What Kind of PVC is This?

[jeb6294]

Our shady (at best) Turkish contractor who is building our wastewater treatment plant was supposed to use Schedule 80 or glavanized steel for the air diffuser piping. Since you can flex the pipe just by squeezing it, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say they used a much crappier grade of PVC. Just for the record, this was all put in long before I got here and the PVC in question were below the waterline (they filled the plant with clean water to test the equipment) so we couldn't even see it until they just drained the tanks to fix some cracks in the concrete. What kind of second rate PVC did they install?

 

[Supe]

EN1452 is a standard for UPVC lines for UG/AG drainage and water supply. Not sure about the other markings.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/225500028/UPVC.html

Quick DetailsType: Other Plastic Building Materials SpecificationsResin: UPVC, Unplasticized Polyvinylchloride

Colour: Gray

Standard: TS274-2 EN1452-2

■UPVC fittings for pressurized pipe systems are manufactured by injection and fabrication methods. UPVC pressure pipes for potable water systems between ?0-?000 mm. sizes.

■Resin: UPVC, Unplasticized Polyvinylchloride

■Colour: Gray

■Standard: TS274-2 EN1452-2

UPVC pipes are manufactured in 6 mt. net lengths

Cavet: Just cuz it is marked that way doesn't necessairly mean that's what it is....

 

[jeb6294]

Yeah, they're the kings of counterfeit everything here.

We already got a pissy letter from the contractor bitching that we're making them fix it even though the specs spell it out clear as day, but then we went out this morning and they were already starting to dismantle everything to replace the crappy pipe.

Oddly enough, they had a truckload of Schedule 80 pipe out there when we drove by the plant this afternoon...a day and a half after I sent the email. Funny thing is, we have to initial off on any shipment they are bringing on to the base. If I had to guess I'd say the Schedule 80 was here the whole time but they figured they'd put in the cheap stuff and then charge sombody else to use the good stuff on a project somewhere else.

Gotta love working with contractors in Afghanistan...makes the worst ones at home look like geniuses.