Many people are wondering how to bend plastic PVC pipes on one's own. Indeed, in the process of installing heating and water supply systems, it is very often necessary to deal with deformation of pipes, but many, not knowing how to do this, acquire a lot of unnecessary components, with the help of which they create bends and branches of the channel. At the same time, almost a third of the allocated budget is spent on this for the creation of the entire pipeline. A more rational and inexpensive way is to bend PVC pipes.
So, in order to bend a PVC pipe intended for a heating and drinking water supply system, it is necessary to remember and apply in practice several well-known methods of influencing plastic products using heated air and a vaporous substance. In addition, in independent construction works there is a way to bend PVC pipe using the included gas stove... So, about everything in more detail.
As for the improvised method of bending plastic pipes, it consists in heating exactly that section of the pipe that will bend. A home stove can help in this matter, or rather, its one of the burners. But, using this method of bending plastic pipes, you need to be vigilant and careful, since an open flame can damage not only the pipe, but also the person's hands. And in more serious cases, lead to disastrous results. Therefore, there is always an alternative to everything that happens with regards to the methods of bending PVC pipes, including.
More safe ways the creation of any bend and direction of the pipe intended for the supply of water are:
1. Can bend the plastic pipe with a technical hair dryer... To ensure the proper shape of the PVC pipe when it is heated, so that it does not start the melting process, it is necessary to fill in its inner cavity with a material that is resistant to high temperatures, and whose structure has the form of finely ground fractions. These materials include both sand mass and salt mass. Using a construction watering can or funnel, filling such materials inside the PVC pipe will not be difficult. Naturally, one of the ends will need to be closed with a stopper or barrier cap. Roughly, to fill a standard (length about 3 meters and a diameter of about 2 cm) plastic pipe, designed to create a heating system or a water supply channel, you will need about one bucket of bulk material. Knowing all the calculations, you can purchase everything you need in advance and not worry about whether the available materials were enough or not.
2. Can bend the plastic pipe without the help of a technical hair dryer. This method involves heating the bulk material (sand mass or salt mass) using oven... To implement the plan, you need a baking sheet and a preheated oven. After the bulk mass has warmed up to the desired temperature, using a scoop and a construction funnel, it is necessary to fill it into the inner cavity of the plastic pipe. It should be borne in mind that when choosing this method of giving bends to a PVC pipe, you need to have a crow and a metal barrier cover.
An important nuance is to determine the desired temperature, sufficient for bending plastic pipes, as well as PVC pipes on their own. In this case, you need to think logically. You can consider this issue using the example of a water heater. So, the tank heats the water, according to the recommendations in the instructions for the product, to a maximum of 75 degrees Celsius, but it is advisable to adjust the mode and set the heating temperature to 60 degrees. This is necessary in order to avoid the formation of deposits on the walls of the tank during heating at high temperatures... So, analyzing the available data, we can conclude that the required heating temperature of the bulk mass should be exactly above 80 degrees. On the Internet, there is information that such masses need to be heated to at least 140 degrees and not more than 170 degrees, so this extreme temperature is considered the melting temperature of plastic and PVC products.
All methods of bending PVC pipes for water supply systems have been considered, and you need to make a choice only based on your wishes.
Few people know that such rigid PVC pipes with a large diameter, in general, can be bent. It should be understood that not all types of such pipes lend themselves to the bending process. Moreover, it is possible to bend the pipe only a little, but this is already something. In most cases, as practice shows, plastic pipe for sewers, having a diameter of 1011 cm lends itself to bending by a maximum of 25% and with the help of a technical hair dryer. Do not worry if relief formations in the form of folds appear on the outer surface of the PVC pipe after processing with a technical hairdryer. Such formations do not impede the passage of masses through it, and also do not create a weakening of the deformed places.
Pipes made of polyvinyl chloride or plastic, which have a diameter of 56 cm, lend themselves to the creation of bends without hindrance. To bend such products, use a technical hairdryer or use the technology of hot bulk materials. Before the process of creating bends, it is necessary to go through a training exercise. No need to spare the materials to hone a skill. This training will help you achieve a good result at the end of the bending process of the desired plastic product.
The very process of bending plastic or polyvinyl chloride sewer pipes differs little from the process of bending pipes for heating systems or water supply systems. Initially, it is necessary to warm up the bulk material to 80100 degrees Celsius, and then pour it into the cavity of the plastic product. Next, you need to wait a while for the PVC pipe to warm up in the place of the expected bend. After waiting, you can start giving it the look it needs.
Today's construction technologies reached the level of creating special flexible PVC pipes for sewerage systems. They are produced in different sizes and diameters. Therefore, by acquiring such a pipe, it is possible to avoid self-imparting flexibility to the pipe. But the choice is always yours!
PVC pipes are increasingly used as a starting material for the manufacture of various crafts and homemade products. Sometimes the masters give them an ornate curved shape and the final work after application topcoat even the trimmings do not resemble the original material. In this master class similar technique we will demonstrate to you.
Materials (edit)
To bend PVC pipe you will need:
In addition, you will need a pipe bending device. In this case, a piece of plywood with dowels planted in the thickness was used.
Step 1... Usually, for bending pipes it is used gas-burner, but with its help you can give the pipe only a slight bend and only in a small area.
It is difficult to work out large sections of such material in this way. This takes a lot of time, besides, pipes often bend during operation, which does not look aesthetically pleasing.
To bend the pipe, as you can see in the photo of the final work, it needs to be evenly heated from the inside. We use sand for this difficult operation. So, first of all, you need to cut a piece of the required length from the PVC pipe and clean the cut edges.
Step 2... One end of the pipe must be sealed with tape. The tape must completely cover the hole.
Step 3... Using a funnel, sand must be poured into the pipe. Take it so that the pipe is completely filled with it.
Step 4... After measuring out the required amount of sand, pour it into a metal bowl and heat well. The sand should be hot.
Step 5... Wear protective gloves on your hands. Using the same funnel, pour the prepared sand back into the pipe.
Step 6... Cover the other end of the pipe with tape. This is necessary so that the sand does not spill out during work.
Step 7... Leave the pipe like this for a couple of minutes. During this time, it will warm up from the inside. The material will become soft and pliable.
Step 8... While the sand is still hot, you can shape the cut pipe into the desired bend or shape. Then remove the tape and pour the sand back.
Agree, it is rather tedious to trim the walls with plastic on a pre-built metal and wooden frame... In addition, this method of wall decoration reduces the volume of the room. And although we are talking about some 3-4 cm on each side, they still make the room much smaller. There are other disadvantages too frame method plastic wall cladding - PVC panels are not able to pass moisture and its vapors, as a result of which dampness, rotting and, as a result, the appearance of fungus form behind such a fake wall. An alternative frame technology wall cladding with plastic is the installation of panels on glue - this method is devoid of almost all the disadvantages described above. We will deal with it in the most detailed way.
Yes, you heard right. Not every wall can be covered with plastic PVC panels. There are not so many conditions under which plastic is able to adhere well to the surface to be faced, but non-observance will lead to a waste of money and time.
Firstly, it is the evenness of the walls. We are not talking about an ideal surface that does not have the slightest curvature - permissible drops, pits and bumps should not exceed 5mm. If there are more, then the plastic will either not stick or break in places of large depressions.
Secondly, the quality of the surface. It's no secret that no glue will stick to dusty, dirty and oily surfaces. Therefore, before proceeding with the gluing of plastic panels, the walls must be thoroughly cleaned - wash off the whitewash with water, remove the dust with a primer, and clean the fat with detergents.
In principle, plastic wall cladding can be performed using different adhesives - some craftsmen use hot melt glue for these purposes, which is applied with a special gun, others resort to contact glue such as “liquid nails, but still others use it for PVC mounting panels polyurethane foam, devoid of the ability to expand.
In principle, all of the above adhesives with the tasks assigned to them cope almost 100%, but some of them have their drawbacks. In particular, we are talking about hot melt glue. The fact is that plastic has a considerable coefficient of thermal expansion - the use of rigidly fixing glue, which deprives the panels of a small free play, leads to a gradual lag of the panels from the walls. This does not happen immediately, but in the next couple of years the hot melt glue will show its inconsistency for a long time and reliably hold the panels.
It is for this reason that it is better to install plastic on walls on liquid nails or on a non-expanding polyurethane sealant.
This type of adhesive has sufficient ductility so that the plastic does not come off the surface during the cooling and heating cycles. It is this glue for PVC panels that is used by most of the craftsmen who value their reputation.
The process of cladding walls with plastic using glue, as in principle, and that's it Finishing work, starts with high-quality surface preparation. As mentioned above, it is cleaned of dust, dirt and grease, after which it is abundantly primed. This approach to business is a common truth for every master who respects his work.
Additional work may need to be done before cleaning and priming walls. It's all about the approach of the builders of the past era to their work - most of the corners of rooms such as the bathroom and toilet were made rounded. They will have to be slightly trimmed with a punch. If this is impossible for some reason, then you will have to repeat the turns of the walls with millimeter accuracy.
Do you know how to bend plastic panel along the entire length without breaking it? You certainly won't need to heat it with a powerful hairdryer - the back side of the panel is cut between the stiffening ribs and gently bent. Thus, you can make almost any internal and even outside corner... When forming the outer corners, one slot will not be enough - you will have to cut an oblique segment with a width of one and a half to two stiffeners. In principle, if the walls and corners are even, then you can abandon this venture, giving preference to the factory corner joints... In the case of wall corners greater than 90˚, you cannot imagine better than bending the panel.
Okay, now to the point, and for starters, we will prepare a starter strip that will cultivate the connection of plastic to the floor. You can do without it, but only if your plans include the installation of skirting boards. The same applies to the ceiling - if installation is planned suspension system made of plastic, then you can refuse to install the starter profile under the ceiling.
Now the panel itself. It is trimmed in accordance with the height of the room, its back side is cleaned of dust with a damp cloth. Only then can glue be applied to it. Depending on the curvature of the walls, the adhesive can be applied in several ways. If the walls can be called ideal, then the application of the adhesive is performed in stripes along the perimeter and in the middle of the strip, but if the walls have curvatures, then the glue is better applied in dotted fashion, in large drops. Such an approach to business will guarantee that the panel will adhere to the wall surface with high quality even in the depressions.
The oiled panel with glue is applied to the wall. If we are talking about using liquid nails, then it is tapped and torn off - this glue needs to be weathered a little (5-7 minutes), this will make it harder and prevent the panel from falling behind the wall until the glue is completely dry. With a polyurethane sealant, such numbers do not pass - during the hardening of this glue, the strip of plastic will have to be periodically pressed against the surface to be faced. So whatever one may say, it is difficult to find something else better than liquid nails for gluing plastic PVC panels.
Here is the answer to the question of how to attach plastic to the wall with glue. It is in this way that their glue installation is performed. And finally, a little advice on the formation of the outer and inner corners. To be honest, it makes no sense to bother with them and use factory connections. Most the best option- cover them with ordinary plastic corners that do not have grooves for inserting panels into them. They are simply glued onto transparent silicone, and the excess is removed with a damp cloth. Depending on the curvature of the corners, you can choose the width of such inserts in the range from 20 to 50mm.
If you heat the plastic correctly, then it can be easily bent, one of the options simple adaptation for this we will consider below.
This fixture can be used to thermoform plastics up to about 1/8 "thick. Bends well in this way polystyrene, polycarbonate and PVC.
The base of the entire device will be a board made of MDF, its size is unlimited, what size you need to bend, choose this size. An aluminum "U" shaped profile is well suited for the heat shield of the heating element; it can be bought at any hardware store, suitable size 10 * 10mm, 10 * 8mm. We fasten the profile along the edge of the base sheet with self-tapping screws.
For the heating element itself, we need a nichrome wire with a diameter of 0.2 to 1 mm.
According to the table "Calculation of nichrome wire for a heater", you can see the maximum amperage for heating the existing wire diameter to the desired temperature of 400-600 degrees.
We pull the wire inside the profile; to adjust the height and direction, we use bolts with a flat head screwdriver head. The wire should not touch the plastic workpiece, the distance depends on the size of your profile and can be 1-3 mm. For constant tension of heated nichrome, we install a sufficiently stiff spring, for example, from a printer.
For the convenience of using the device, you can also install a switch, a connector for connecting a battery or a power supply. It is very convenient to use a powerful adjustable power supply to smoothly regulate the glow (heating) of the wire. For example, like this: Regulated power supply 4000W AC 220V, regulation 10-220V.
How to work: Place a sheet of material along the fold line over the hot wire and turn on the power. We hold it still until we notice that the place of the bend has softened and began to bend itself. We quickly move the workpiece onto a flat table and bend it to the angle we need, hold it until it cools.
