does PVC pipe belong on a boat?

[Grande Mastere Dreade]

does  PVC pipe belong on a boat?

 

[Autonomous]

As a sex toy?

 

[SASSAFRASS]

Schedule 80 pvc is probably the best material to use for black water and grey water runs if you can make it work, sweep 90's help.  Also works great for spurling pipes and stack pack battons. Or bongs or potato guns

 

[SimonGH]

As usual I think the answer is “it depends”.

I don’t think you should use it below the waterline, but for non critical things like Sass mentions I think it’s ok.  What does ABYC say?

 

[SASSAFRASS]

Not sure about ABYC but the class societies don't care. DNV, RINA, ABS It's all about the valve on the hull not what's connected to it.  It's still regularly used for chemical dosing into seawater lines in seachest applications.  The big no's are, never where it can freeze, never where it will move or flex excessively and never in high pressure applications.  I know people use it for compressed air but I never would.  Any black or grey water runs should use rubber unions to separate runs and eliminate stress.

 

[casc27]

It truly does depend. My boat has PVC cockpit drains (They run out the transom above WL) and the rudder post tube is also PVC. Both have been in place since construction in 1978 and still intact. Can be a useful material. Made some great shade umbrella holders in 5 minutes with some pvc pipe and zip ties once...

 

[slug zitski]

does  PVC pipe belong on a boat?

Pvc and PP are widely used on yachts 

https://www.gfps.com/en-us/markets-we-serve/marine.html#applications

 

[DDW]

Of course, everything in its place and properly done. No rigidly fixed runs. And of course it can be used for high pressure fluid, just not high pressure gas. You can tidy up a lot of installations with it, not practical of possible with hose. 

 

[SASSAFRASS]

Of course, everything in its place and properly done. No rigidly fixed runs. And of course it can be used for high pressure fluid, just not high pressure gas. You can tidy up a lot of installations with it, not practical of possible with hose. 

Always curious how do you bend PVC?  Have only run glued stuff, lots of other composite stuff that have run with a pipe or tube bender but never PVC.

 

[Trovão]

Always curious how do you bend PVC?  Have only run glued stuff, lots of other composite stuff that have run with a pipe or tube bender but never PVC.

heat?

 

[Baldur]

Yep heat gun or even a propane torch with the right head on it. They do it when building swimming pools every day. 

 

[Diamond Jim]

I’ve used 1-1/2” PVC for winch handle holders.  

 

[slug zitski]

heat?

Fill the pvc with hot sand , then use a heat gun to concentrate heat on the bend zone , then bend and let cool 

the sand keep the pipe from collapsing 

tight radiuses  are difficult to achieve 

there are professional heating elements that you insert into the pipe as well as other methods like plugging the ends , pressurizing the pipe with air   Then heating to bend . The air pressure keeps the pipe from collapsing 

naturally small pipes are easy to manhandle and bend , large diameter  are a bit more work 

Keep your bend away from the end fittings  

the bent pipe always seems to get out of round 

 

[DDW]

I did it with a spring of the right size inserted in the bend area. Sand is kind of messy, have to cap the ends, etc. PVC has a fairly wide plastic range, too hot and it will start to bubble but it is not as critical as say ABS or polycarb. Heat it evenly and patiently with a heat gun, on SCH80 it takes a little while to soak through. Then bend and hold with gloved hands while it cools to prevent spring back,  remove the spring. If you are expecting to use it with hose, you must first turn the ends to reduce the diameter. In the US, SCH80 1 1/4" is about 1.661" OD, so turn it to 1.5" for that hose. You can see in the picture I only do the ends, requires a little planning to get the length right. 

Different brands of PVC pipe have slightly different softening characteristics, I found the clear version in the pictures worked really well, plus you could see what you had for dinner last night. It was sourced from McMaster Carr. 

Here is another example (note: never mount a Henderson pump that way!).

 

[SloopJonB]

I’ve used 1-1/2” PVC for winch handle holders.  

Too hard on the shins.

That soft clear plastic hose works better.

 

[sailak]

Being impervious to to holding tank odor is a huge plus.  I don't use it below the waterline and prefer schedule 80 when available.  Protect it from potential impact damage, use it where it is appropriate, and install properly and it will last the life of the boat easy.  There have been threads on this in the past.... they tend to look like anchoring threads after a while.  

 

[slug zitski]

Being impervious to to holding tank odor is a huge plus.  I don't use it below the waterline and prefer schedule 80 when available.  Protect it from potential impact damage, use it where it is appropriate, and install properly and it will last the life of the boat easy.  There have been threads on this in the past.... they tend to look like anchoring threads after a while.  

Hard plumbing Pvc or PP needs to be properly supported with pipe clamps and assembled with attention to detail 

 

[Training Wheels]

Not sure about ABYC but the class societies don't care. DNV, RINA, ABS It's all about the valve on the hull not what's connected to it.  It's still regularly used for chemical dosing into seawater lines in seachest applications.  The big no's are, never where it can freeze, never where it will move or flex excessively and never in high pressure applications.  I know people use it for compressed air but I never would.  Any black or grey water runs should use rubber unions to separate runs and eliminate stress.

Also not a good idea to use on fire water systems, particularly in an engine room. Don’t ask me how I know…….

 

[SloopJonB]

Also not a good idea to use on fire water systems

A fire water system on a boat?

Is that a plumbed in rum tank?