PVC Pipe Summertime

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Slim M

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Last winter I decided to run a water line on the other side of my shop using pvc. I use this supply for brewing water supply also. The clearest path was to run it over head a few inches of the tin roof.

The tin / corrugated is my point of concern because it gets hot in summer in the south so I’m betting that pvc line does also. Normally I don’t keep the water line charged except for when I’m using it so it’s not under pressure normally so busted pipe is not my worry. Im worried about the high temp releasing chems in the pvc pipe on hot summer day then when I go to use the line residual is in the water. What do you think?
 
If it is usually empty, but occaasionally runs water, just when you need it, and you let it run a little bit to sort of "flush" it....

I'd go with it. It might still be bad for you, I'll admit, but after a flush I think I'd be feeling OK.

Taste-test, if it's plastic flavored, before making any final decisions.
 
DonT said:
Is the piping you used rated for drinking water? If so, you're probably safe.

You could always insulate it....
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Yeah it is regular old pvc sch40 like for drinking water I got from the big box hardware store. I think it max temp rating is like 130 or something. I have about concerns of pvc leaching of chems at high temps. I’m sure the pipe gets very warm up there but I’m thinking flushing should get ant chems out maybe.
 
day_trippr said:
Apparently the PVC run is done and PEX would be a retrofit...

Cheers!
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Yep pvc has been installed and in use for several months. I think flushing it before use & running the water through a RV charcoal filter will probably take care of it but I might be wrong so just seeing what y’all thought.
 
I would personally not allow the risk to exist if you can help it. Either change the piping material, move the piping to a cool location, or insulate it sufficiently. You can basically place a heat shield over it to make its won roof, and get piping insulation.
 
Been thinking about this and started thinking I don’t think this this is an issue until temps get much higher than what I’m probably dealing with.

My reasoning is large amounts of pvc sch40 are used in hot climates everywhere in the south and no one including the supplier is storing this stuff in climate controlled environments nor are the manufacturers shipping this stuff out that way either. Spend its time in baking hot storage containers with no ventilation or in hot shipping trailers.

Heck the actual process of making the joints & pipe includes heating up until pliable then formed I think. I’m thinking I got paranoid and overthought it or maybe now I’m just trying to convince myself it’s fine 😂
 
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odie said:
oh no...not PVC. go back to lead pipes. much safer.
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In all seriousness though, it's always easier to do a risk analysis when the risks are known (lead) vs theoretical (PVC). PVC pipes can leach a bunch of chemicals. Some of those chemicals are known to be hazardous. The problem is that there is almost no real world data on how many and how much of those chemicals actually are leaching out of PVC pipe in ordinary use, so how can we evaluate the real world risk? Then again, PEX leaches chemicals too. I guess if you're completely risk averse, you shouldn't use any plastic pipe. Or maybe any metal pipe either.
 
mac_1103 said:
In all seriousness though, it's always easier to do a risk analysis when the risks are known (lead) vs theoretical (PVC). PVC pipes can leach a bunch of chemicals. Some of those chemicals are known to be hazardous. The problem is that there is almost no real world data on how many and how much of those chemicals actually are leaching out of PVC pipe in ordinary use, so how can we evaluate the real world risk? Then again, PEX leaches chemicals too. I guess if you're completely risk averse, you shouldn't use any plastic pipe. Or maybe any metal pipe either.
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Yeah I’m switching to only glass pipe 😂. It seems everything comes with health risk & reason to worry. Nothing is safe. Don’t know why I even care, I’m probably already completely contaminated from all the garden hose water I drank from the leaded brass fittings as a kid.

In the summer we never went in for a drink until is was dark out and most days we tried to skip lunch so we didn’t have to stop playing. Now days it seems like its the opposite in most cases kids stay inside when it’s hot drinking soda or bottled water eating snacks playing video games all summer.
 
PVC is one of the most well-known plastics. It doesn't corrode, it's flexible and easy to install, and can be used with many different connections. But PVC can't handle heat, it melts and could potentially cause negative health impacts. Also, it degrades when exposed to short wave UV light. Not to mention the flavors. Because of this, using PVC pipes for your drinking water supply is not advised. It's often not approved for drinking water in a home.

That's copied and pasted from any reputable source on the net.
 
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BrewerofBeers said:
PVC is one of the most well-known plastics. It doesn't corrode, it's flexible and easy to install, and can be used with many different connections. But PVC can't handle heat, it melts and could potentially cause negative health impacts. Also, it degrades when exposed to short wave UV light. Not to mention the flavors. Because of this, using PVC pipes for your drinking water supply is not advised. It's often not approved for drinking water in a home.

That's copied and pasted from any reputable source on the net.
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When you’re transferring your beer or siphoning what are you using or what are your draft lines made of? I think most of that stuff falls into the same boat as pvc like even when your order the stuff from a hombrew supplier you will see Prop 65.
 
BrewerofBeers said:
PVC can't handle heat, it melts and could potentially cause negative health impacts. Also, it degrades when exposed to short wave UV light. Not to mention the flavors. Because of this, using PVC pipes for your drinking water supply is not advised. It's often not approved for drinking water in a home.

That's copied and pasted from any reputable source on the net.
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And yet PVC is rated for temperature and pressure and is widely used for drinking water. Go figure.
 
Slim M said:
When you’re transferring your beer or siphoning what are you using or what are your draft lines made of? I think most of that stuff falls into the same boat as pvc like even when your order the stuff from a hombrew supplier you will see Prop 65.
Click to expand...

mac_1103 said:
And yet PVC is rated for temperature and pressure and is widely used for drinking water. Go figure.
Click to expand...


Yeah I agree, I am not on my high horse. I was 100% referring to the heat and sunlight mentioned in the first post. We do what we can. I personally try to use stainless steel and glass, but my tubing, bottling bucket, mash spoon, etc are all plastic. I try to avoid brass.
 
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I thought it was under the tin roof but maybe I misread that? Obviously shouldn't be exceeding the temperature rating. I would assume that even those who aren't worried about chemicals will care if the pipe fails. So just how hot is this installation getting?
 
mac_1103 said:
I thought it was under the tin roof but maybe I misread that? Obviously shouldn't be exceeding the temperature rating. I would assume that even those who aren't worried about chemicals will care if the pipe fails. So just how hot is this installation getting?
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"The clearest path was to run it over head a few inches of the tin roof"
 
Yeah, over head might mean over the roof, or it might just mean along the inside of the roof (as opposed to along a wall). Personally I wouldn't send a run of pipe outside and then back inside just to get from one end of my shop to the other.
 
You are probably ok with the PVC if temps under 140 degrees F. PVC is rated for potable water up to that temp. If you are concerned, you could use CPVC it's rated for hot water up to about 200 degrees F. That's what most homes use for hot water supply when using plastic pipes.
 
scrap iron said:
You are probably ok with the PVC if temps under 140 degrees F. PVC is rated for potable water up to that temp. If you are concerned, you could use CPVC it's rated for hot water up to about 200 degrees F. That's what most homes use for hot water supply when using plastic pipes.
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If it matters the pipe is about 75 degrees when in use because of the ground water temp. I’m thinking at 90psi if anything is in there from sitting hot during the week after a few minutes of the valve cracked it ain’t in there anymore.
 
Always a concern. I have tried to move away from as much plastic as possible, and go with stainless and glass. Only in the past week, I have learned that there is risk with chromium and nickel leaching from stainless steel when cooking acidic foods for a long time.
So, choose your poison, and Rock on!
 
Closet Fermenter said:
Always a concern. I have tried to move away from as much plastic as possible, and go with stainless and glass. Only in the past week, I have learned that there is risk with chromium and nickel leaching from stainless steel when cooking acidic foods for a long time.
So, choose your poison, and Rock on!
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…and I have always simmered my spaghetti sauce all day in stainless steel pots so as to avoid removing the seasoning from my cast iron pots. ☹️
 
mac_1103 said:
You could get yourself an instant read IR thermometer.
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I brewed today and yes I used the pvc pipe for water. It took some reading with my laser thermometer and around 4 pm it was 98f and Sunny I got 125 on the roof and the pipe was 110-120 after setting long periods without water flow. With flow it basically read the ground water temp of 78f.
 

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