What Is Most Important When Designing And Installing Copper Piping Systems?

Copper tube and fittings have a remarkable track record for plumbing use. The ancient Egyptians are known to have used copper pipes for transporting water and, in modern times, copper tube has been used for over 75 years for plumbing in the U.S. It’s a fact that the majority of problems with a copper piping installation can be prevented by proper design and installation practices. It’s also true that a major cause of difficulty is erosion corrosion, a mechanically induced failure, which may be caused by number of conditions: • Lack of reaming of the tube ends. Burrs left on the inside of the tube can cause interruption of smooth flow resulting in localized high water velocity and cavitation. Immediately downstream of the unreamed tube end local flow pressure will be drastically reduced, allowing air bubbles entrained in the water to escape and scour the tube/fitting wall, creating pits that may eventually cause failure. Example of Erosion Corrosion • Water at high velocity. An ...  more