Copper plumbing tube is extensively used worldwide to distribute potable water and for DWV (drain, waste and vent) applications based upon a long standing history of reliable service. In the United States alone, nearly eight billion pounds of copper plumbing has been put into service since World War II. Copper plumbing tube is generally CDA (Copper Development Association) Alloy 122 (Phosphorous Deoxidized Copper). The three standard types of U. S. water tube are Types K, L, and M. Type K represents the heaviest wall thickness, for a range of outside diameters, and Type M the lightest. The trend has been to use lighter walls due to the experienced reliability of copper tube coupled with improved production technology. This trend(1) is shown in Figure 1, which shows the linear feet per pound of copper plumbing tube (all sizes and types for water and DWV tube) as a function of time. The most common copper tube temper in the United States is hard drawn, as contrasted with the United Kingdom practice of using a "bending temper."

Subject
Pits, Water depth, Water, Corrosion resistant alloys, Tubes, Molybdenum alloys, Iron, Copper alloys, Pitting, Corrosion resistance, Copper, Alloys, Soil
© 1975 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1975
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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