This is pretty interesting, because plumbers are called 'lead-pourers' (loodgieters) in Dutch, and I had always wondered why.
The lead refers to the (lead) plumb bob used to determine the direction of vertical and therefore what's level.
https://etymology.en-academic.com/27820/plumb
It appears you are wrong, and the person you are replying to was correct. Perhaps when baldly contradicting someone, you could make some effort to back up your opinion.
plumb plumb {{11}}plumb (adj.) "perpendicular, vertical," mid-15c., from PLUMB (Cf. plumb) (n.). The notion of "exact measurement" led to extended sense of "completely, downright" (1748), sometimes spelled plump or plunk.
{{12}}plumb (n.) c.1300, "lead hung on a string to show the vertical line," from O.Fr. plombe, plomme "sounding lead," from L.L. plumba, originally plural of L. plumbum "lead," the metal, of unknown origin, related to Gk. molybdos "lead"
The purpose of finding the vertical is to determine the horizontal in installing sloped pipe.
I suspect that plunging in and making a poor argument doesn't reflect well upon you. I am happy to be corrected, if you can provide a rock-solid reference: the English language is a wonderful midden.
> late 14c. (from c. 1100 as a surname), "a worker in any sort of lead" (roofs, gutters, pipes), from Old French plomier "lead-smelter" (Modern French plombier) and directly from Latin plumbarius "worker in lead," noun use of adjective meaning "pertaining to lead," from plumbum "lead" (see plumb (n.)). The meaning focused 19c. on "workman who installs pipes and fittings" as lead pipes for conveying water and gas became the principal concern of the trade.
We can read Vitruvius' description of chorobates at https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius... (Note that https://ethw.org/Roman_Aqueducts claims "the credit given to this instrument by Vitruvius was out of proportion to its real usefulness.")
> The chorobates is a rod about •twenty feet in length, having two legs at its extremities of equal length and dimensions, and fastened to the ends of the rod at right angles with it; between the rod and the legs are cross pieces fastened with tenons, whereon vertical lines are correctly marked, through which correspondent plumb lines hang down from the rod. When the rod is set, these will coincide with the lines marked, and shew that the instrument stands level.
The Latin for "plumb lines" is seen in "quae habent lineas ad perpendiculum recte descriptas pendentiaque ex regula perpendicula in singulis partibus" - Vitruvius does not use a variation of "plumb" to describe those verticals.
That usage, from the quoted etymology, wasn't created for another 1,000+ years.
I could be wrong of course, but the evidence I've seen doesn't support your claim at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33765351 .
I learnt to lead-weld (with oxy acetylene) in the past and found it very satisfying...
Same origin in English as well! (Plumbum = Lead)
https://www.wavin.com/en-en/news-cases/news/the-roman-empire...
Unlike the speed limit, this rule is pretty well respected.
On steel pipes and fittings obviously. Plastic ones might crack.
Also hemp fiber requires bit more practice and leverage but it's really good.
The only reason some of that pipe needed to be replaced was that it was fused (by rust) to mid-20th-century galvanized pipe that had rusted completely shut.
Also, nearly all water supplies (municipal, at least) are pH adjusted to be slightly basic, which causes lead to form lead carbonates and oxides, which is (basically) insoluble in cold water. Still good policy to replace lead supply lines, but not a crisis unless you allow your water quality to fluctuate (ala Flint or a number of other US cities, sadly)
https://www.haldimandcounty.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Or...
A big source of lead can be recently sweated copper lines (takes a while for the corrosion control to coat it), but lead solder isn’t supposed to be in potable use anymore. And old fixtures!
Even newer “lead-free” fixtures aren’t 0% lead.
https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/questions-and-answers-about-final-l...
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250155103_Removal_o...
I'm not sure it's brass anymore without the lead.
Why does it seem that the better a material works the worse it is for humans.
What I find very useful is from a pro plumber: https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/us/en/product/thread-sealan...
Can be used for water & gas, withstands high temperature. Easy & fast to work with. Don't have to apply any additional grease for reducing friction.
What’s not to like about PEX?
Having each fixture connection being a “home run” without any fittings between source and destination really reduces a lot of vulnerabilities. Having a central manifold that lets you easily turn off any tap is nice too.
A condo building I lived in did something wrong (I suspect) either a bad batch of PEX, or more likely, a batch that sat in the sun for a while, leading to multiple failures of hot water return lines in few years that were a mystery to pin down.
In my opinion, traditional trunk and branch plumbing is far more flexible and just as reliable. It also allows for a hot water recirculation loop, which is impossible with home-run plumbing.
Pex has zero UV resistance though, sp if exposed to sun at all it is the least durable.
I'm about to use PEX for the first time on my hydronic heating system, which is only ~20psi and limited volume (autofill valves are an anti-pattern). Maybe I'll fall in love, who knows.
It's still relatively new compared to other pipe material, so there may be some other surprises that crop up with long term use, but I'm really impressed with its ease of installation.
Seen it a few times.
It's not really the pressure that has me worried, but rather the potential flow rate. I've dealt with a flooded basement before, and I'd rather not do it again.
I don't see many people complaining that PEX fails by completely pulling apart, but it's hard for my intuition to accept that.
I have replaced almost all piping in my house. I used PEX-B with the fittings secured by copper rings that you crimp with the appropriate tool. It is so easy to use and confirm the joint with a gauge tool.
I had to solder copper where I couldn't replace it all. Every copper joint was it's own little project. While for PEX it's quick and easy.
Either way, my lack of confidence applies to all PEX-B and PEX-A connections. They're all essentially a straight friction fit with some hose barbs. I got some PEX-AL-PEX fittings/tube too (the 1" P-A-P has 35% larger cross section than plain PEX, and PEX larger than 1" seems rare and expensive), and the threaded compression style gives more confidence.
I'm not disputing that PEX is a whole lot easier, even knowing how to do copper and just watching PEX videos. As I said, "maybe I'll fall in love". I'm just starting with piping where a leak won't be a major hassle (hydronic, and eventually compressed air), and foresee myself continuing to do copper for any modifications to potable water in the immediate future. If I had to redo the whole house, I'd get over my reservations quick!
I purposefully avoided the stainless cinch rings. This feels like the cheapest solution to me. It has some moving pieces. I found examples of leak with stainless cinch rings online when I was choosing what technology to use. Not so much with the copper rings. The copper rings are just that. A thick copper ring that you press into shape with great force. The price of the $50 crimp tool is nothing compared to the cost and hassle of a leak down the line. Add a $30 ring cutter tool too. For when you mess up (you cannot remove the ring in place, you must cut the pipe).
I have also retrofitted the house with underfloor hydronic heating. 400m of PEX in an open loop system. Not a single leak after few years.
With the copper rings the PEX takes the shape of the fitting. Even if you manage to cut the ring. The PEX won't come off. You have to cut the pipe lengthwise to get it off. I am not sure the stainless clamps perform the same.
I'm installing an outdoor wood boiler, which is an open system. But it will have a heat exchanger to my closed hydronic system for house distribution.
P-A-P seems nicer to route the pipe, but there are fewer fitting shapes. I'm considering it for a few long runs, because anything over 1" nominal seems to become rare and jump in price, and the 1" P-A-P is 35% larger than 1" PEX-B. But maybe I should just suck it up and deal with 1.25 or 1.5 inch PEX-B. (Would you happen to know a good source? I keep coming up with Supplyhouse.com, but half the fittings are out of stock and they seem expensive).
I'll see how I like the cinch rings. Maybe I'll move towards the crimp rings down the line. I figured a powered tool would be a boon for doing a bunch, and as I said it seems like for a powered crimp ring thing I'd need a Milwaukee cordless for ~$600, whereas the cinch ring I can get away with a $100 Ryobi. I can justify the latter for personal use, but not the former.
Open loop is easy to deal with. I can use the same water heater. It's the bay area in California, so the system works for 1/3 or the year. Rest of the time it's simply buffering the cold water supply to the water heater. So no water stagnating, not air vent needed, and it's always filled up by definition. Further more because it's at the street water pressure, the pump cannot cavitate, so it last longer and is quieter.
I only used manual tools to crimp the rings. Sure you need some force but your body will build muscles. And since PEX is flexible you don't use that many fittings anyways. It's really childs play.
I'm looking into adding underfloor heating myself.
The joists sure help. In my case the floor is either tiles or wood panels laying on top of poured concrete.
To seal a NPT-threaded joint, use pipe dope (it's both a lubricant and a sealant).
100 years ago, most drain pipes in the US were massive cast-iron pieces with no threads at all. They were mated together, then the joint was filled with a compound called oakum. To really hold it together, the plumber would pour molten lead on top of the oakum. Just taking that stuff apart is a lot of work. I can't imagine putting it together as well, especially for 40 hours a week.
I agree with the author's dismay about threaded fittings, but 100% disagree about PTFE tape versus thread sealant. PTFE tape is garbage. If you use thread sealer the way it's supposed to be used (put on a decent amount, then thread the pieces together with the "nudge and a grunt" technique instead of cranking down on it with a huge amount of force), it will seal perfectly almost every time, and any minor leaks can usually be fixed by tightening the joint slightly. If that's not enough, just take it apart and redo it. I've rarely had to try twice, and never three times.
Not sure about British threaded pipe, but NPT threaded pipe actually doesn't benefit from being tightened beyond a certain point because of the way the threads are designed. I redid the seals and some of the fittings[1] on all the antique hot water radiators in a house because no contractor within a day's travel would work on antique hydronic heating systems. Good quality thread sealant, no garbagey PTFE tape, no leaks, even in constant use.
That having been said, modern pipes and fittings make things dead simple. PVC (or ABS, but PVC is nicer IMO) for drains, push-to-connect fittings for water lines (I like PEX, but I know opinions vary). No lead, no torches. Easy to cut with hand tools. Lightweight. Anyone who's interested can probably do at least basic work with modern pipes.
[1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=MeHiE-j1KuQ