PPR is the abbreviation of random copolymer polypropylene. It is commonly known as type III polypropylene. PPR pipe is an updated product of galvanized pipe, UPVC water supply pipe, aluminum-plastic pipe, PE pipe, PE-X pipe and PE-RT pipe. Because it uses random copolymerization technology, the strength and high temperature resistance of polypropylene are well guaranteed, thus becoming the main force of water pipe materials.

Product advantages

1. Hygienic, healthy and environmentally friendly. Polypropylene is an environmentally friendly material and can be used for drinking water transportation.

2. The joints are connected by hot melt to form a whole, 100% leak-free. Other materials are connected by thread, which has poor anti-seepage performance and avoids the toxicity of glue bonding.

3. Low transmission resistance.

4. The price is cheap and moderate.

5. Long service life. It can be used for 50 years when produced and used according to the national standard GB/T18742.

PPR is the abbreviation of type III polypropylene. It adopts the method of hot melting, has special welding and cutting tools, and has high reliability. The price is also very economical. The thermal insulation performance is also very good, and the pipe wall is also very smooth! The general price is 4-8 yuan per meter (4 points). The joints of internal and external threads are not included.

PPR pipe is officially called random copolymer polypropylene pipe, which is the most widely used water supply pipe in home improvement projects.

Product Development

Compared with traditional cast iron pipes, galvanized steel pipes, cement pipes and other pipes, PPR pipes have the advantages of energy saving and material saving, environmental protection, light weight and high strength, corrosion resistance, smooth inner wall without scaling, simple construction and maintenance, and long service life. They are widely used in building water supply and drainage, urban and rural water supply and drainage, urban gas, electricity and optical cable sheathing, industrial fluid transportation, agricultural irrigation and other construction, municipal, industrial and agricultural fields.

In recent years, with the increasing market demand in the construction industry, municipal engineering, water conservancy engineering, agriculture and industry, China's PPR pipe industry has shown a rapid development trend. In 2009, the production of plastic pipes was 5.804 million tons, an increase of 18.9% year-on-year. From January to September 2010, the production of plastic pipes was 5.528 million tons, an increase of 28.23% year-on-year. At the same time, as consumers' requirements for environmental protection, health and durability of products continue to increase, China's plastic pipes are increasing in production, product quality levels are constantly improving, the industry's technological progress is accelerating, brand-scale enterprises are increasing, new materials and new structural varieties are constantly emerging, advanced system design concepts are emerging in an endless stream, product functionality is more obvious, and the application field is further broadened. Analysts believe that China's plastic pipe market share in all pipes has exceeded 30%.

By 2015, in the new construction, reconstruction and expansion projects nationwide, 85% of building drainage pipes will use plastic pipes, 80% of building rainwater drainage pipes will use plastic pipes, 50% of urban drainage pipes will use plastic pipes, 85% of building water supply, hot water supply and heating pipes will use plastic pipes, 80% of urban water supply pipes (DN400mm or less) will use plastic pipes, 90% of village water supply pipes will use plastic pipes, the application of urban gas plastic pipes (medium and low pressure pipes) will reach 40%, and 90% of building wire threading sheath pipes will use plastic pipes. It is predicted that during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, China's plastic pipe production will maintain a growth rate of about 10%. By 2015, it is expected that the national plastic pipe production will be close to 12 million tons, and the market share of plastic pipes in various types of pipes in the country will exceed 60%.

Color characteristics

£¾Why are PPR water pipes different in color?

The PPR particles supplied by the manufacturer have different colors, such as gray, etc., but most companies purchase transparent raw materials, and different colors are added with different colored masterbatches.

£¾Is there an inevitable connection between the color and quality of PPR water pipes?

No. However, there are more cases where white PPR fails the light protection test, while gray and green do not have these problems. In addition, influenced by living habits, white PPR pipes are mostly used in the north, while gray PPR pipes are more common in the south.

£¾How to distinguish between PPR water pipes and hot water pipes?

¡¤PPR pipes are divided into cold water pipes and hot water pipes. The difference is that there is a blue identification line on the cold water pipe and a red line on the hot water pipe.

In addition, there are identifications such as S5 S4 S3.2 S2.5 on the PPR pipes. Generally, S5 S4 is a cold water pipe with a thinner wall thickness, and S3.2 S2.5 is a hot water pipe with a thicker wall thickness.

£¾What are the characteristics of PRR water pipe connection technology?

¡¤The interface of PPR pipe adopts hot-melt technology, and the pipe mouths are completely fused together, so once the installation pressure test is passed, there will be no more water leakage, and the reliability is extremely high.

Making raw materials

PPR is a random copolymer polypropylene synthesized by (PP and PE) gas phase method. Its structural characteristics are that PE molecules are randomly linked in PP molecules, and the molecular weight ranges from 300,000 to 800,000. The pipes produced using PPR raw materials are also called random copolymer polypropylene pipes. They are plastic pipe products developed and applied in the late 1980s and early 1990s. With its own excellent performance and a wide range of applications, it has occupied a place in the plastic pipe market and is a recognized green and environmentally friendly product. However, in recent years, the market operation and the above-mentioned analysis of PPR plastic pipe quality problems have found that there are many problems in the PPR pipe market, which have largely restricted the healthy development of PPR pipes.

Installation technology

Concealed pipes

Pipes embedded in walls, floors, panels, etc. are able to prevent expansion. Pressure and tensile stress are absorbed without damaging various materials. If the pipes have insulation materials (which meet the standards), these insulation materials can allow more expansion.

Product disadvantages

¡¤The main defects of PPR water pipes are: high temperature resistance and pressure resistance are slightly worse, and the long-term working temperature cannot exceed 70¡æ; each section has a limited length and cannot be bent for construction. If the pipe is laid over a long distance or has many corners, a large number of joints will be used during construction; the pipes are cheap but the accessories are relatively expensive. However, in terms of comprehensive performance, PPR pipes are cost-effective pipes, so they have become the preferred material for home water pipe renovation.

Compared to other types of pipes: Galvanized iron pipes have many disadvantages, and the Ministry of Construction has explicitly banned them in 2000; although aluminum-plastic pipes have good high temperature resistance and are easy to construct, when used as hot water pipes, long-term thermal expansion and contraction will cause the pipe wall to be misaligned and leak; copper pipes are durable and environmentally friendly, but they are not widely used due to their high prices and high construction requirements.

Purchase Tips

After purchasing a new house, many people are busy decorating their love nests. How to choose the right pipe at a suitable price is a very important thing for them. The following tips will teach you how to distinguish the quality of PPR pipes.

1. "Touch": whether the texture is delicate and whether the particles are uniform. There are mainly white, gray and green colors of PPR pipes on the market. Generally speaking, recycled plastics cannot be made into white, so many people often think that white is the best. In fact, this view is rather one-sided. With the update and improvement of technology, color is not the standard for distinguishing the quality of PPR pipes. The quality of the pipe cannot be solved by looking at it. If you touch it, the rough particles may be mixed with other impurities.

2. "Smell": whether there is odor. The main material of PPR pipe is polypropylene. Good pipes have no odor, while poor ones have strange smells. It is likely that polyethylene (PE) is mixed instead of polypropylene.

3. "Pinch": PPR pipe has considerable hardness. If it can be easily pinched into a deformed pipe, it is definitely not a PPR pipe.

4. "Smash": Good PPR pipes have good "resilience". If it is too easy to smash, it is too much calcium carbonate filler, which is naturally not a good PPR pipe. PPR pipes that cannot be smashed are not necessarily good pipes. The key is to look at the raw materials and processing technology.

5. "Burn": Light it and burn it. It is very intuitive and useful. PPR pipes mixed with recycled plastics and other impurities in the raw materials will emit black smoke and have a pungent smell; good materials will not only not emit black smoke and no odor after burning, but also the melted liquid will still be very clean after burning.

6. According to national testing standards, some simple testing items can be identified by senses.

Installation issues

1. PP-R pipes have lower hardness and poorer rigidity than metal pipes. They should be protected during transportation and construction to avoid mechanical damage caused by improper external forces. The position of the pipes should be marked after concealed installation to avoid damage to the pipes by secondary decoration.

2. PP-R pipes have a certain low-temperature brittleness below 5¡ãC. Be careful when constructing in winter. Use sharp knives to cut slowly when cutting pipes. The installed pipes should not be subjected to heavy pressure or knocking. If necessary, the parts susceptible to external forces should be covered with protective materials.

3. PP-R pipes are prone to aging and degradation due to long-term exposure to ultraviolet rays. They must be wrapped with a dark protective layer when installed outdoors or in direct sunlight.

4. Except for the connection with metal pipes or water users using mechanical connection methods such as threaded inserts or flanges, the rest of the PP-R pipes should be connected by hot melt to make the pipes integrated and leak-free.

5. The linear expansion coefficient of PP-R pipes is relatively large (0.15mm/m¡æ). Technical measures must be taken to prevent the expansion and deformation of the pipes when laying them in open installation or non-direct burial.

6. After the installation of the pipeline, the pressure must be tested before sealing the pipe (direct burial) and covering the decorative layer (non-direct burial). The test pressure of cold water pipes is 1.5 times the system working pressure, but not less than 10MPa; the test pressure of hot water pipes is 2 times the working pressure, but not less than 1.5MPa. The test time and method are specified in the technical regulations.

7. When PP-R pipes are laid openly or concealed, supports and hangers must be installed as required.

Hot-melt connection problems

1. When PPR pipes and fittings are connected by hot-melt, do not directly thread them. Flanges can be used to connect to metal pipes, and fittings with metal inserts must be used when connected to water appliances;

2. When carrying out construction, you must use reliable hot-melt tools to ensure the quality of hot-melt;

3. Use special building materials to cut pipes, and the cuts should be smooth and free of burrs;

4. When cleaning the places where pipes and fittings are welded, do not let sand and dust affect the quality of the joints. Use pipes that are large enough to be welded.

5. You can use a pencil to mark the depth of the weld on the pipe;

6. Put the pipes and fittings into the welder and heat them according to the required time;

7. After heating, take out the pipes and fittings immediately and connect them immediately. When the pipes and fittings are connected, if their positions are wrong, you can make slight adjustments within a certain period of time, but the twisting angle cannot exceed five degrees;

8. After the connection is completed, you must hold the pipes and fittings firmly with your hands to allow them to have sufficient time to cool down. After cooling to a certain degree, you can let go and install the following pipes.

Pipe Competition

PPR pipe is cost-effective and environmentally friendly

As a new type of water pipe material, PPR pipe has unique advantages. It can be used as both cold water pipe and hot water pipe. The interface of PPR pipe adopts hot-melt technology, and the pipes are completely fused together, so once the installation pressure test is passed, it will not age and leak like aluminum-plastic pipes for a long time.

Advantages: moderate price, stable performance, heat-resistant and heat-insulating, corrosion-resistant, smooth inner wall without scaling, safe and reliable pipeline system, and no penetration, and the service life can reach 50 years.

Disadvantages: high construction technology requirements, special tools and professionals are required for construction to ensure the safety of the system.

Copper pipes are corrosion-resistant and can also be sterilized

It is a top-grade product among water pipes. There are two ways to connect copper pipes: ferrules and welding. Like aluminum-plastic pipes, ferrules have the problem of aging and leakage for a long time. At present, most copper pipes are installed by welding. Welding is to weld the interface together through oxygen, so that it can never leak like PPR water pipes. Because of its high price, it is generally used more in high-end apartments or villas.

Advantages: high strength, stable performance, sterilization, and not easy to corrode.

Disadvantages: high price, difficult construction, easy to cause heat loss in cold winter, high energy consumption, and high cost of use.

Aluminum-plastic pipes are easy to age and leak.

Aluminum-plastic pipes were once a popular pipe material on the market. Due to its light weight, durability and convenient construction, its bendability is more suitable for use in home decoration. In Guangdong and Shanghai, where the decoration concept is relatively new, aluminum-plastic pipes have gradually lost their market and are obsolete products.

Advantages: relatively cheap, can be bent arbitrarily, smooth surface, and convenient construction.

Disadvantages: easy to age, many hidden dangers in use, short service life. Practice has shown that after one year of use, its pipe joints are prone to leakage.

Galvanized pipes are easy to clog and pollute.

You suddenly open a water pipe that has not been used for a long time and find that "yellow" water is flowing out. This kind of thing is very easy to happen in the galvanized iron pipes in old houses. Such "yellow" water is also harmful to the human body. China's Ministry of Construction and other four ministries also issued a document to ban the use of galvanized pipes from 2000. At present, galvanized pipes are rarely used in cold water pipes in newly built communities.

Advantages: Complete variety and many matching pipe fittings.

Disadvantages: It is an obsolete product banned by the state, easy to corrode and rust, resulting in poor water flow and extremely easy to cause water pollution.

PVC pipes are easy to break and deform

It is actually a kind of plastic pipe, and the interface is generally glued. Because of its poor antifreeze and heat resistance, it is difficult to use it as a hot water pipe; the strength is not suitable for the pressure requirements of water pipes, so cold water pipes are rarely used. In most cases, PVC pipes are suitable for wire pipes and sewage pipes. In addition, the chemical additive phthalate that makes PVC softer has a great impact on the kidneys, liver, and testicles in the human body, and can cause cancer and kidney damage, so it is not recommended for everyone to buy.

Advantages: Lightweight, easy to install, low cost, and not easy to corrupt.

Disadvantages: Poor quality ones are very brittle, easy to break, and easy to deform when exposed to heat.

Product price

Not many people can accurately tell how much a meter of PPR water pipe costs. The raw materials and comprehensive costs used by each manufacturer are different, so the market price is different.

There are many products on the market with different prices, including PPR water pipes. Each has its own advantages and the quality is good or bad. In addition, the price of hot water and cold water pipes is also different.

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