Standardization News

A proposed ASTM International standard would be used to evaluate the resistance of polypropylene piping to deterioration when used in circulating domestic hot water systems. ASTM’s plastic piping systems committee (F17) is developing the proposed standard (WK66288).

“In most commercial hot water systems, the water is continuously circulated through the main portion of the piping so that there is very little delay in getting hot water to the fixture,” says ASTM International member James Paschal, chief technical officer, Aquatherm. “Keeping the piping hot continuously in a system that uses chlorinated water can cause some materials to deteriorate.”

Paschal says that a variety of components are susceptible to this type of damage. In addition to evaluating resistance to potential damage, the proposed standard would be used to evaluate for similar damage from other applications, such as cold water or traditional hot water systems, in which water is not circulating continuously.

ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards. Become a member of ASTM. The plastic piping systems committee will be seeking participation in round-robin testing to develop a precision and bias statement for the prosed standard.

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