PVC-type Piping: What was the bad kind?

[Jinx]

Someone help me out here…what was the gray-type, plastic piping in the news not so long ago that had major integrity problems, especially at the 90 degree elbows, where reaction forces can become significant? PEVC? (polyethylene vinyl chloride?) It’s going to bug me now…

• Jinx

[sailor]

You may be thinking of POLYBUTYLENE which was marketed as QEST and other names. I have used it in my boat and in my opinion the product is good. I believe the problem was with some fittings not being installed correctly. Nothing to do with the material itself.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

And all of it can be used to build a cannon, perfectly suitable for launching goats into orbit.

I salute you, Jinx, for re-kindling the SDMB’s dreams of spaceflight.

[cornflakes]

Like sailor said, it was polybutylene.

While scientific evidence is scarce, it is believed that oxidants in the public water supplies, such as chlorine, react with the polybutylene piping and acetal fittings causing them to scale and flake and become brittle. Micro-fractures result, and the basic structural integrity of the system is reduced. Thus, the system becomes weak and may fail without warning causing damage to the building structure and personal property. It is believed that other factors may also contribute to the failure of polybutylene systems, such as improper installation, but it is virtually impossible to detect installation problems throughout an entire system.

[BF]

Sailor was partly correct and cornflakes filled in the blanks. I just recently had my entire house re-plumbed, thanks to the settlement.