makes sense to purchase a device with an extended configuration - it comes out cheaper

In addition to the device itself, it comes with a stand, couplings and mandrels of six different diameters, screws, a screwdriver and a hex key for installing equipment, special scissors for, tape measure (there may also be a small bubble level for accurate marking and setting pipes at the installation site ), work gloves to protect yourself from accidental burns.

Prices for plastic pipe welding machines

All this, of course, can be purchased separately, but most often a high-quality kit will cost even less than buying necessary accessories"in bulk".

Manufacturers of welding machines for polypropylene pipes, a brief overview of models.

When choosing any equipment, one of the determining criteria is the reputation of the manufacturer. And although machines for manual welding of polypropylene pipes cannot be called too complex and high-tech devices, there are also certain authorities in this area.

So, "trendsetters" in the production of such equipment are considered "Rothenberger", "Valfex", "Dytron", "BRIMA", "Gerat", "KERN". Elitech, Sturm, Caliber, Enkor, PATRIOT, Energomash, DeFort devices are no less reliable and in demand. The main thing is that the purchased equipment is really original, not a fake, and is accompanied by a manufacturer's factory warranty.

In conclusion, traditionally, a small review of popular models and the average price level for them.

Model name, illustration	Brief description of the model	Average price level, rub. (April 2016)
BRIMA TG-171, Germany - China	Power 750 W, welding diameter - up to 63 mm, Warm-up time - no more than 15 minutes. The set includes six pairs of nozzles from 20 to 63 mm.	3900
"ENCOR ASP-800", Russia - China	Power 800 W, welding diameter - up to 63 mm, electromechanical thermostat, heating temperature - up to 300 °C. Stable platform stand. The kit includes six pairs of nozzles from 20 to 63 mm with a Teflon coating.	2200
Elitech SPT 1000, Russia - China	Apparatus with a cylindrical heating element. Power - 1000 watts. Welding diameter - from 16 to 32 mm. A set of nozzles (4 diameters) with a Teflon coating is included in the delivery. Ergonomic shape of the body and handle, allowing you to work in hard-to-reach places. Electromechanical thermostat.	2700
"Sturm TW7219", Germany - China	High power model - 1900 W, with the possibility of turning on full and half power (one or two heating elements). Six pairs of Teflon-coated tips. The maximum welding diameter is 62 mm. Heating time - about 12 minutes. Extended delivery package that does not require the purchase of additional accessories.	3300
"Dytron Polys P-1a", Czech	High quality professional equipment. Power - 650 watts. Cylindrical heater with high precision capillary thermostat. Welding diameter - up to 32 mm. Patented shoe-type nozzles with 3 diameters, covered with high-quality blue Teflon. Six temperature settings. Automatic overheating protection. Weight - only 1.3 kg, which facilitates work in hard-to-reach places.	11200 in the minimum configuration - a device, a stand and three nozzles.
"Rothenberger ROWELD P 40T", Germany	Power - 650 watts. The maximum welding diameter is 40 mm. Sword-shaped heater with the possibility of installing two pairs of sleeve-mandrel. The kit includes 4 pairs of nozzles from 20 to 40 mm, high-quality Teflon coating. Features of this device - the built-in thermostat is designed specifically for polypropylene pipes and is programmed for high-precision maintenance of a stable temperature of 260 ° C. The mass of the device is 2.8 kg.	14500
"KERN Welder R63E", Germany	Professional grade model. Relatively low power, 800 W, and at the same time - the possibility of welding pipes with a diameter of up to 63 mm. Six pairs of Teflon coated tips included. High-precision electronic installation of the set temperature with the microprocessor controller, digital display.	13500

In conclusion - a video about another welding machine for polypropylene pipes

Video: machine for welding polypropylene pipes "CANDAN CM 03"

July 28, 2016
Specialization: Capital construction works(laying the foundation, erecting walls, constructing the roof, etc.). Internal construction works (laying of internal communications, rough and fine finishing). Hobbies: mobile communications, high technology, computer technology, programming.

It seems that he has instructions, and he bought (and did not rent) a device that is far from the cheapest, but for some reason the connections are not tight.

By the way, in connection with this, there was an occasion to tell you, readers, about how to choose a machine for welding plastic pipes and how to use it correctly.

General rules

As a practitioner, I know two ways to weld plastic parts of pipelines:

with the help of bells;
butt.

I will cover both technologies below, but before that I would like to mention some general rules that will help you follow the recommendations below and achieve the best connection quality:

I always carry out welding of pipes only at positive air temperature. Otherwise, the technological process requires serious changes, which negatively affects the tightness and durability of the connection.

For piping installation by welding, I always buy parts from the same manufacturer and variety to ensure the uniformity of the chemical composition of the plastic.

In this case, when heated at the same temperature and for a strictly fixed amount of time, the polymer acquires the same mobility, which ensures a reliable and waterproof connection.

We are talking about the same chemical composition of the pipes, and not about their color. Tinting is done by adding a small amount of coloring matter to the raw mass, which has no effect on the melting time of the plastic.

The parts to be joined must be thoroughly cleaned of dust, dirt and grease stains.. It is the latter that greatly affect the quality of the weld. I always wipe the ends of parts before welding with alcohol, white spirit or other suitable solvent.

Also, make sure that the cloth you use does not leave fibers on the pipe (such as a bandage).

A factor affecting the quality is also a damaged polymer.. Sometimes the pipes lie in the sun for a long time, and the ultraviolet destroys the plastic. In this case, the damaged layer must be removed with a special tool or another part that has been properly stored must be taken.
It is equally important to ensure that the pipes are dry.. Condensation sometimes forms on them, which will not allow welding products at the molecular level.

And the last point that I wanted to mention at the very beginning. Cooling of the joint after connection should occur in natural conditions. If you pour cold water on it or speed up the process with chilled air, you can achieve the opposite.

Socket welding

General information

To connect polypropylene parts, so-called fittings are used - products in the form of corners, tees, bends, taps, and so on. They are made from the same type of plastic as the pipes themselves.

Previously, it was believed that additional fittings are a drawback of the technology for welding water pipes, but practice shows that this is how an effective engineering system can be designed without much cost and difficulty. For example, corners allow you to rotate the pipe by 90 degrees, without any fear of reducing the diameter of the internal section of the product.

What can I say, several times for the sake of interest my wife tried to weld plastic pipes. And after a little training, everything turned out to be quite easy and quite reliable.

Required Tools

For work, you definitely need a soldering iron for welding plastic pipes. This miracle machine can also be called an iron or a welding machine.

As a result, the parts are heated evenly, which ensures a reliable and completely waterproof connection.

My iron is equipped with heating elements made in the form of an elongated triangle. However, the store sells many other models. The appearance of the soldering iron does not play any practical role.

When buying, pay attention to what diameter pipes (maximum) can be welded using the device model you like.
And also ask how many heating pairs (couplings and mandrels) can be installed at the same time.

I will give you a few more tips for free, which, I hope, will help you choose a quality and reliable tool that will be a pleasure to work with:

The larger the area of the heating element, the larger the diameter of the pipes can be soldered. The fact is that the couplings must be screwed so that their lower part completely touches the heater, and does not protrude beyond its boundaries.

The power of the soldering iron does not matter. If the working bodies are installed correctly, the desired temperature will be reached in any case. And power only affects how long you have to wait for this moment.
In some soldering irons, the heating element is made in the form of a cylinder. Such devices take up less space than classic ones. As for other technical characteristics, I personally do not see any differences.

The type of temperature sensor installed in the device is important for operation. The more accurately it reads the indicators, the better the connection will be. That is, the more high-quality welding machine you get.

In addition to the welding machine with the required number and mandrels, you need to stock up on other devices, without which pipe welding, although possible, is very difficult.

I advise while working to have:

device for chamfering plastic pipes;
calibrator;
trimmer;
special scissors for cutting parts;
liquid that degreases the plastic surface.

Sometimes these devices are included with the soldering iron, but often they have to be purchased separately.

Welding technology

If you have accurate measuring instruments, then you can empirically verify that the actual pipe diameter is slightly larger than the value indicated in the technical documentation. Accordingly, the actual inner diameter of the fitting is slightly smaller than necessary.

For example, if you buy polypropylene water pipes with a diameter of 20 mm, then their actual size will be 0.5 mm larger. Accordingly, the fitting will be 0.5 mm smaller.

The mandrels and couplings of the heating device have a conical surface and exactly in the middle, if measured from the edge, their diameter becomes equal to the nominal one.

As a result, it turns out that the heated surfaces of the fitting and pipe press each other a little, displacing the air inside and ensuring the mutual diffusion of plastic molecules.

I've strayed a little towards theory, which, however, you will need to understand the internal processes that occur during welding. As for the practical part, a short list will be given in the diagram, and I will talk about each stage in detail later.

Pipe preparation

There are mechanical devices on sale, but if you have a huge amount of work to do, you can also find units powered by the mains. Although I have used a hand cutter all my life and my hands, believe me, did not fall off.

But often reinforced polypropylene pipes are used to construct domestic water pipes. For this, either aluminum foil or fiberglass is used. Such an engineering solution helps to reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion of plastic, as a result of which you do not need to install special expansion joints in the plumbing and heating system.

Aluminum, among other things, excludes the penetration of oxygen into the water, which is very important for closed-cycle climate systems (airing of heating mains is excluded).

Parts with fiberglass do not require special handling, they can be prepared for welding in the usual way.

But this is my personal advice and the rules for installing plastic pipes do not provide for such an operation.

Soldering iron preparation

So, we sort of figured out the preparation of pipes, now I’ll tell you how to properly prepare a welding machine for work or, in other words, a soldering iron.

The end of the heating process is signaled by a light on the handle of the device (at least for me, but I don’t think that the device you bought is significantly different).

Warming up parts

Each plastic pipe manufacturer provides tables to guide you. For example, I will give indicative parameters for polypropylene pipes of the PN20 brand.

Assembly of parts

A properly done job will be indicated by the influx of plastic (burr), which forms near the joint. It must be the same height around the entire circumference of the part.

Parts cooling

After connecting the parts, they must be left for a while so that the polymer hardens. This will take only a few seconds, during which they can not be touched.

However, I advise you to take about 2 minutes to cool. During this time, the diffusion process will be completely completed and there is no need to worry about the strength of the knot.

Butt welding

The technology of the work is quite simple. The result is a very strong, airtight and durable seam.

However, this is only at first glance, since I, as a person who understands this matter, can point out several features.

It is necessary to ensure a very precise alignment of adjacent parts along the longitudinal axis. The walls of the pipes after the end of the process must coincide with each other by at least 90%.
When welding, it is necessary to apply a certain force to the products, pressing the part against the welding mirror. Then exactly the same should be done during the solidification of the seam.
When cutting parts and processing the end, you need to carefully ensure that the cut is located at an angle of 90 degrees to the wall.

Butt welding is more often used in the design of large trunk systems.

Typical mistakes at work

Dirty and wet parts

Any experienced craftsman, among whom I dare to include myself, always wipes the end of the pipe and the inside of the fitting before starting soldering. This is done already at the level of the reflex. The fact is that during repairs, all parts are usually dumped on the floor, which is hardly clean. Sometimes I had to dismantle incorrectly assembled pipes, and so, there was usually always a strip of dirt or dust there.

Another worst enemy is moisture. Even a drop of condensed water evaporates when heated, which causes deformation of the joint. By the way, I came across cases when such a “wet” connection even withstood preliminary tests, but gaps still appeared during operation (in my case after 5 months).

And once again I remind you about the foil. Not a single piece of the metallized layer should get into the connection, since you can completely forget about reliability.

And further, it is necessary to clean from dirt not only the pipes, but also the working element of the soldering iron. Sometimes traces of polypropylene remain on the sleeve or mandrel. They also need to be cleaned with a rag before you solder the next node.

Wrong placement

Often, after the joint, beginners begin to rotate the products or move them relative to each other, which is by no means necessary.

One more moment. It is not necessary to remove plastic slivers near the fitting before the connection has cooled.. Otherwise, you can easily deform the assembly, which will lead to depressurization. By the way, if you warmed up the pipe exactly as much as indicated in the accompanying table, you will not have any sagging.

Poor quality material

Very often, a welded joint does not work if you saved money and bought low-quality polypropylene pipes from an unknown manufacturer. I have come across similar situations. So, even my experience did not help me to weld such details normally.

That's why you need to purchase materials only in a trusted store.

Some more "wise guys" are trying to solder pipes from different manufacturers. I have already mentioned this. The unequal chemical composition does not allow the plastic to be heated correctly, which leads to violations of the technology.

Assembly rule violation

Here I will list the violations that I most often encountered in my practice:

When assembling the assembly, the pipe is not stuck into the fitting all the way, as a result of which a gap is formed inside. That is, the pipe wall will be thinner than specified by the technical specifications, and when force is applied (for example, water pressure) in this area, the part may burst.

Excessive force is applied to the pipe that is inserted into the fitting during assembly. As a result, plastic melts on the cut, which reduces the internal section of the pipe or completely seals the hole. Both that, and another negatively affects work of a water supply system.
Use when assembling damaged fittings. For example, you are assembling a pipeline and you have only one elbow fitting left, and a crack was found on it. Instead of going to the store and replacing it, negligent craftsmen install it into the system. I will not describe the consequences.

Conclusion

July 28, 2016

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Cutters (scissors) for PPR pipes. This type of equipment is designed to provide an accurate cut at a right angle, which greatly facilitates and speeds up the installation process. The cutters offered by us are made of quality materials and have high wear resistance. The range includes products for cutting pipes with a diameter of up to 63 mm.
Nozzles for welding. This type of product is used to heat the inner and outer surfaces of parts. The nozzles are coated with Teflon, which prevents the heated plastic from sticking to the elements of the device. The range includes products with a diameter of 20 to 160 mm.
Flanges. Used to connect plastic and metal pipes. The range includes flanges with a diameter of 40–110 mm.
Cleanups. This type of product is used to clean pipes from reinforcement elements. The range includes manual stripping (including Premium) and for a drill with a diameter of 20–110 mm.
Metal fastener. The catalog contains a wide range of stainless steel fasteners.

Do you need quality installation equipment? Contact us! We guarantee a wide range and favorable prices. In addition, when installing polypropylene pipes for water supply and organizing other engineering systems, they use: tees, couplings, bends, clamps, pipe nozzles and a special welding machine that heats the pipeline elements to a temperature of +250 degrees Celsius. The equipment used in the work must be different high level wear resistance, especially for the soldering iron, stripping and cutting tools. If you want to buy polypropylene pipes, then you should take care of purchasing reliable tool to work with them.

Selection of welding equipment

Socket and socket types involve the use of fittings. If this option is not suitable, it is worth buying a pipe welding machine that produces butt soldering of PP blanks. This option is the most economical, as it does not involve the use of fittings. You can also buy welding for polypropylene pipes, which works on the principle of a contact-butt joint. Its essence lies in the hermetic connection of the molten ends under high pressure. The strength of the resulting seams is equal to the strength of the body. Technology is able to provide high temperature welding - 250-260 ° C, which allows to obtain a strong connection.

By type of connection welding machine for polypropylene pipes can be:
- bell-shaped,
- coupling,
- butt.
According to the mechanism of action. Welding machines can be divided into manual and mechanical type of action. Mechanical welding is used for welding large diameter pipes. Such devices are characterized by complicated control. Devices of manual type of action are used for welding products of small diameter. The devices have small size, easy to move, light and reliable.