How to Use CPVC Plastic Plumbing Pipe
Updated: Nov. 22, 2019Easy to cut and join, no special tools, no risky soldering
- Time
- Complexity
- Cost
- A full day
- Beginner
- $51–100
CPVC Pipe: Materials and tools
Photo 1: CPVC pipe and PVC tubing cutter
Cut the CPVC pipe tubing straight and square with the special tool designed for this purpose. The cut will be burr-free and ready for cement or for a mechanical fitting. But for a better fit, chamfer the edge with a pocket-knife. You can also go low-tech and use a fine wood saw in a hand miter box. If you use a saw, remove the burrs from the saw cut.
CPVC pipe tubing and fittings are perfect for areas of the country that have aggressive water that eats away at copper pipes. This aggressive water can sometimes eat through copper pipe within eight years. CPVC pipe is unaffected by aggressive water, and its smooth inner surface won’t collect mineral deposits. It’s also less expensive than copper.
This system is designed to be very user-friendly, and because the outside diameter of CPVC tubing is sized the same as copper pipe, the grip-style mechanical fittings (Photos 3 and 4) can be used on both copper and CPVC pipe. Don’t confuse CPVC pipe with the plastic polybutylene systems that were a problem more than a decade ago. Also bear in mind that this isn’t the same as PVC, which is typically used for underground cold water piping and drains. You can quickly distinguish between the light beige color of CPVC pipe and the bright white of PVC. If you’re not sure, look for the printing on the side of the pipe. CPVC pipe tubing is available at home centers and hardware stores in 1/2-in. and 3/4-in. diameters in 10-ft. lengths.
Are there any drawbacks to CPVC?
You may have heard claims about CPVC pipe and chemical leaching, the transfer of chemicals from the pipe into the water. Studies have proved that CPVC tubing and fittings are completely safe for home water supplies. In fact, CPVC has been successfully used in homes for more than 35 years. Be aware that many home copper or steel water pipe systems are used as grounding for electrical wiring. CPVC is not a good conductor, so changing to it may change your grounding system. Check with an electrician if you think you’ve broken the continuity of your electrical grounding.
CPVC is not as tough as copper or galvanized steel. Take care not to strike it with a hammer, and be sure to use steel nail plates in wall framing if a nail or screw puncture is a possibility. Because of its flexibility (which can be an asset), you’ll need to support it more often than copper or galvanized steel-every 32 to 36 in.
CPVC pipe is code compliant—almost everywhere.
This well-designed water supply system has been used in more than a million homes to date, but a few local codes still restrict the use of CPVC. CPVC is capable of carrying 180-degree water at 100 psi (water in the average home is about 125 degrees at 50 psi). Contact your local plumbing inspector to see if CPVC is permitted in your area. Note: Never use CPVC for compressed airlines. It may rupture from the pressure.
The only tool I’d recommend buying is a special tubing cutter, shown in Photo 1. This type of cutter is designed to produce straight, burr-free cuts on CPVC and PVC tubing. You can also cut this pipe with an ordinary fine-tooth saw, but deburr the cut end with a pocketknife, file or sandpaper (See below). This step is absolutely necessary to get a good mechanical (Photo 4) or glued (Photos 5 and 6) connection.
Figure A: Chamfered Tube Edge
After cutting, ease the outer tubing edge with a file or sandpaper to deburr it. This makes joining easier.
How to make connections
Photo 2: Joining CPVC to copper
Turn off the water supply, then cut your pipes where you’d like to tie in. For the mechanical fitting shown, we removed 1-1/2 in. of pipe, then had to spread the gap to get the fitting in place. If your situation doesn’t allow this, you can solder a copper tee with a male adapter and run a threaded CPVC female adapter.
Photo 3: Push on a CPVC compression fitting
Scrape away any burrs from the copper pipe and rub a drop of dishwashing liquid on each end of the copper to act as a lubricant. Loosen the threaded nut on the compression fitting about two turns before pushing the pipe into the fitting. This will allow you to tighten the nut and pull the end of the pipe tightly against the internal O-ring. When you push the pipe into the fitting, a lock ring grips the pipe. Hand tighten each nut. Do not use a wrench.
Photo 4: Use compression or cement type shutoff valves
Add shutoff valves using mechanical fittings as well. These grip-style fittings work equally well on copper pipe. Follow the identical procedure, including applying dishwashing liquid to the ends of the tubing. The tubing must be inserted all the way into the fitting.
Photo 5: Cement joint: Spread primer first
Swab on primer to etch the surface of the pipe and the inside of the fittings. This will give the cement a better grip. Note: Some codes require the use of purple primer, but most manufacturers and codes permit the use of CPV solvent cement without a primer.
Caution: Keep a window open for ventilation and use an organic respirator. (Consult the manufacturer for an MSDS technical data sheet.) Too many whiffs of this stuff is bad news.
Photo 6: Cement joint: Spread cement second
Next, apply the CPVC cement to the tubing and the inside of the fitting. Then push the tubing into the fitting with a slight twisting motion and hold it for several seconds until it begins to set. Make sure the room is well ventilated. Smoking is absolutely prohibited while priming and applying cement.
Caution: Wear special solvent-proof gloves for extensive work. Too much exposure can be hazardous.
If you’ve ever done any soldering, you know that you have to get rid of all the water in the adjacent copper pipes to heat the pipe to accept the solder. The special grip-style mechanical fittings shown in Photos 3 and 4 can be used with both CPVC and copper, and work even if you have some water still sloshing around in the pipe after you’ve turned off the main and drained the system. These grip-style fittings are much easier to install in situations where pipe condensation would make soldering a real chore.
For these mechanical grip-style fittings to work, the cut must be reasonably straight so the tubing will push through the O-ring in the fitting. The fittings have a one-way gripper ring that grabs the pipe as you push it into the fitting; it’s like one of those Chinese finger puzzles you played with as a kid. Once you lubricate the end of the tubing with a drop of dishwashing liquid and push it into the fitting, it won’t come out.
The next step is to tighten the nut (be sure it’s backed off at least one or two turns from tight before you push the tubing into the connector). As you tighten it, the tubing is pushed inside the O-ring. You’ll feel some resistance as you slide the tubing past the gripper ring and then more resistance when the tubing slides into the O-ring. Don’t use a wrench to tighten the nut. Just hand-tighten the nuts on all fittings of this type. A wrench may damage the fitting.
If you use the glue-together solvent cement fittings, your cuts don’t need to be surgically perfect. Just cut the tubing with a tubing cutter or a fine-tooth hacksaw or wood saw, remove the burrs and you’re ready to go. The joint gets most of its strength from the slight taper on the inside of each fitting, so a reasonably straight cut is necessary for a good fit.
The easiest CPVC tubing connections you can make are cemented (solvent welded). Be sure to remove the burrs and lightly chamfer the end of the tubing. Keep in mind that a crooked cut will have less surface area to cement and a greater chance to leak. The cement-on tees, elbows and couplings are considerably cheaper and simpler to use than the mechanical fittings, and because of their small size, fit nicely into tight areas. Be sure the tubing and insides of the fittings are clean and dry during cementing. Some codes require a primer (the purple product shown in the photos). Spread the cement lightly on the inside of the fitting and a bit heavier on the pipe. Go around the tubing several times with the dauber (Photo 6) to work the solvent into the plastic. Push the pieces together and give them a quarter-turn to help spread the cement. Wait at least an hour (longer in unheated areas) before checking for leaks.
Plan for tube movement
Photo 7: Use special CPVC supports
Support your CPVC lines every 32 to 36 in. with special CPVC supports. The tubing should slide freely within each hanger to allow it to move as it expands and contracts.
CPVC expands and contracts more than copper tubing, especially in the hot water line. A 10-ft. piece of tubing can grow in length by as much as 1/2 in. Never butt the tubing against a framing member. Leave a gap, as shown in Photo 8, especially in a long run. Runs longer than 30 ft. require a U-shaped detour about 1 ft. on a side somewhere in the length to allow for expansion and contraction.
When drilling holes through framing members, you’ll also need to give the piping some space (Photo 9) to allow the longer horizontal and vertical tubing to move.
Other special CPVC parts
Photo 10: Stub-out ell and cap
Cement a stub-out tube to the water supply stub-out ells and cap them. After an hour, turn on the water main and check for any leaks. You’re now ready to drywall.
Photo 11: CPVC shutoff valves for under sinks
Turn off the water again and cut off the caps. Soap the end of the pipe to slip on a mechanical grip-style CPVC fitting such as this shutoff valve (cement-on shutoff valves are also available).
Photo 12: Special cement-on shutoff valves
Cement-on Shutoff supply valves are available with a chrome finish brass body for those of you who prefer the appearance of traditional metal piping.
Photo 13: CPVC pipe water hammer arresters
Use water hammer arresters to keep pipes from banging. The ones shown are specially designed for CPVC plumbing systems.
Photo 14: Copper arrester and CPVC pipe fitting
Thread-on copper water hammer arresters are available at home centers and are compatible with CPVC systems if you do not have aggressive water. Do not use pipe thread compound on the threaded fittings. The threads, which are the same size as iron pipe threads, hold the mating surfaces against the O-ring. (The O-ring was pulled out for visibility.)
In our photo series, we show you how to run the hot and cold water supply lines to a basic half bath (sink and toilet). Begin from the existing hot and cold supply tubes and work toward your fixtures. We show a CPVC-copper connection. If you need to connect to galvanized pipe, use a special threaded connector with a built-in seal exactly like the female CPVC fitting shown in Photo 14. You no doubt noticed those odd, bulb-shaped items attached to the hot and cold water supply lines shown in Photo 13. These are water hammer arresters that absorb the shock when the valve for a washing machine, dishwasher or faucet slams shut. Homes without these devices often have banging pipes. Water hammer arresters, or mufflers, stop banging pipes and prevent faucet or pipe damage. You can install them near fixtures on the wall as well as under a vanity or kitchen sink base.
Required Tools for this Project
Have the necessary tools for this DIY project lined up before you start—you’ll save time and frustration.
- 4-in-1 screwdriver
- Drill/driver - cordless
- Tape measure
- Tube cutter
Required Materials for this Project
Avoid last-minute shopping trips by having all your materials ready ahead of time. Here’s a list.
- CPVC cement
- CPVC primer
- CPVC tubing and fittings and clamps
- Dish soap
