Whats Your Favorite PVC Fitting Brand?

[motorfixer1]

I am new to this site but not to plastic pipe fitting and solvent welding. I was wondering if anyone has a favorite brand of fittings they use, I try to use Spears if I can get or it I order online. Ace Hardware seems to always have decent SCH 40 of different brands if I am in a pinch.

[SpudBlaster15]

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[Mr.Sandman]

I don't use pvc much anymore, but my favorite brand of pvc is charlotte, great quality control, never had a problem with parts not fitting.

[motorfixer1]

I have been a pipe-fitter for many years and have used many different brands of fittings. I have noticed many differences in fitting quality and merely was interested in any other professional opinions on the subject. SpudBlaster15, as far as your opinion on what to construct a cannon out of, that is something for a different topic because your thoughts on optimal construction materials were way off the subject of this post.

[clemsonguy1125]

I just use what lowes carries, lasco fittings, I've never had many issues with them.

[PVC Arsenal 17]

Of the hardware store brands, I prefer Lasco (Lowes) over Nibco (Home Depot). I found that Dura fittings have the deepest sockets, along with Spears.

[Biopyro]

PVC is the worst of the commonly used cannon building materials.

I disagree. Of the few materials available to use in pipe form, PVC is an excellent compromise between (for <10bar) saftey, price and weight.
MDPE is strong and safe, but usually too large or small diameter and electrofusion fittings cost over $100 for the larger bores.
ABS which is better but much much less available.
Steel which is very heavy and requires welding.
Copper, ideal for high pressure-low bore applications, but very expensive at larger diameters.

That said, I don't have a favourite brand. So long as it's kitemarked and conforms to British standards, I'm happy. The only real variation is shade of grey imo.

[SpudBlaster15]

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[Technician1002]

Steel which is very heavy and requires welding.

In larger sizes for the same pressure and rated for compressed gas, steel is ligher, stronger, and safer than PVC. I have my Dragon cannon for comparison. It is a 2.5 inch coax with a 6 inch PVC chamber. It is much heavier than my 2 inch QDV steel shirt cannon by a wide margin. I brazed it instead of welding. When done I have a cannon that has a chamber safe to about 260 PSI that is comprable to the PVC 6 inch chamber, but much ligher and safer.


This 6 inch PVC chamber is very heavy.

In comparison the disposable Freon tank is very lightweight.

[Biopyro]

Fair enough on ABS, I am in the UK and if I could get it, I would.
I'll be honest, I hadn't really considered steel as being possibly lighter than PVC, my ABS/PVC combustion isn't excessively heavy* and I hadn't considered brazing, but in my experience malleable iron and other threaded parts are very heavy.

I agree that PVC does have poor failure characteristics, but if used properly it doesn't fail, and is safe. Notice that of all the injuries we've had here in the last few years, none I remember have been from this type of catastrophic failure.

*3kg for 20cm 110mm ABS and 4 110mm PVC fittings

[SpudBlaster15]

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[clemsonguy1125]

I agree PVC is not the ideal building material, heres a bad incident with only spray n pray pressures.
[youtube][/youtube]

[Technician1002]

DWV PVC as shown in the video is the worst PVC to use. Pressure rated is much better.

[clemsonguy1125]

But isnt the "weak" part of DWV fittings the short socket depth, the fittings on this launcher didnt just get blown of, the shattered, and this launcher was just with low combustion pressures which last milliseconds

[Technician1002]

No, it is the extremely thin and light weight PVC that turns it into a hand grenade. Many of these failures are not simply a failed glue joint. It is a crack that shatters the launcher under pressure.