Stuff that works—Plumbing
PVC pipe
We're always amazed that more boats are not plumbed with
ordinary PVC pipe, but then again we never thought of
using it either until we bought Morgan’s
Cloud 16 years ago and found that her builder had
used PVC pipe for almost all of her plumbing. Since then we have added several plumbing
systems in PVC and modified existing ones.
Among the benefits are:
-
Economy. PVC pipe is dirt 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; particularly if your last stop
was a yacht supply shop (chandlery).
-
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.
-
Flexibility. No, it does not bend, or at least not much,
but the amazing 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.
-
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, but it
is time consuming and messy.)
-
Long Lasting. Even good quality hose only seems to last
five years or so, but PVC pipe will last decades.
-
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.
-
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.
 |
A good
example of a simple, cheap and very functional
use of PVC pipe on
Morgan’s Cloud
is our gray water system, which is simply a
length of 2” pipe running the length of the
boat in the bilge as a sump—you would be
surprised by how much water a 20' long pipe of
that diameter holds—with two sinks and the
shower system teed into it, and a take off at
the lowest point that runs to the sump pump.
The circled area shows 30
degree street elbows used to follow a complex
curve. |
All this is great but there is one fly in the ointment:
PVC pipe is rigid and, if you try to bend it, it will
crack. Unlike hose, you must cut it and install a
fitting every time you need to change direction. The
secret to overcoming this problem is 30 degree street
fittings. In pipe talk “street” just means that one end
of the fitting is male and the other female. This means
that you can quickly glue a bunch of these together to
go around most any curve you might find on a boat.
To return to the page you came from, please use
your browser's back arrow.
|
|
|
|
|
Last
edited on
Saturday December 01, 2007
Please read the following:
COPYRIGHT:
All information on this website is the copyright of John
Harries and/or Phyllis Nickel. All rights reserved.
FAIR USE: Notwithstanding the above, it is perfectly
acceptable for you to use quotes of a reasonable length from
this website, as long as you include an attribution with a link
to this website. DISCLAIMER:
Nothing on this website or in direct communications received
from us, or in our articles in the media, should be construed to
mean or imply that the high latitudes are anything other than a
hazardous place to take a boat. Dangers such as, but not limited
to, extreme weather, cold, ice, lack of help or assistance, and
poor charting could injure or kill you and wreck your boat.
Decisions to cruise the high latitudes, where you go, and how
you equip your boat, are yours and yours alone. The information
on this web site is based on what has worked for us in the past,
but that does not mean it will work for you, or that it is the
best, or even a good way for you to do things. |
|
