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Plastic or Copper Poll is created on Mar 02, 2026

  
  

6 meter run of pipe from the outside to the UniSTOR Pure 200lt cylinder: do I go plastic or copper?

 
Thermostats, Volumisers, Buffer Tanks, TRVs, Pumps, Piping, Valves, Radiators & Controls
Last Post by bobflux 2 weeks ago
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trebor12345
 trebor12345
(@trebor12345)
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Topic starter 02/03/2026 4:22 pm  

Regarding the install of a Vaillant 3.5Kw arotherm plus.  I have a 6 meter run of pipe from the outside to the UniSTOR Pure 200lt cylinder: 1 meter in pipe insulation outside, 2 meters outside in plastic trunking up the wall, 4 meters in loft space.

Should I go with plastic or copper?  What have others used?


This topic was modified 2 weeks ago by trebor12345
This topic was modified 2 weeks ago by Mars

Hitachi Yutaki SCombi Heat Pump
(Indoor Unit ) RWD-3.0RW1E-220S-K
(Outdoor Unit) RAS-3WHVRP1

2024 build bungalow
Southern england
179 m2
High level of insulation
Underfloor heating
All 12 circuits are fully open all the time
1 thermostat in family room
7KW heat pump
50 litre buffer tank (4 port)
3.6KW solar panels
Energy used by heating 2527 KWh - 7527 KWh (SCOP 3.5 approx)


   
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Vaillant aroTherm
 upnorthandpersonal
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Posts: 25
02/03/2026 4:30 pm  

Go with PEX/PE-RT/Multilayer Pipe (plastic in other words). You have a lower thermal conductivity than copper, so you get better performance. It's typically also easier to install and you won't have potential corrosion issues. It's also cheaper.


My blog where I write about all the systems in place and decisions made for my off-grid house at 63 degrees north in Finland.


   
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bontwoody
 bontwoody
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Posts: 1003
02/03/2026 4:38 pm  

I would agree 22mm plastic can move close to 5kW so would be ample for your 3.5kW output


House-2 bed partial stone bungalow, 5kW Samsung Gen 6 ASHP (Self install)
6.9 kWp of PV
5kWh DC coupled battery
Blog: https://thegreeningofrosecottage.weebly.com/
Heatpump Stats: http://heatpumpmonitor.org/system/view?id=60


   
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trebor12345
 trebor12345
(@trebor12345)
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Posts: 137
Topic starter 03/03/2026 11:48 am  

@bontwoody @upnorthandpersonal

Thank you for your replies.


Hitachi Yutaki SCombi Heat Pump
(Indoor Unit ) RWD-3.0RW1E-220S-K
(Outdoor Unit) RAS-3WHVRP1

2024 build bungalow
Southern england
179 m2
High level of insulation
Underfloor heating
All 12 circuits are fully open all the time
1 thermostat in family room
7KW heat pump
50 litre buffer tank (4 port)
3.6KW solar panels
Energy used by heating 2527 KWh - 7527 KWh (SCOP 3.5 approx)


   
👍
1
ReplyQuote
bobflux
 bobflux
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Joined: 3 weeks ago
Posts: 41
03/03/2026 4:17 pm  

What matters for flow and pressure drop is internal diameter. Thus 32mm MLC (26mm internal diameter) is equivalent to 28mm copper (also 26mm internal diameter).

Ultraviolet from sunlight destroys PEX, so not recommended for outdoors use. It also has quite high thermal expansion and gets soft when hot. Thus it must be installed in conduit to be able to dilate and wiggle around freely. PEX's main advantage is being very cheap. Non O2 barrier PEX will let oxygen into your pipes, this will corrode your steel radiators and eventually destroy your installation. When using PEX for heating, always use O2 barrier PEX, which has very low but not zero oxygen permeability.

Copper and MLC have zero oxygen permeability so no worries.

Copper tube is expensive but brazed fittings are inexpensive and cause very low pressure drop, so copper is great for short but complex pipe layouts with lots of fittings, like plant room, manifolds, etc. Press fittings are quite expensive and require a specialized press tool, also very low pressure drop.

MLC has an internal aluminium layer which solves PEX's main issues. It is inexpensive, but fittings are expensive, take a lot of space and have high pressure drop due to the reduction in internal diameter.

So MLC is the opposite of copper. MLC is great for long pipe runs with few fittings (ideally just one at each end). Unlike large diameter copper bars, MLC is delivered in a roll and can be bent and curved quite easily, by hand or with a pipe bending tool for larger diameters, which helps running a single uninterrupted pipe from point A to point B with no elbows, no joints, no risk of leaks. No fittings makes it much easier to insulate, and you can even buy it pre-insulated. For this use it is ideal, costs much less than copper and requires much less work.

MLC is plastic so it shouldn't be allowed to rub on abrasive stuff like masonry. 

You will need a press tool for MLC fittings.

Freezing bursts copper. PEX just dilates (but the brass fittings will burst). MLC pipe also tends to somewhat survive freezing, but not the fittings.

If antifreeze valves are fitted on the heat pump then all exterior piping should be sloped towards the heat pump to make sure in case of emergency it can all drain via the antifreeze valves. Otherwise the antifreeze valves will save the heat pump, but water remaining in a low point in the pipe can burst it.



   
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trebor12345
 trebor12345
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Posts: 137
Topic starter 04/03/2026 4:40 pm  

Posted by: @bobflux
↑

Ultraviolet from sunlight destroys PEX, so not recommended for outdoors use. It also has quite high thermal expansion and gets soft when hot. Thus it must be installed in conduit to be able to dilate and wiggle around freely. PEX's main advantage is being very cheap. Non O2 barrier PEX will let oxygen into your pipes, this will corrode your steel radiators and eventually destroy your installation. When using PEX for heating, always use O2 barrier PEX, which has very low but not zero oxygen permeability.

Copper and MLC have zero oxygen permeability so no worries.

MLC has an internal aluminium layer which solves PEX's main issues. It is inexpensive, but fittings are expensive, take a lot of space and have high pressure drop due to the reduction in internal diameter.

I didn't appreciate that there was so much to a piece of plastic pipe.  Done some additional research to find out more, concluding that:

PEX-AL-PEX

PE-RT-AL-PE-RT 

Both types should be OK as it has the Aluminium layer to avoid 02 ingress issues.  The RT variant may be slightly better for higher temperatures.

 


This post was modified 2 weeks ago by trebor12345

Hitachi Yutaki SCombi Heat Pump
(Indoor Unit ) RWD-3.0RW1E-220S-K
(Outdoor Unit) RAS-3WHVRP1

2024 build bungalow
Southern england
179 m2
High level of insulation
Underfloor heating
All 12 circuits are fully open all the time
1 thermostat in family room
7KW heat pump
50 litre buffer tank (4 port)
3.6KW solar panels
Energy used by heating 2527 KWh - 7527 KWh (SCOP 3.5 approx)


   
ReplyQuote



bobflux
 bobflux
(@bobflux)
Trusted Member Member
Joined: 3 weeks ago
Posts: 41
04/03/2026 5:32 pm  

Posted by: @trebor12345
↑
I didn't appreciate that there was so much to a piece of plastic pipe.  Done some additional research to find out more, concluding that:

Had to learn the hard way 🤣 now I'm sharing

The house has underfloor heating with non barrier PEX installed by the previous owner, this ended up with all the steel radiators being corroded, rust sludge everywhere, and a perforated heat pump exchanger. Underfloor heating means lots of pipes, thus lots of O2... so I've been looking into pipes for a while now lol

MLC is great but it's a good idea to pick the fittings from the same manufacturer.

"PE-RT" means non crosslinked PE rated for "high temperature"... but the gotcha is than "non crosslinked PE" isn't so good at high temperatures to begin with, so the "RT" version is a bit of a "less worse" version. Crosslinked PE (ie, PEX) withstands high temps much better to begin with, the basic PEX-Al-PEX goes to 95°C, much higher than PE-RT! Took me a while to figure this one out........

 

 



   
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