How to solder plastic pipes with your own hands - detailed instructions. Soldering of plastic pipes - devices and tools for connection Soldering of polyethylene pipes

Engineering systems 20.06.2020

Engineering systems

If you decide to make plumbing for your home on your own, then know that plastic pipes will be the best material for this. In order to get into a single system, you need to understand how plastic is welded. However, do not let this scare you, since the process of soldering plastic pipes is not particularly difficult and does not require a large number of special tools.

For the production of welding work you will need:

roulette;
marker;
building level;
scissors for cutting plastic pipes;
welding device for plastic pipes.

All tools, except for the last one, are available to almost any artisan. You may need the latter only once in your life, so it is much more expedient not to buy it, but to borrow or rent it.

Briefly about the welding machine

Before you start soldering, you should briefly get acquainted with the device that you are going to use.

An important element is the sole, equipped with heating elements. Convenience of work is ensured by the fact that there are holes on the sole that allow you to fix special nozzles for soldering. Temperature control is carried out using a thermostat located on the body.

Pipe soldering process

When starting soldering, the device must be installed in the desired position and fixed nozzles of a suitable size on it. Using the thermostat, set the desired temperature:

260°C for polypropylene pipes;
220°C for polyethylene pipes.

Allow the device to warm up for 10-20 minutes until the indicator goes out.

When soldering, it is necessary to proceed from the following data:

External pipe size, mm
Interval to the mark, mm
Heating time, sec
Maximum duration of technological pause, sec
Cooling time, min

The soldering process is reduced to the following operations:

Using special scissors, cut the pipe of the required length, use an alcohol solution to clean the joints from dirt and grease;
Install the pipe and the reciprocal socket into the nozzle and warm up for the time indicated in the table;
Connect the heated elements to each other by inserting the pipe into the socket. This operation must be performed within the time period indicated in the table as a technological pause;
After completing the operation, check the quality of the resulting welded joint, which will be noticeable in the form of plastic rings.

We have just outlined the essence of the soldering process. However, to ensure the reliability of the operation of the pipeline, attention should be paid to the following details:

The first welding operation should be carried out five minutes after the soldering iron has warmed up.
If it is necessary to weld reinforced pipes, a special tool called a shaver should be used to remove aluminum and polypropylene from the pipe, which form the two upper layers. After that, the joining of the pipes is carried out according to the method already described.
Welding work should be carried out only when the ambient temperature is above zero.
After welding, allow the connected pipes to cool, preventing them from twisting or moving relative to each other. In the event that the connecting seam turned out to be of poor quality, the assembly must be cut and the welding process must be performed again.

When working with, certain precautions must be observed, the non-observance of which may affect the quality of the welded joints. In particular, it must be remembered that the nozzles have a Teflon coating that prevents the formation of carbon deposits. At the end of each operation, melted residues must be removed from them with a wooden spatula. It is strictly forbidden to remove residual material after the tips have cooled down, as this may damage the coating and cause a malfunction of the entire device.

Pipelines made of high-molecular compounds, that is, various types of plastic, are an integral part of a modern home, whether it is a private cottage or an apartment in a multi-storey building. Polymer pipes are rapidly gaining popularity: they are light, inexpensive and have good technological characteristics. They are easy to assemble into a single circuit by soldering (welding); this article will tell you how to solder plastic pipes correctly.

Advantages of polymer pipes

Plastic products are widely used not only in the field of housing and communal services, but also in other areas of human activity. Many brands of plastic and a wide range of sizes allow each craftsman to choose a product for their purposes and choose a way to solder plastic pipes for plumbing.

Advantages of plastic pipes:

unlike metal products, they are not prone to corrosion;
chemically indifferent - do not interact with most acids, alkalis, salt solutions, gas and oil products;
biologically stable - including the action of various microorganisms;
have good sound insulation;
low heat transfer coefficient, that is, excellent thermal insulation;
light weight, which facilitates the transportation of pipes to their destination, their laying, subsequent repair and dismantling;
environmental safety - products do not emit harmful substances into the atmosphere;
ease of connecting individual elements into contours of any complexity and length;
the ability to use products for both hidden and outdoor laying;
long service life - subject to all operating conditions and the absence of external threats, the period, depending on the brand of plastic, is 50 years or more;
ability to withstand high pressures: at a temperature of 0 ... 10 ° C, the maximum allowable pressure inside the system is 15 bar, at elevated temperatures (up to 95 ° C) - 2 bar.

Products are quite environmentally friendly, as a result of which they can be used in water supply circuits - both cold and hot - and heating.

Plastic pipes can, with the help of special connecting fittings with metal inserts, be connected to similar products made of metals and alloys.

How to solder a plastic pipe and how to use a pipe soldering iron is easy to learn with the help of reference materials or video tutorials, the process is not difficult and every home master can do it.

What equipment is needed for soldering

Most domestic water supply or heating systems are constructed from pipes whose outer diameters are in the range of 16 ... 63 mm. It is recommended to weld products in a socket or using connecting fittings (couplings).

The choice of soldering irons today is quite large, and in order to make the right decision, you need to look at their main operational characteristics:

Power. The most important setting. For a home craftsman using plastic pipes of standard diameters, a power of 1200 W will be enough. Soldering plastic pipes with units with a power of 1800 W or more is much easier and faster, however, for home use, the minimum indicated power will be quite enough.
Number of nozzles. The number of nozzles supplied in the kit in each case is different, and the more, the better. Nozzles are exactly what plastic pipes are soldered with. Good elements should be coated with Teflon to prevent the material from sticking. Each nozzle consists of a sleeve for melting the outer surface of the products and a mandrel for the inner part of the pipes.
If there are financial possibilities, you should purchase a soldering iron, on which several nozzles can be installed at the same time: this will save a lot of time, since to replace the nozzle it is necessary to cool the tool each time, and then, to resume work, heat it up again.
Expensive professional soldering irons are equipped with an electronic heating temperature control unit, which allows you to set its value with an accuracy of 1-5 ° C. The master, who wondered how to solder pipes with a soldering iron, can not purchase expensive products, but measure the temperature of the nozzle using an appropriate thermometer.

In addition to a soldering iron, scissors will be needed to cut polymer pipes. You can, however, get by with a hacksaw.

It is necessary, among other things, to purchase auxiliary materials - a marker, ruler, tape measure, cloth or rags - and directly pipes for water supply and connecting fittings (fittings).

Using a soldering iron

Algorithm of actions when soldering polymer pipes:

Install a soldering iron on a plane parallel to the floor and, using the supplied keys, fix the nozzles of the diameters required in this case on it. The nozzle for soldering on the wall is installed closest to the edge.
Preheat the soldering iron with nozzles installed to the operating temperature indicated above. The warm-up time for each tool is different; in most cases it is 10-15 minutes (read also: "").
Until the end of work, you must not turn off the device from the network: this will not only slow down the process, but also adversely affect the performance of the soldering iron.
The parts to be joined heat up at the same time.
After heating, plastic contamination should be removed from the nozzles immediately with a piece of tarpaulin, without allowing them to cool and dry to the surface.

Pipeline installation

Procedure:

Using scissors, cut off the required piece of pipe, making sure that the plane of the ends is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pipe.
Prepare fittings of the required diameter - slightly smaller when cold than the outside diameter of the pipe.
The surfaces of the elements to be joined must be cleaned of all contaminants and degreased - both a soap solution and alcohol can be used.
Install the elements on the nozzles of the soldering iron and heat them up; a pipe is inserted into the sleeve, a sleeve is put on the mandrel.
Maintain the necessary warm-up time specified in the instructions that come with the soldering iron.
Remove the elements from the nozzles and press them tightly against each other, preventing them from rotating around the axis.
As a result, a burr appears at the edge of the coupling - a roller formed during melting of the material.
Allow the compound to cool naturally.

If the connection fails, cut out the damaged piece of pipe and repeat the process with a new coupling.

A master who is interested in how to solder PVC pipes should be aware that these products are not hot soldered, but are connected using polymer glue - “cold welding”. In terms of strength, such a connection is not inferior to that described above.

You can solder plastic pipes with your own hands, because this is an easier task compared to the technology of welding metal counterparts. This docking method is used to work with polymer communications of various types. However, the techniques for soldering plastic pipes and analogs with reinforcement differ slightly. To avoid mistakes, when welding communications, they study the recommendations of specialists.

Soldering plastic pipes with your own hands.

Types of pipes connected by soldering

The soldering iron for working with polymeric material is designed for joining plumbing communications, which differ in production technology, type of material:

from polypropylene - they tolerate the influence of high temperatures well, thanks to this property they can be used when installing a heating system;
PVC: with strong heating, they partially lose their properties;
plastic with reinforcement - due to the reinforcing layer, strength, resistance to heat increase, such communications are less susceptible to expansion upon contact with a heat source;
polyethylene heat-resistant - well tolerate prolonged contact with the coolant;
polybutylene - superior in properties to analogues from other materials: they are durable, resistant to extreme temperatures, elasticity, can be used in pressurized heating systems;
copper pipeline sections are connected with a soldering iron or a gas burner.

Necessary tools and materials for soldering

When it is planned to repair or replace water supply networks, you will need a device for working with plastic.

Additionally, auxiliary tools are prepared:

building level;
pipe cutter or scissors for cutting;
a set of nozzles (included in the set of welding machine for polymers);
roulette;
a shaver that allows you to remove the reinforcement of communications;
beveler;
deburring tool;
solder;
flux.

Soldering iron for soldering plastic pipes.

Elements of the smallest diameter in everyday life are connected by the butt method much less frequently. Fittings are preferred.

Solder for soldering

This is a consumable used to connect copper sections of the pipeline. It is made in the form of wire, rods. Foil solder is also found. The materials of this group differ in composition. They can be produced on the basis of tin, zinc, lead, antimony, silver. The quality of the seam connection depends on what metals are included in the composition. In addition, solder is divided into types, taking into account exposure to high temperatures: low-melting, medium-melting and refractory.

Fluxes and fittings

Fittings for plastic pipes for soldering.

Flux is necessary for welding metal parts. If you plan to use an apparatus for soldering plastic elements, this material is not used. Flux allows you to protect metal surfaces in the oxidation process. Another property of such materials is the improvement of solder flow. The flux is represented by different options, different in composition. Necessary materials for working with copper: zinc chloride, boric and hydrochloric acids.

Fittings are called connecting elements for pipelines: tees, couplings, crosses, etc. Their inner size must be equal to the outer diameter of the elements. This creates a secure connection. However, if welding of a PVC pipeline or other types of polymer structures is performed, then the seam connection by means of fittings in this case will be one-piece.

Cutting scissors

The purpose of the tool is to perform a cut on polymer products. If you use a pipe cutter, then the edge of communications will be more accurate, burrs do not appear. This makes further work easier.

Such a tool is represented by different types, among which:

auto;
guillotine cutter;
roller scissors;
pipe cutter with a ratchet mechanism (suitable for working with communications up to 75 mm in diameter).

When it is planned to do-it-yourself welding of plastic pipes, it is necessary to prepare the tool in advance, since polymer products cool quickly when heated. The main criteria for choosing a soldering iron for working with elastic communications:

type of heating element: cylindrical, flat;
the number of nozzles in the kit, their outer diameter, which will allow you to work only with pipes of a given size;
power - determines the heating capacity of the soldering iron, with independent work, a value of up to 1.2 kW is acceptable, when choosing a tool, the size of the connected communications is taken into account;
type of coating of nozzles, it is important that polymeric material does not stick to them during soldering;
type of temperature controller - affects the error in determining the temperature of the material.

The essence of the process and methods of soldering

This technology is based on the principle of changing the structure of the material for joining individual sections of the pipeline. This ensures a connection of a high degree of strength.

Different ways of connecting polymer pipes:

electrowelded installation technique - based on the use of special fittings equipped with conductive elements;
soldering by heating parts: it implies the need to change the temperature of the end sections, their further squeezing;
cold welding of PVC pipes: chemicals are used that can change the structure of the plastic, after joining the sections of the pipeline, an integral strong seam is obtained, but in terms of reliability, such a connection is inferior to welding, while the elements of the system do not heat up.

Step-by-step instructions for soldering plastic pipes

In the process of installing communications, it is important to avoid mistakes. If the installation technology is violated, the quality of the seam connection is significantly reduced, which leads to a reduction in the service life of the pipeline. The risk of leakage increases.

Security measures

Gloves must be used for work. Do not touch the heating element after turning on the device, because it tends to heat up to +300°C.

The room where welding work is carried out must be ventilated. If there is a source of water nearby, it is important to secure the workplace. The soldering iron must not be allowed to come into contact with liquid during the welding process.

It is necessary to make sure that the welding machine is in working condition - the integrity of the wire is not broken.

Preparation of elements and details

It is not recommended to connect raw communications. First, the material is cut in accordance with the design of the water supply system. Even if a pipe cutter is used, the burrs still need to be removed, because they, although in smaller quantities, are formed. To make communications easier to connect with fittings, chamfers are made at the end sections (angle up to 45 °). For this, a special tool is used. Before starting welding, the pipes are degreased.

Before soldering, the pipe is degreased.

Soldering iron preparation

It is not difficult to work with the apparatus for welding polymer communications. It is installed on a stand, then connected to the network. At the same time, the required heating temperature (if there is such a function) is set, which is implemented by means of a thermostat. After that, it remains to wait until the thermostat warms up sufficiently (use an electric thermometer). The duration of this period depends on the power of the unit and the heating rate. You often have to wait up to 30 minutes.

At what temperature to solder plastic pipes

The temperature regime varies depending on the type of communications material. The most commonly used pipes are made of polypropylene, for which the temperature is set to + 260 ° C (upper limit). They work with polyethylene products under less aggressive conditions: the temperature is not higher than +220°C. In the absence of a thermostat, the heating time is the main criterion. The larger the diameter of the pipe, the longer it warms up. The heating time varies from 6 to 20 seconds (for communications with a diameter of 20-63 mm).

Docking rules

The main requirement for the installation of polymer communications is compliance with the axis of the pipeline. They are flexible, become plastic when heated. This increases the risk of improper pipe installation. To avoid the formation of sagging inside the communications at the junction, leave a gap of up to 3 mm between the edges.

The sequence of soldering plastic pipes.

Pipe connection

Having endured a sufficient amount of time, the pipe and fitting are removed from the nozzles. It is important to immediately connect them, setting them in the correct position relative to the axis of the pipeline. Complete hardening of the polymer material occurs after 2-3 minutes. However, closer to the end of this period of time, it is no longer possible to adjust the position of the pipe and fitting relative to each other. This will lead to the destruction of the formed molecular bonds. As a result, the connection quality will decrease.

Stripping and cooling connections

Docking of the pipeline with a fitting.

The section of the pipeline after docking with the fitting is left in a fixed position. Wait until the temperature of the material drops to +40°C (a change of 1-2°C is allowed). After that, it is necessary to partially remove the influxes. Under such conditions, the polymer material has time to gain strength, but still retains sufficient plasticity. This makes it easy to remove the sagging without deforming the seam.

Do not subject the pipeline section to artificial cooling. It has to cool down in the open air. It is forbidden to use special means (blowing, sources of low temperature or cold water) for this.

Checking the quality of the connection

The appearance of the pipe section is evaluated. So, there should be no cracks on the seam. The material here should be uniform, without leaks, the structure should not be porous. A connection without defects and with an influx within 2-4 mm is considered to be of high quality. If the wall thickness of the pipe is less than 10 mm, then leave the roller on the seam up to 2 mm high. When larger communications are welded, the influx must be at least 4 mm.

Common mistakes

Inadmissible actions that can lead to a decrease in the quality of the suture connection:

violation of the temperature regime when heating pipes: insufficient thermal effect or, conversely, overheating;
complete removal of sagging or cutting off excess material from the seam before it cools;
the application of excessive force when connecting pipes, which will lead to a deterioration in the quality of the joint;
if welding is carried out without pre-treatment of communications, the seam will not last long, because dust and dirt remain on the pipes, which reduces the adhesion of materials.

If there is not enough experience in performing welding work, you can study the recommendations of the masters.

Soldering in hard-to-reach places and corners

When work is performed in areas that are difficult to reach, it is permissible to heat the elements of the pipeline sequentially. First, you need to install a flange on the soldering iron nozzle, then a pipe section. So that the first of the elements does not have time to cool, it should be heated more strongly. Angle fittings are used to move from complex sections to the main pipeline line.

Connection of plastic pipes without soldering

If there is no welding machine, consider other methods:

Cold soldering. In this case, it is assumed that a special adhesive must be applied to the inner walls of the pipe and the outer surface of the fitting. You can pre-treat the material with sandpaper, then the pipeline elements are degreased and connected.
Application of a compression fitting: a connecting element is used, which is fixed by means of a nut.

Large diameter plastic pipe welding

If it becomes necessary to install larger communications, use the butt connection method. Fittings are not used. A minimum gap is left between the pipes, they are fixed with special equipment. After alignment is completed, proceed to soldering.

Polyethylene pipes, produced mainly from HDPE (low pressure polyethylene), occupy a strong place in many areas of industry, construction and everyday life due to the presence of many technologically advantageous characteristics. This necessitates the need for optimal methods of their connection, without which the process of installation and arrangement of pipeline lines is impossible.

Varieties of polyethylene (PE) pipe connections

Among the various types of connections between polyethylene pipes, detachable and one-piece connections are distinguished.

The detachable method allows disassembling the assembled structure at the end of operation. Accordingly, it is optimal in cases where there is no need for its long-term use. A similar connection of pipes is carried out by means of steel flanges.

More durable and more often used in practice is a one-piece connection. It is carried out by welding or soldering PE pipes, which, in turn, can be butt or coupling. Both methods are effective and reliable, allowing you to get monolithic strong connections.

Butt welding of polyethylene pipes

Butt welding of polyethylene pipes requires special welding equipment. This connection method is effective for soldering HDPE pipes only. Its versatility lies in the fact that it allows you to maintain the flexibility of the structure throughout its entire length. This method can be used for both trench and open pipe laying.

Butt welding of HDPE pipes is carried out in the following sequence:

Installation of the ends of the products to be welded in the centralizer of the welding equipment.
Alignment and tight fixation of parts.
Cleaning the end sections from dirt, dust, grease, other blockages and layers (carried out by means of a cotton cloth soaked in alcohol).
Processing of end fragments by means of a trimming device (trimming). The process is carried out until a uniform chip appears, not exceeding 0.5 millimeters in thickness.
Removing workpieces and checking the ends by hand for parallelism. If a significant gap between the surfaces is detected, the trimming is repeated until the necessary compliance is obtained.
Heating of the ends of billet pipes with a heating element, the surface of which is covered with a non-stick layer.
Upon reaching some melting of the workpieces, the heating element is removed and the ends of the welded pipes are closed. The clamping pressure is increased until a complete and firm closure is achieved. Products should be kept for some time (usually 5-10 minutes) until the joint is completely hardened.
Checking the quality of the welded structure. The appearance of the welded ends, their correspondence to each other and the soldering strength are evaluated.

In addition to the welding process itself, it is important to pay close attention to the preliminary work listed in the starting points. They should be carefully performed before soldering HDPE pipes, since the reliability and strength of the connection being made largely depends on this.

A prerequisite for high efficiency butt welding is its implementation by means of a single seam. Only in this case is the maximum strength of the welded joint achieved, otherwise it may be insufficient.

Socket welding of HDPE pipes

The coupling method of soldering polyethylene pipes is carried out by means of a special device called a soldering iron, and a set of special nozzles of the desired diameter. In the welding process, fitting products are used: couplings, tees or corners. The ends of the workpieces to be joined are welded to the fittings, which serve as connecting elements.

If you have the necessary soldering unit, you can solder HDPE pipes with your own hands. This work is not very difficult and within the power of any home master.

Before you solder the HDPE pipe with your own hands, you should do some preliminary work, in particular:

Cut the blanks with special scissors to the desired size. The cuts must be strictly perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the workpieces.
Clean the end sections of the products to be joined.
Close the ends of those pipes that are not currently being welded with stoppers to avoid contamination and cooling.
Clean the heated surfaces of the soldering unit from clogging and particles that may have remained from previous work.

Heating the nozzle parts of the soldering iron to the required temperature. When the heating reaches the required values, the indicator on the body of the device gives a special signal.
The HDPE pipe is inserted all the way into the sleeve, and the fitting is also pushed onto the mandrel all the way. This action may require some effort.
As the pipe is inserted and the fitting is pushed onto it, excess molten material is squeezed out from the surface of the product. As a result, a kind of annular bead, called a flash, is formed in the area of the welded edge.
The parts to be connected are removed from the nozzle, after which the pipe is inserted into the fitting so that it is in close contact with the annular bead. See also: "".
They wait for the welded pipes to cool down without exposing them to any external influences.

Due to the fact that it is difficult to determine the exact depth of immersion of the pipe during the welding process, it should be measured in advance and an appropriate mark should be made on the surface of the product.

Electrofusion welding

A special type of socket welded joints of PE pipes is the electrofusion method, which makes it possible to obtain high-strength structures. For its implementation, it is necessary to use a special electric coupling for HDPE, equipped with embedded heating elements. The welding process is also carried out using welded HDPE fittings equipped with heating coils. Due to heating and partial melting of the fitting material, a connection with a polymer pipe and the formation of a monolithic structure are achieved.

The elements and parts used in this method are quite expensive, however, the advantages of electrofusion welding are the absence of flash formation, which reduces the permeability of pipes, and the ability to weld parts in a limited space where it is impossible to install overall welding equipment.

Electrofusion welding between PE pipes is carried out in the following sequence:

The pipes are cut into the required lengths by means of special cutting tools.
The parts to be welded and the electric coupling itself are cleaned of dust, dirt and grease.
Marks are made on the pipes to control the depth of insertion into the coupling.
Those pipe ends that are not currently being welded are plugged to prevent unwanted cooling.
The electric coupling is connected to the welding device by means of wires.
The welding process is started using the start button of the device.
At the end of the welding process, the machine switches off automatically.
Wait at least one hour for the hardening and complete readiness of the welded joint, after which it becomes serviceable.

An important condition for obtaining a high-quality welded joint is the preservation of the immobility of the parts during the soldering process and subsequent cooling. One of the indicators of the quality of the weld is the thickness of the bead, which should be from one third to half the thickness of the pipe itself. The roller should overlap the mark previously made on the pipe. The displacement of pipe sections to be welded relative to each other should not exceed 10 percent of their wall thickness.

Choosing a method for soldering HDPE pipes

Not each of the listed options may be well suited for connecting HDPE pipes in certain conditions. Different methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and along with this there are a number of factors that also determine the answer to the question of how to solder polyethylene pipes in a particular situation.

The coupling method is optimal in cases where it is necessary to solder in hard-to-reach places. Since in such a situation the axial displacement of the products relative to each other is difficult, butt welding becomes impossible, and the only acceptable method is a socket connection.

In the most inaccessible areas, with a severely limited space for work, HDPE pipes are soldered using an electrofusion method. Another significant advantage of this method is its speed, which is also sometimes important.

Finally, in those cases where there is a need for a one-time pipe connection to perform one or another short-term job, soldering is not required at all, and a temporary detachable connection can be dispensed with.

Good day, dear reader! Assembly or repair of heating systems, plumbing, sewerage from modern types of polymer products is carried out easily and quickly, thanks to the soldering technology used to connect parts. You can do these works with your own hands, if you know, prepare the necessary tools and fixtures in advance.

You can solder the following types of pipes.

polyvinyl chloride (PVC);
polypropylene;
copper pipes;
polybutene;
made of high temperature resistant polyethylene;
plastic products with reinforcement.