PVC PIPE FOR PLUMBING

PVC PIPE FOR HOLDING TANK PLUMBING


I am always amazed that more boats are not plumbed with ordinary PVC pipe, but then again we never thought of using it either until I had to replace me holding tank and all its plumbing. During the installation I added PVC sch. 40. I feel some of the benefits are:

1. Economy:. PVC pipe ist cheap. The total at the cash register after you buy several lengths of pipe, together with the fittings and glue to go with it, comes as a surprise—a pleasant one; a lot cheaper than the sanitation hose you find in the marine stores. Availability: Even a small corner hardware store has enough PVC plumbing fittings in stock for most jobs and the bounty in the bins of a large building supply store will let you build almost anything.

2. Flexibility : PVC does not bend, or at least not much, but the variety of PVC pipe fittings allows you to solve some very vexing problems surprisingly easily. Want to connect a 2” line to a 1/2” line and then T off a 1” line? A quick trip to a hardware store and a bit of ingenuity and you are done.

3. Fast Assembly. With a little practice and a pipe cutter you can assemble a plumbing system amazingly quickly using PVC pipe. (You can cut the pipe with a saw or a pipe cutter. It us long lasting. Even good quality hose only seems to last five years or so, but PVC pipe will last decades.

4. Impervious to Most Chemicals:. You can flush a PVC pipe system out with muriatic (hydrochloric) acid; the quickest and, as far as I know, only effective way to get rid of the scale that builds up in head discharge lines. Don’t try that with hose.

5. Impervious to Odors: You can spend a fortune on sanitation grade hose and your holding tank system will still stink, but it won’t if you use PVC pipe.

One caution: I do not recommend PVC pipe for piping that is open to the ocean and below the water line where a crack could sink you.