FAQ's | Uniflex Kitec Jindal Composite Pipes

The FAQ's on Uniflex Pipes

What is Composite Pipe?

Composite Pipe is made of five layers. The inside & outside layers comprise of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) or MDPE (Middle Density Polyethylene) tightly bonded with melt adhesives to intermediate layer of Aluminium Core, which is longitudinally overlapped.
These Pipes offer the advantages of both metal and plastic pipes with none of their shortcomings.

What is HDPE & MDPE?

PE is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic material and one of the most commonly used plastics. HDPE is the high density version of PE plastic. It is harder, stronger and a little heavier than MDPE (Middle density version of PE), but less ductile.

What is the use of Aluminium in the Pipe?

After extrusion of internal and external layers of PE material together with melt adhesive, the tube function as single component for operating in temperature range of -40 deg C to 95 deg C and there is no differential expansion of PE layers and aluminium tube. Because of aluminium in between, the resultant thermal expansion co-efficient is low.
It also sustain more pressure because of aluminium core inside.

What are the advantages of Composite Pipes over GI Pipes?

a. The working Life of composite pipes is about 50 years and GI Pipes have very small life (depending of type of water) because of corrosion problem.

b. Because the internal surface of the composite pipes are smooth, the flow rate of fluid is in these pipes is 30% more than GI Pipes

c. Composite Pipes are bendable and hence require less number of fittings

d. Composite Pipes & Fittings are hygienic, toxic free and has no growth of micro organism.

e.   Composite Pipes are light in weight and come in coils of 200/100M lengths, therefore       easy to carry, store and less joints.
f.    These Pipes are corrosion resistance and Scale Free.

Can these pipes be used for Hot Water?

UNIFLEX Composite Pipes come in three Colours:

          White Pipe     Used for Cold Water in temp range of -40 deg C to 60 deg C
         Orange Pipe    Used for Hot Water in temp range of -40 deg C to 95 deg C
          Yellow Pipe     Used for Gas Distribution in temp range upto 60 deg C
Black Pipe UV stabilized & Confirming to IS 15450 : 2004 are available for external installations exposed to Sun.

What is the Size Range of Pipes?

UNIFLEX Composite Pipes come in size range from 10mm ID and 14mm OD to 60 mm ID and 75mm OD.

What type of fittings is used with the Pipes?

We supply complete range of Brass Fittings with our Pipes which are of two types Screw Fittings and Press Fittings.

What are Screw Fittings?

These fittings do not require any special tool. The pipe joint is achieved by tightening the nut against the coned shaped olive, the profiles of the two pieces are designed to cause a progressive shrinkage of the cone olive and distribute the compression force across all the contact surface. These fittings can be unscrewed and reused in case of any change in the installation layout.

What are Press Fittings?.

These fittings require a Pressing Machine with suitable jaws. The Machine presses the outer sleeve of the fittings and creates dents in the sleeve which comes in contact with the O rings and creates leak proof joint. These fittings cannot be reused after fixing it.

What are the kinds of fittings available?

All kind of fittings are available as per requirement. It can be Equal Elbow, Unequal Elbow, Male Elbow, Female Elbow, Equal Union, Unequal Union, Male union, Female Union, Equal Tee, Unequal Tee, Female Tee, Male Tee etc These fittings are compatible with all kind of fixtures.

What are the Tools used with these Pipes and Fittings?

For Screw Fittings, Cutter, Reamer, Bending Spring and Spanner is required.
For Press Fittings, Cutter, Reamer, Bending Spring, Pressing Machine and its Jaws will be required.
For bending of long pipes, bending machine is also available.

Are your Pipe UV Resistance?

For external installation exposed to Sun , we have UV Resistant Pipes in complete Size Range, which are black in colour.

Why do you have separate pipes for Cold and Hot Water?

The PE version is different in both the pipes. MDPE is used for Hot Water and HDPE is used for Cold Water. The colours of the Pipes are also different. Internationally White Colour is used for Cold Water and Orange Colour is used for Hot Water.

How much is the Heat Loss in Hot Water Pipes?

The Co-efficient of Thermal Conductivity of PE-AL_PE Pipes is .45 W/mk, about 1/100 that of steel pipe but it is higher than the insulating materials. Normally there is no need of using any insulating material for Hot water distribution.

What is the difference in HDPE and MDPE?

Can these Pipes be used for Chemicals?

UNIFLEX Composite Pipe do not react with chemicals. Below 60 DEG C, PE is able to stand all kinds of acid and alkali solutions. It is static resistant and thus can be used in chemical industry without extra protection. The Brass fittings may not be suitable for all types of Chemicals and alkalis and will require compatibility check before installation.

Are your Pipes costlier than conventional GI Pipes?

The Prices of UNIFLEX Composite Pipes are less than GI Pipes but with Brass Fittings the overall cost of the installation may be higher by about 10-15 percent. But the life of the Composite Pipe System is much more than that of GI Pipe system.

How do you claim 50 years working life of your Pipes?

The PE material have very high resistance to ageing, if utilized at the pressures up to 10 bar and working temperature up to 95 DEG C . Artificial ageing tests performed in the laboratory indicate that the pipe has a working life of more than 50 years.

Up to what degree the pipes can be bend?

The bending radius may vary from 2.5 to 5 times the pipe outer diameter and the cross section at the bend remains constant. Once the pipe has been bent it remains in the desired position like a metal pipe.

Is there any special tool required for bending the Pipes?

There are internal and external springs available as tool for bending the pipes for smaller sizes up to 2632. Pipe Bending Machine is also available .

Can your pipes be connected with GI Pipes?

We have fittings available through which UNIFLEX Composite Pipes can be connected with other category of Plumbing Pipes and Fittings.

Is there any Pressure Drop because of Internal Fittings?

There will be some friction Loss due to internal fittings but the overall performance of the Composite Pipe System will be comparable as there are less number of fittings required.

Your pipes are burning resistant. What do you mean by this?

UNIFLEX Composite Pipes do not burn readily due to internal metal layer. With the test by the national fire proof construction material quality supervisory test centre, the fire resistance of pipe is proved to reach grade B1 of GB 8624.

What is maximum length of the Pipe without any joint?

UNIFLEX Composite Pipes are offered in Coils. The length in the coil vary from 50M to 200 M depending of the dia of the pipe. The maximum length of the installation can be up to the length provided in the coil. For sizes 3240 and above the Pipes are in length of 6M.

What is maximum sustainable temperature of pipes?

The working pressure of UNIFLEX Composite Pipes is as under
          Pipe Type        Temp in Deg C Pressure
          Cold Water           -40 to 60                1 Mpa
          Hot Water           -40 to 95 1 Mpa
          Gas                           -20 to 40                0.4 Mpa

What are the applications of Composite pipes?

UNIFLEX Composite Pipes are used for Cold Water, Hot Water and Piped Gas Distribution. UNIFLEX Composite Pipes and Fittings are also used for Compressed Air Lines for Industrial Applications, Floor Heating Systems and Submersible Pumps.

Can composite pipes be used for concealed installations?

Yes, these pipes & Fittings can be used for concealed installations.

Can composite pipes be used for external installation exposed to Sun?

We have UV Stabilized Pipes available in all sizes. These pipes are of black colour and are used for external installation exposed to Sun.

Can these pipes be used underground in Lawns and Gardens?

These pipes can be used for underground installation in Lawns and Gardens and the soil will not affect the pipes. But after the installation, care should be taken that pipes are not cut during SPADING WORK in the area of underground installation of pipes.

In some of the pipes white carbonation takes place after some ageing which results in blockage in pipes due to deposition of mineral substances in the Pipes. What is the solution to this problem in Composite Pipes?

Since, there is no bonding between PE and minerals, the minerals separated from the stagnant water cannot stick to the wall of the pipe (scaling) and are flown out of the piping system when flow starts.

Whether the stability & durability will be at par with GI system?

The stability and durability of UNIFLEX Composite Pipes and Fittings are much better than GI system. GI system life is much shorter than Composite Pipes System due to corrosion effect on GI Pipes.

What is the Standard to which UNIFLEX Composite Pipes conforms?
UNIFLEX Composite Pipes are Sucessfully tested by CPET for IS : 15450 : 2004 which is Standard Specification for Pe Al Pe Composite Pressure Pipes in India & also ASTM F1282 specification being American Standards for the same. The Indian Specification IS 15450 is also based on ASTM F-1282.

Is there any effect of Corrosive Soil on the Composite Pipes ?

No there is no effect of corrosive soil on the composite Pipes.

Can these pipes and fittings be used for Compressed Air applications?

Yes, UNIFLEX Composite Pipes and fittings can be used for compressed Air applications.

Can these pipes and fittings be used for RO Systems?

Yes, UNIFLEX Composite Pipes and fittings can be used for RO systems.

Can these pipes and fittings be used for Solar Water Heater?

Yes, UNIFLEX Composite Pipes and fittings can be used for Solar Water Heater.

How do you compare your pipes with PPR Pipes?

Linear Thermal expansion is approx 7 times more in PPR as compare to UNIFLEX Composite Pipes. As a result of this PPR Pipes develops cracks in the Plaster and also results in leakages on joints.
Hot Fusion Jointing in PPR is complicated. Pipe and fittings are to be heated precisely at 2600 C to make the joints proper. The time available to the plumber for fusion 3 seconds. Each pipe size need to be marked for insertion. Only experienced plumbers can do the job properly. In our case the installation is very easy and can be done by normal plumber without any constraints on time.
As the time available for fusion in PPR is very less and many times the fittings are not aligned properly resulting into wastage of fittings and pipes.
Requires electricity at the point of installation whereas in our case there is no such requirement.
In case of PPR, it is very difficult to work in small corners and small shafts as heating machine requires some space for heating & jointing..
PPR Pipes burn like candle but our pipes are fire resistant.

How do you compare your pipes with C-PVC Pipes?

Hairline cracks develops in C-PVC Pipes while lying at site in open space which widens with the passage of time resulting in leakage.
Solvent Cement is used in C-PVC for joints which is not hygienic.
Plumber has to wait for one joint to dry before he works for the another joint on the same installation.
Pipe lengths are small and require more number of fittings. In our case Pipes are of 200M/100M/50M length.
There are chances of leakages in joints due to hot and cold water cycle.

Is there any loss of strength at the point of bend?

The minimum bending radius of UNIFLEX Composite Pipes can be up to 5 times the Outside Diameter.

The tensile and compressive stresses developed on outermost and innermost layer of the pipe cross section, respectively, are well within the allowable limits when the bending radius is more than or equal to 5 times of OD of pipe. Hence the pipes bent within this limit are safely used without any reduction in basic strength of pipe.

What type of clamps are used for holding the pipe in concealed installation?

There is no special clamps required to hold the pipe as the stresses are very low and the UNIFLEX Composite Pipe is totally malleable and does not have any spring back action once formed into curves.

What is Mpa?

Mpa (Mega Pascal) is unit of Pressure.

1 Mpa = 10 Bar = 1 N/mm2 (Newton per sq mm) = 145 psi (Pounds per sq inch)

What is the operating temperature range of UNIFLEX Composite Pipes?

Because UNIFLEX Composite Pipes are flexible and can withstand the stresses, developed due to increase in volume because of formation of ice at subzero temperature. PE and Aluminium both do not lose any strength at sub-zero temperature up to -40 DEG C. Therefore the Pipes will not have any effect up to -40 DEG C. For Hot water applications the maximum temperature can be up to 95 DEG C.

Is there any effect of dissolved chlorine in the water on the Composite Pipes?

Dissolved Chlorine does not have any effect on PE, hence there is no adverse effect.

What is the solution if the Pipe gets punctured while drilling or hammering a Nail in the wall?

Normally the pipes are installed approx 18 to 20 inches from the floor and no nails are required to be hammered at that level. But in case the pipe is punctured it can be repaired very easily by fixing one Equal Union at the point of puncture.