The building materials market offers a large selection of pipes made of polymeric materials.
Advances in organic synthesis have made it possible to create materials that show excellent performance characteristics.
Polypropylene products are popular - every second apartment or private house has plumbing or heating from such pipes.
Technical description
Modern technologies have made it possible to create a durable, lightweight material that is not subject to corrosion, has good strength characteristics, and does not react with aggressive environments.
small price, low weight, ease of installation determine the widespread use of polypropylene pipes (what is it).
The industry produces several types of products, some of which contain a reinforcing layer outside or inside the pipe.
Quality soldering such models is possible only in the case of stripping the ends of aluminum foil.
We use two types of shaver:
- manual,
- automatic.
The first ones are used when performing one-time operations, the second one is able to clean pipes in large volumes, which is typical for large construction companies ().
The need for reinforcement
The plumbing or heating system made of polypropylene, in addition to the advantages, has several significant disadvantages.
Despite the ability to transfer water with a temperature of 90-95 degrees and withstand short-term heating up to 100 degrees, the polymer has a high coefficient of thermal expansion (read the article about the technology for installing metal-plastic pipes).
Flexible Structure will allow the product to restore its shape when the temperature drops.
But such a situation can become critical when the pipeline is hidden in the walls or under the floor.
Adding a layer of fiberglass or aluminum foil to the composition of the product will reduce thermal expansion and avoid deformation when heated.
Reinforcement helps in the linear sections of the pipeline, but there is no foil in the compounds. This leads to softening of the polymer at temperatures above 100 degrees.
In such places, a breakthrough of communications is possible, therefore the use of reinforced products is not recommended for industrial pipelines.
Used to reinforce pipes.:
- fiberglass.
Structurally, the pipe consists of two layers of polypropylene and a middle layer of a combination of fiberglass and polymer.
Such products do not need to clean the ends before welding; - aluminum foil.
Popular type of reinforcement.
Manufacturers produce pipes with different foil thicknesses.
More common are polypropylene pipes reinforced with fiberglass () with a layer thickness of 0.1-0.5 millimeters.
The metal layer can be located inside the product or cover the pipe from the outside.
Why do you need to clean the ends
In the process of stripping the reinforced product, the metal layer is removed at the place of the future connection with the coupling or fitting.
The need for external stripping occurs when using reinforced pipes with an outer layer of foil. Without removing the reinforcement, it is impossible to solder the pipes.
To remove metal from the surface, a special tool is used (which is needed for the installation of pipes made of cross-linked polyethylene, it is written), which cleans the product to the depth necessary for welding.
Drill bits made for one pipe diameter.
To work with such a tool, it is necessary to prepare the necessary nozzles in advance.
Using a drill will increase the stripping speed, the number of processed pipes and labor productivity.
The nozzle is able to work both with external reinforcement and with internal.
How to choose
Product is selected, according to the type of pipes, and is clamped into the chuck. The disadvantage lies in the high speed of rotation - it is necessary, constantly, to control the process. Otherwise, the pipe may be damaged.
If you want to know how to perfectly clean the end of a pipe before welding, watch the video.
Stripping and reinforcing polypropylene pipes are not the most difficult tasks, but there are many nuances in them. This will be discussed in the article.
One of the advantages of polypropylene pipes is their long service life. They can be used many times longer than metal products. But the service life largely depends on the quality of the installation work. It can be increased as much as possible if the reinforced polypropylene pipes were cleaned correctly.
It plays such a high role due to the fact that the presence of various bumps and burrs will prevent a reliable connection. Even during the planning of the installation of a polypropylene pipeline, it is worth delving into why this procedure is required. It is also worth figuring out what tools exist for stripping polypropylene pipes (read: ""). Special attention should be paid to products with a reinforcing layer.
Features of the reinforcement of polypropylene pipes
High performance properties of polypropylene pipes are achieved due to their coating with a protective layer. If we are talking about products intended for domestic use, then usually its thickness is not more than 0.1 mm.
Advantages of reinforced pipes:
- Reducing the impact of high temperatures on the product. An ordinary polypropylene pipe is designed for operation in conditions where the temperature does not exceed 95 degrees. This is usually sufficient for the installation of heating systems or domestic plumbing. However, in certain situations, such as emergency situations, the temperature of the transported liquid may exceed the maximum allowable value. This mode of operation leads to the fact that sections of the pipeline are deformed or completely fail. Reinforcement reduces the impact of high temperatures on the product, preventing system breaks.
- Increased resistance to temperature changes. One of the main disadvantages of conventional polypropylene pipes is their susceptibility to temperature changes. The result is their sharp expansion and contraction. The product does not tolerate such deformations, gradually losing its original properties. Over time, the pipes will simply fail. To avoid this situation, they are additionally reinforced.
However, reinforcement has one significant drawback. It somewhat complicates the welding of polypropylene joints. For this reason, pipe cleaning is required beforehand. The procedure is extremely simple: removing the top thin layer of aluminum from the product. If this is not done, the quality of welding will decrease, which will lead to a decrease in the service life of the entire pipeline.
It is important to do the work carefully, understanding the general principle. To better understand everything, study the technological process, as well as prepare the necessary tools. Detailed information on these issues will be presented later in the article.
Stripping polypropylene pipes
There are several stripping methods, each of them is designed for a specific reinforcing layer.
outer layer. If reinforcement is applied as the top layer of a polypropylene pipe, then it will become an obstacle when connecting the structure to the fitting. Then the pipe section included in it melts during installation. If you miss the stripping, then the molten aluminum will not be able to bond with the molten polymer. In this case, nothing will ensure the tightness of the connection. It will break immediately after the system is started.
The inner layer. Despite the fact that aluminum located between the polypropylene layers is not used for welding, it still needs high-quality cleaning. It is necessary in order to prevent the interaction of aluminum and water. If a potential jump occurs in the pipeline, then there is a risk of electrochemical processes. They can completely destroy the aluminum layer.
Clue! It is possible to apply a reinforcing layer of aluminum in one piece or with holes. If there is a choice, then the second option is much more preferable. The perforated aluminum layer has good adhesion and does not require glue. In addition, stripping a pipe with perforated aluminum is much faster.
fiberglass reinforcement. In this embodiment, do-it-yourself stripping for polypropylene pipes is not required. Between the layers of polypropylene is placed a thin wall of fiberglass. It does not come into contact with the fitting, nor is it exposed to liquid. One of the advantages of this method is that reliable fastening of pipes is achieved without additional work. But one drawback follows from this - sudden temperature changes have a greater effect on such products than on options with aluminum reinforcement.
Stripping tools
There are manual and mechanical stripping tools for polypropylene pipes. Hand tools are great for doing work at home. If there is a more voluminous task, then mechanical tools will already be required.
Types of cleaning tools:
- Stripping for the outer layer. To remove the outer layer of aluminum, special couplings are used, in the middle of which blades are placed. In such devices there are handles (removable and non-removable), which greatly simplify the workflow.
- Trimmers. In such a tool, the blades are located on the inner end of the coupling, and not on the outside. The trimmer is threaded into the pipe, then it is necessary to do several full turns. This allows you to get the perfect cut. Then you can proceed to welding products. Such pipe stripping tools are also used for other types, not only polypropylene ones. Even those without a reinforcing layer are suitable.
- Shaver. This is a special drill attachment used to clean both the inner and outer layers of the pipe. There are shavers designed for different types of reinforcement. They vary in diameter.
An important nuance! It is worth understanding the difference between cleaning pipes before welding with cleaning metal products. These are two different types of work. Each of them uses different equipment. In addition, they have different technological processes, which should also be taken into account.
Also, for stripping polymer pipes, you will need: a tape measure, the necessary stripping tool, a construction pencil for marking, a soldering iron, as well as scissors, a pipe cutter or a hacksaw. These are popular tools, they can be found in almost every home.
To obtain a perfect pipe cut, high alloy steel tools should be used. Bilateral solutions are preferred. Such a tool is effective when working with products of different diameters.
Stripping for polypropylene pipes is not particularly difficult. One person can cope with the task, special knowledge is not needed for this. It also does not require expensive tools. Simple machines will do just fine. Even with their help, cleaning can be done quite efficiently and accurately. It is enough just to prepare everything in advance, having carefully studied the technological process of this task.
It is imperative to remove the aluminum layer from pipes with external reinforcement, otherwise polypropylene and polypropylene will simply not be soldered and the joints will leak. The very process of removing aluminum foil is not easy and at large diameters it may even seem internal. Depending on the diameter, they can be single and double: 20-25, 32-40, 50-63, 75-90 (these are also single) as double ones are usually designated. Single ones usually go to the 110th diameter, and they are necessarily equipped with handles to make it easier to turn.
How to use stripping, setting knives
- Before use, the working knife must be set (adjusted) to the desired pipe diameter. Very often they forget about it and complain that the tool does not work as it should, the aluminum is not removed.
- Loosen the knife fixing screw so that it does not fall out of the body. Slightly extend the knife in the direction of the body axis.
- Insert an unreinforced PN20 hot water pipe with the desired diameter into the central hole until it stops.
- While pressing the knife against the stripping surface, bring it to the stop with the pipe surface and tighten the fastening screw.
- By analogy, you can adjust the other diameter.
- After setting, you can start the cleaning process of the pipe. To do this, while holding it still, and rotating the tool with the handles, remove the layer of polypropylene and aluminum from the surface of the pipe. After complete removal of the outer layer of polypropylene and aluminum foil, the pipe is ready for the welding process with the fitting. If the knives become dull, they can be sharpened with a fine grinding wheel.
Important! Do not confuse these sweeps with
for pipes with internal reinforcement! They are similar, but designed for a different type of pipe. For fiberglass pipes, no stripping or trimmer is needed.
On the left is a pipe with internal reinforcement with foil, on the right with external reinforcement.
In our online store you can choose and buy tools for welding, cutting, trimming and stripping of all types . Any type of product is sold at retail. For wholesale buyers there are discounts. We carry out delivery in Moscow, the region and other cities of Russia.
Pipe stripping is done in order to get rid of the polymer layer and protective coating, which is necessary for subsequent welding work. At the same time, it is taken into account that the material is cut off to the thickness that is needed for fitting the fitting.
To do this, you need a special device. Such devices are small, they are perfect for home use in the bathroom or toilet room. There are also large ones - for processing pipelines of a significant scale, which are usually used in the construction of multi-storey buildings.
Many would probably like to know how to strip a polypropylene pipe and why a thorough cleaning of the ends of polypropylene pipes is required, despite the fact that they seem to be quite smooth without that.
In order to avoid damage and undesirable consequences, the polypropylene pipe is protected.
Note! Do not rely only on the reinforcement of the coating. Pipe fixing points may contain irregularities and temperatures close to 100 °C can lead to softening of the pipe joint, leading to leakage. That is why it is required to clean the ends at the joints of the pipes.
How to properly remove the reinforced layer
Polypropylene pipes can be cleaned by the following methods. If the reinforced layer is located on the inside, the foil should be removed from the inside cavity.
Note! Aluminum should not come into contact with water, which will easily enter into an electrochemical reaction with it, which will lead to the destruction of the entire reinforced layer.
If you are dealing with fiberglass that protects the polypropylene layer, stripping is not required at all, since the mesh part of the fiberglass is located on the inside of the pipeline, it will not come into contact with the fittings during melting, and it is not afraid of water. That is why it is often preferable to choose polypropylene in combination with fiberglass. Preparation does not take much time, pipe installation and fastening of joints are easy, welding of polypropylene pipes is carried out without stripping.
Stripping the outer layer. In this case, the aluminum tread layer is on the outside. This foil should be removed, due to the fact that when cooking, the joints of aluminum and plastic are extremely unreliable. With the help of special equipment, the reinforcement is removed to the depth required for fitting the fitting and connecting other parts.
In such work, a technical trimmer, an electric drill are most often used; manual cleaning is possible without a special tool. Tools for manual use have a convenient removable handle for greater comfort. When working with a drill, special nozzles are used, which are mounted instead of a drill.
The cleaning of the outer reinforced part begins with the fact that a special coupling is mounted on the end part of the material. Then the clutch should be turned 1-2 turns, after which you will get a perfectly even cut at the exit. The whole process is extremely simple and will not take more than two minutes.
The trimmer cuts off the intermediate layer, its tips are mounted from the inside. The work is as follows: the trimmer is mounted on the tip of the pipe, a couple of turns are made, after which you can start welding.
Working with an electric drill
Special nozzles for an electric drill make it possible to remove the inner and outer layers at once. When working with a drill, attention should be paid to the number of revolutions of the device. The nozzle should be selected individually depending on the type of reinforcement.
Do-it-yourself cleaning of polypropylene pipes is possible in cases where you need to quickly remove a layer of polymer and a reinforced part, but the necessary device is not at hand. In this case, the layer is cut off with an ordinary technical knife, to the same depth that is required to mount the fitting. You can perform the work with the use of special tools and without them. The process itself is very simple, does not require special skills and will not take more than five minutes.
Video
This video shows the process of removing the reinforced layer of pipes from polypropylene without special tools:
The popularity of plastic pipes in the modern market is difficult to dispute. They are found in every second apartment or house. Homeowners with plastic pipes can be understood. This material is strong, reliable, but at the same time very mobile, has low weight, cost and is easy to process.
Of the four plastic pipelines, they are especially popular. They are further processed for even greater efficiency.
However, there are some nuances regarding the interaction with polypropylene pipes. In particular, for plastic products of this type, it is necessary to buy several additional tools that carry out trimming. Without facing, certain classes of polypropylene pipes cannot be soldered to each other.
What is it and why is it required? Now let's find out more.
Article content
Material Features
Polypropylene, like any other building plastic, is a special polymer with a certain set of properties.
You can list them for a long time, we will highlight only the most basic ones:
- strength;
- ease;
- ease of maintenance;
- the ability to manipulate segments at your discretion;
- lack of reaction to corrosion;
- low price;
It is thanks to these points that they have gained such wild popularity in the market.
But plastic products also have disadvantages. Before you buy them, you need to familiarize yourself with the list of weaknesses of a particular material. In particular, perhaps the biggest problem of plastic is its vulnerable reaction to temperature changes.
Plastic does not like too high temperatures. If you pour water with a temperature above 100 degrees into such a pipe, that is, boiling water, then plastic, as they say, will float. Become soft and pliable. In this state, it is easy to deform it, and here it is not far from breakdown.
Actually, there is nothing unusual in this behavior. Pretty much any plastic behaves the same way. But it floats not only in the case of extremely high temperatures.
Even just hot water affects polypropylene in a certain way. It is about the coefficient of expansion of the pipe. For plastic, this figure is quite high, for steel and other metals it is extremely low.
With low temperatures, too, not everything is in order. If polypropylene softens from hot water, then at extremely low temperatures, especially when freezing inside the water, it bursts. And it crashes unexpectedly. In general, as you yourself understand, contact with low temperatures also takes an unpleasant turn.
It is for such purposes that the reinforcement of plastic products was invented.
Reinforced polypropylene
In construction language, reinforcement is the process of introducing a reinforcing and supporting frame inside the supporting structure, which prevents the destruction of the working material, and also improves its resistance to bending and compression loads.
But don't get scared right away. Nobody shoves steel frames into polypropylene pipes. In our case, the loads are quite low, and the goal of the manufacturers remains the same - to create a lightweight and durable material with a low price. Therefore, two materials are used as a reinforcement layer:
- fiberglass;
- aluminum foil.
Fiberglass is stronger, but much more expensive. It is indicated inside the polypropylene pipe with a strip of a specific color. Red color - durable fiberglass.
Green or blue are weaker samples with average values. Although it certainly depends on the manufacturer. Therefore, before buying a pipe of a particular sample, you should contact a consultant.
Aluminum foil reinforcement is much more common in our area. In fact, it will be quite problematic to buy glass-reinforced polypropylene in some stores, while foil-reinforced products are found everywhere.
A machine is used to form the reinforcement layer. The machine winds the foil around the tube blank, then puts it into the second blank.
The output is the same polypropylene pipe, but with a much more adequate response to temperature changes.
Why is a cleanup needed?
Reinforcement has its advantages, but there are also disadvantages. The disadvantages relate to the complexity of working with polypropylene.
The fact is that stripping for polypropylene pipes, when it comes to reinforced samples, is simply necessary.
Without it, it is impossible to engage in gluing pipes with each other or with fittings. Rather, you can try at any time, but the result will not please you. A layer of foil will constantly interfere. He will either not allow normal fastening at all, or he will grab very weakly.
Stripping is just what is needed so that the edge of round or shaped pipes can first be freed from the reinforcement layer, and then safely and quickly fastened as you please.
Note that only pipes with foil reinforcement need cleaning. Glass fiber samples do not face such limitations. In fact, that's why they cost more.
Stripping tools
You cannot clean the pipe with your bare hands: you must first select and buy a stripping tool.
In addition, the tool for polypropylene pipes differs depending on what tasks are set for it.
So, in our time, the masters use:
- shaver;
- trimmer.
A shaver is a tool that strongly resembles a clutch with holes and overhead handles. Its task is to externally clean the pipe from the plastic layer, and then remove and reinforce.
After processing, the shaver leaves pure polypropylene without reinforcement, burrs and other necessities.
Inside the shaver is equipped with tool steel knives. Outside, its body is made of light metals. It works just like a pencil sharpener. Only the cut of the knives is smoother, and is designed for the solid structure of polypropylene. You also need to work with it in the same way as with a sharpener.
Planted, made a few turns (usually no more than 5) and you're done. They sell a shaver for up to $10 per unit.
Trimmer - a tool of a similar pattern. If the shaver is intended for external stripping of reinforcement, then the trimmer is used for internal stripping.
It already resembles a modified one. Only, unlike a tap, it does not cut threads, but cuts off polypropylene shavings along with reinforcement.
It makes sense to use a trimmer when pipes are supposed to be soldered through a machine with heating on the inside of the pipe. The cost of a manual trimmer is 5-8 dollars. There are also more expensive models.
There are also mechanized nozzles. They are mounted on a drill or machine. The details in question show amazing efficiency.
The machine cleans a single pipe in just a second, while the stripping quality is simply perfect. But not everyone has access to such equipment. When repairing or building at home, the machine will completely replace the manual shaver and trimmer.
Overview and interaction with polypropylene pipes (video)
Stripping and soldering
The workflow is elementary and easily done by hand. All that needs to be done is to strip the pipe, and then fasten it with another piece or by heating.
Stages of work:
- We prepare tools and materials.
- We clean it with a shaver or trimmer.
- If necessary, remove excess or burrs.
- We solder the cuts.
It is advisable not to overdo it with cleaning. Three to five turns with a good tool is enough. If you strip more, then the layer of polypropylene at the point of coupling of pipes will become too thin, and this is already fraught with weakening of the entire structure.
