When we talk about water conveyance systems the general trend is to focus our attention on the pipes that we will use for their construction, leaving aside the fittings that we will use in our network. There are fittings manufactured in a wide variety of materials with which to provide a solution to the barriers that our system will face along its route. However, PVC-O has become one of the most efficient and reliable materials due to its unbeatable physical and mechanical characteristics.
In 2017, Molecor launched the world's first PVC-O fittings on the market, ecoFITTOM®, which have been a major breakthrough for the medium and high pressure water transport sector thanks to the benefits they bring to the network. The inclusion of these elements in conventional water conveyance has made it possible to increase efficiency and reduce the incidents that the networks suffer at the union points.
Main benefits of using PVC-O fittings in your pipelines
As with PVC-O pipes, fittings made of this material offer a series of advantages to the system in which they are installed that allow for increased efficiency and optimisation of water resources. Among other benefits, these fittings stand out for:
Immunity to corrosion: PVC is a non-degradable material capable of resisting the corrosive attack of chemical substances present in nature without requiring any type of protection or special coating as is the case with other materials. In this way, the maintenance cost of the network in which it is installed is reduced throughout its useful life of more than 50 years. This is why PVC-O fittings, together with TOM® Oriented PVC pipes, have become an ideal solution for aggressive terrains or with stray currents that can accelerate the corrosion of metallic fittings.
Ease of installation: The lightness and manageability offered by these fittings optimizes the cost of installation in the network, as the use of heavy machinery is not necessary up to a diameter of 355 mm. At the same time, the low weight of these pieces results in a lower logistical cost for their transport to the work site.
Resistance to internal pressure surges: PVC-O fittings offer a high hydrostatic resistance in the short and long term, which increases their service life to over a hundred years. This peculiar property of Oriented PVC allows the fittings to withstand internal pressures of more than double the nominal pressure at which they are manufactured, which reduces the effects caused by possible water hammer.
Assured water quality: Another of the benefits of using Oriented PVC fittings is the tightness offered by these elements, together with the corrosive immunity of the material and in conjunction with PVC-O TOM® pipes, these fittings ensure that the conveyed fluid retains its properties along the whole network, allowing access to water supply and distribution applications for human consumption.
Completely recyclable: The fittings are manufactured in a material characterised by its recyclability, which means a that they can be fully reprocessed to give rise to new products with lower technical requirements or even, they can form part again of the PVC-O pipes manufacturing process.
In order to improve the efficiency of South East Asia networks ecoFITTOM® fittings are available in a wide range from nominal diameter DN110 to DN400 mm for a nominal pressure of 16 bar. Thanks to this solution, togheter with TOM pipes, the networks achieve a high degree of homogeneity, in terms of physical and mechanical characteristics, that reduces the incidents suffered in the joints of conventional networks, bringing great efficiency to the systems in which they are installed.
