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Installation & Joining
Installation of plastic pipe is similar to that of steel piping systems - pipe can be trench-laid, sliplined, or directionally drilled. At approximately 1/8 the weight of comparable steel pipe, and with integral and robust joining methods, installation is simpler.
There are three common methods for joining – heat fusion, electrofusion and mechanical fittings. Pipe joints can be heat-fusion bonded, one length of pipe directly to another, which creates a leak-free system without the need for a fitting. The fusion-bond area is as strong or stronger than the adjoining native pipe. Electrofusion provides another option for a fusion bond with the control box. Some gas companies prefer mechanical fittings that have been designed for plastic pipe. All three of these joining methods provide leak-free plastic piping systems in the gas distribution industry.
Although benign to chemically aggressive native soil, installation of PE pipe in soils contaminated with organic solvents (oil, gasoline) is not recommended. In these cases, PA11 should be used because it is chemically inert to organic solvents.
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