Much has been said that all plastic products clog nature. Why is this happening? That's because plastic is a very "long-playing" material. It decomposes poorly: products from it are very durable and reliable. Plastic ducts for ventilation will last much longer than the same galvanization. But how to choose them?
You will learn all about varieties of plastic ducts and how to assemble them from our article. We will tell you in what order the plastic ventilation ducts are laid. We will explain how to assemble individual parts into one perfectly functioning network and how to fix it.
Tips for choosing plastic ducts
Ducts are nothing more than pipes through which air circulates, providing ventilation of the premises. They can be metal, in some cases, for example, in risers, asbestos cement or plastic.
Now it is plastic that is most popular. With its comparative cheapness, it lasts much longer than metal susceptible to corrosion, or asbestos cement eaten by dampness, excessive dryness and other external factors.
The photo shows far from a complete variety of solutions for connecting round plastic segments into one high-quality and tight ventilation network. But this diversity is enough to understand that with their help it is possible to assemble ducts of the most varied degree of complexity
What to consider when choosing plastic ducts:
- The inside of the plastic pipes should be extremely smooth. In this case, there will be absolutely no friction of air against the walls, and air flows will circulate in such a structure with the greatest efficiency.
- In the case of installation of natural ventilation, not reinforced by fans, it is better to refuse corrugated pipelines. The corrugated walls of the vencanals, especially at bends, will delay the flow of air and ventilation will not be carried out at full strength.
- Preference should be given to the manufacturer whose articulation of the plastic duct segments is carried out with the best tightness.
Too hard plastic is a bad sign. When pressed, the pipe should give in slightly. Excessively dense and coarse material will last less than soft. Most likely, it will begin to crumble and crumble during the first decade of using the ventilation system.
But the remark on hardness does not apply to plastic sewer pipes made using a different technology. Such plastic is not afraid of dampness, nor dryness, nor frost
If the owner decided to mount a ventilation system from such pipes, he can be sure that it will serve no less than that which is mounted from pipes specially designed for assembling air duct systems.
The only drawback of sewer pipes is their exclusively round volume profile, which is not always convenient.
The main types of ducts
All plastic ducts can be divided into three categories:
- Round. Demanded for laying routes of ventilation systems. The most common diameters of these are 100, 125 and 150 mm.
- Rectangular. Involved when you need to install ducts over a suspended ceiling. The most popular sizes are 60x120 and 60x204 mm. Although it is possible to purchase narrower modifications.
- Flexible. They can be both round and square.
The flexibility of the material is ensured by a spiral reinforced external "frame", which envelops the inner tube of PVC material - vinylurethane.
As with round pipes, the connecting solutions for quadrangular plastic pipes look the most diverse way. For a project of any degree of complexity, you can choose a corner or fitting that will fully satisfy the given conditions
Often, along with the above, during the installation of plastic pipelines, sewer polymer pipes are also used.
Technical advantages of plastic
As already mentioned, service life is one of the most important criteria by which people prefer plastic.
Along with a long service life, air ducts made of this material:
- They have a lighter weight than the other materials from which the segments of the ventilation system are made.
- Not afraid of slight sagging - permissible up to 4%.
- They are easy to install, because they are remarkably cut with a hacksaw for metal or a grinder.
- In the area of the roof do not require enhanced thermal insulation.
- Inside they have very smooth walls, which makes air circulation through such pipes more active and easier.
You can often see that the owner mounts ventilation from the most common PVC sewer pipes. They are cheaper, provide excellent sealing, and a wide range of fittings, tees, revisions, etc. gives them the opportunity to mount a ventilation system of any degree of complexity.
A variety of connecting solutions provides excellent soil for those who plan to install a high-quality and at the same time low-cost ventilation system from round plastic sewer pipes
But no matter what the shape of the air ducts, the ventilation system should always fit into the SNiP framework, which states how any ventilation system should be equipped.
Basic rules for arranging a ventilation duct
Next, we will talk about how to properly design a ventilation duct and what to look for when developing a project.
In addition, the recommendations of specialists on the arrangement of the ventilation system will be given below. And let's start by charting the future ventilation system.
The main requirements of SNiP
Not all today resort to the services of specialists. Many do the design of the ventilation system with their own hands. But with benefits SNiP 2.04.02-84 and 2.04.01-85 Be sure to familiarize yourself.
The diagram clearly shows how the ventilation system works. It is separately shown how the arrangement of the ends of the outlet ventilation pipes should be carried out. Regardless of the distance from the ridge, it is advisable to make the ends of the natural air circulation ducts higher than the maximum high point of the roof
It is in them that the conditions for the correct installation of ventilation systems in private homes are spelled out.
And here is the basic list of requirements:
- Without fail, in any private residential building, the inflow and outflow of air masses must be ensured not only in rooms where people live directly and spend most of the time (bedrooms, living rooms, kitchen), but also in utility rooms, such as a bathtub, toilet, laundry, etc.
- Air exchange should be carried out due to the installation of supply and exhaust channels, as well as slot ventilation.
- The circulation of air in the home should be facilitated by the correct arrangement of the doors. The gap between the floor and the lower end of the canvas is at least 20 mm.
It happens that the hood works much stronger than the inflow. The problem is solved by airing the room with open windows. Under these conditions, this clause cannot be neglected.
It is advisable that the supply duct be located near the heat source - the heating system, heating radiator, etc., which will make it possible in the winter to get the air entering the house along the way.
In this photo you can see that the owner decided to combine rectangular pipes with round pipes. In fact, the conductivity of air ducts differs little from the cross-sectional profile. But it is generally accepted that in this regard, a round pipe shows itself better
In principle, there is nothing complicated in developing a ventilation scheme. You can simply take a schematic drawing of the building, and draw on it the wiring of future ducts, focusing on the set of listed rules and norms.
The calculation rules for determining the area of air ducts are described in detail here, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with useful information.
Recommendations for arranging ventilation
Let's move on to the assembly of the natural circulation ventilation duct.
The list of recommendations on this subject is as follows:
- If you are going to mount a natural ventilation system, then in this case it is better to opt for smooth plastic pipes, rather than corrugated ones. The corrugation is more suitable for the supply and exhaust system, reinforced with axial fans, due to which the air circulation is forced.
- In your projects, you should try to avoid a large number of sharp turns of the ventilation pipe. The smoother the bends, the more intense the natural air circulation will be.
- The following recommendation follows directly from the previous one. The shorter the air will pass from the “inlet” to the “outlet”, the more efficient ventilation will be.
Therefore, when developing a project, preference should be given to the simplest and most uncomplicated schemes, without cluttering them with convenient for planning, but reducing the efficiency of the system ornate paths.
Quadrangular pipes, a great option to save space in the apartment, which will subsequently be equipped with suspended ceilings. The narrow profile of the quadrangular pipe allows you to save 5 to 10 cm in height
When arranging a ventilation system made of plastic pipes, one should pay attention to the most important point - the height of the system itself.
If the chimneys rise above the lowest level by less than 5 meters, natural ventilation will be ineffective. Here, whatever one may say, you will have to strengthen the system with fans.
But for many it can be much easier to build pipes over the roof. In case of low buildings, the enlarged pipes of the air ducts do not always look personal, but in terms of giving aesthetics, you can think of a peculiar camouflage design. And in some cases, decisions are the most aesthetic and attractive.
Fan reinforcement
The development and installation of a forced ventilation system also has its own nuances, compliance with which is mandatory. Otherwise, the system will either be underdeveloped, or vice versa.
Such fans are inexpensive, last a long time, are easy to install and connect, and without any effort they can strengthen the ventilation system of any complexity and length
According to experts, the main thing that you should definitely pay attention to in the case of a forced ventilation system is:
- The difference in the operation of exhaust and exhaust fans. They should be adjusted so that the fan slightly underdeveloped on the supply, and processed it at the outlet. Thus, a certain air shortage will always be felt in the system, which will contribute to a more effective interchangeability of air in ventilated rooms.
- In the case of a forced ventilation system, it does not matter where fresh air is taken from - from above or from the level of lower floors. The main thing is that the rule of the previous paragraph is observed in the system.
- The most optimal air exchange for both natural and forced ventilation systems made of plastic is air exchange with an indoor air renewal rate of 100% in 1 hour. For example, if the room has a total area of 40 square meters. meters, the air exchange should be approximately 120 cubic meters of air per hour.
It should also be borne in mind that in the room the exhaust duct must be equipped not less than 25 cm from the ceiling.
Recently, during construction, plastic ventilation pipes have been preferred not only by private traders, but also by contractors performing large projects
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Particular attention is drawn to the fact that it is unacceptable to combine ducts coming from rooms of different directions. If the channel belongs to a utility room, for example, a laundry room, a bathroom, etc., it is by no means recommended to combine it with a channel circulating air in a living room - a bedroom, a living room, and even in the hallway.
These rules are mandatory regardless of which materials ducts will be mounted - whether it is plastic or galvanizing.
In the case of arrangement of some "specific" rooms and heating / heat generating devices, there are requirements. For example:
- The kitchen must be equipped with its own duct, which does not have any associations with others.
- A fireplace should also have its own chimney, if there is one in the building. In no case should any other ventilation ducts flow into it. You should also pay attention to the fact that it is strictly forbidden to use plastic pipes for a fireplace or stove.
- When designing an exhaust system oriented to a stove, it should be borne in mind that it should never be combined with the air ventilation of the kitchen room itself.
If there are several bathrooms in the building, then their plastic ducts are not forbidden to combine together. But at the same time, it is recommended that they be retrofitted with a valve that does not allow polluted air to enter back into the room.
This example shows that at least three ducts from neighboring rooms are combined into one. But do not forget that you can combine among themselves the air flows of segments of the housing similar in their orientation
It should be remembered that the streams coming from living rooms should in no case merge with the streams coming from technical rooms.
The output of channels through the roof
It is always recommended to raise the tip of the plastic duct as high as possible. A minimum can be considered a height of 0.5 m above the level of the ridge, if the ventilation pipe exits at a distance of no more than 1.5 m from it.
Otherwise, if the distance of the output part of the plastic air pipeline is more than one and a half meters from the ridge, it is allowed to make the upper head slightly lower, but it should still rise at least 10% of its outer length above the ridge.
The head should always rise above the ridge by at least 10% of its outer length. Otherwise, the ventilation system may not work. Or, exhaust fans must always be at the outlet
To facilitate the work on the device of the passage through the roof, it is desirable to combine them through a shaft box. It can simultaneously include up to 6 plastic pipes coming from rooms of the same orientation, for example, bedrooms, living rooms, halls, etc.
In this case, the roof will have to equip only one hole for the duct, and not 6, for each pipe. The output of plastic ducts under the visor is not forbidden, but only if the space underneath is well ventilated.
The location of the top of the head of the plastic duct is not allowed less than 3.5 m from the nearest windows or balconies. Vent risers must be equipped with deflectors: conventional “fungi” or turbine-type devices.
The rules and formulas for calculating the speed of air mass movement through the duct will be introduced by the following article, which we strongly recommend reading.
The installation of the simplest natural ventilation system made of plastic pipes is shown in the following video:
From the foregoing, it is clear that it will be much easier to install a home ventilation system from plastic pipes and, most importantly, cheaper than from the same galvanization.
And with all the variety of all kinds of connectors, adapters, etc., it will not be harder to do this than to assemble a house from a children's designer.
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