I am running all new lines and can‘t seem to get a good answer as to why to run copper, but experienced plumbers all say to do it. Is it just the old school mentality or is there some good reasoning? I know cost is a huge difference, but I am willing to go with which ever offers the best benefit to me. I believe plastic is in its 3rd generation and is becoming more commonplace in new construction. Any advice is welcome.
Some places (State/City) code requires that copper be used. Some of those are hold overs from the past and never seam to get updated. Second there is a selling point of having copper pipes. Personally, I hate working with copper line. I work with CPVC most all the time when updating or replacing old hot water lines. There are a few newer thing on the market, but CPVC works.
I can tell you that in Calif. some areas have soil conditions that corrode copper pipe when buried. The strong plumbing unions have been trying to keep CPVC's out of this state, solely because it will take their jobs. In these particular soil conditions they are exempting the requirements for copper. The installation of copper is a little more challenging (a lot of connectors and elbows) than CPVC but in my opinion even a cave man can do either. I have done a lot of copper in my present house, but when I get my next house and have to remodel it, I am going to use CPVC for cost reduction and installation ease.
not much. the bell housings are identical bit the power out of each is a bit different so the trans may have issues holding up to the power and torque.
I have done both as well as galvanized steel and I only do CPVC Schedule 40 for interior water both hot and cold now. It does not sweat in humid weather, insulates hot water feeds and is easy to work with and cheap. It also does not corrode like the old steel did. I have seen the old steel pipes go from 3/4 inch to less than 1/16th when they rusted and had to be replaced. One issue that the older guys have with it is that it does not have the structural strength of metal. So you have to support it properly and watch for sag if you are running it under a floor perpendicular to the floor joist or dropping to a laundry faucet. Also if you do have to open a pipe up there are no unions but that is the same with copper. You don't have to sweat the joints like copper either. As long as you properly support it CPVC is great to work with, lasts a long time and is cheap. Good Luck
