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FEATURES
Galvanised pipe
on the way out?
Galvanised steel pipe and tube have numerous modern
applications, but it seems that small bore plumbing
pipes will likely face increasingly stiffer competition
from alternative materials in the near future.
By Warren Robertson
For years, galvanised steel was considered the norm
when installing plumbing in buildings, with tens of
thousands of homes throughout the country still
getting their water thanks to these hardy pipes. The
times are however changing and new advances in
plastic pipes and, to a lesser degree, from copper
have led to a sharp decline in the number of plumbers
who install galvanised pipe in new buildings.
“Plastic is cheaper and much easier to install,”
says Robin Clarke, executive director at the Hot Dip
Galvanizers Association of Southern Africa. “It doesn’t
take a specialist to install a plastic pipe; whereas you
had better measure very carefully if you want to plumb a
home with galvanised steel,” he adds.
Anthony Botha, marketing manager at the Hot Dip
Galvanizers Association, is quick to mention that
galvanised pipe and tube companies in South Africa
are keenly aware of this shift in market forces.
“Galvanised steel piping still has a strong future.
There are loads of applications for which it is an
appropriate solution,” he says.
Internationally, the use of galvanised steel in homes
has been on a sharp decline for a while now with the
US moving towards stricter regulations for producing
galvanised pipe for potable water due to a perceived
risk of ‘heavy-metal’ contamination in the water,
including lead. This is an issue Botha feels is not
of significance in South Africa, believing it is rather
the issue around substitution by ‘easier to install’
materials that plays a greater part in the downturn of
fortunes for small bore galvanised piping in
South Africa.
January 2019 Volume 25 I Number 1
“Galvanised products are coated in a coating comprising
98% zinc and zinc-iron alloys, with some trifling
percentages of lead, aluminium, or other metals. In
America, the mere mention of lead in the equation
has led to paranoia, so they instituted all sorts of laws
regarding how these pipes are made, whereas in South
Africa, and many parts of Europe, we are much more
logical,” he says, explaining that South African laws
generally target water quality at the end of the system.
“We have very strict laws in South Africa about what
and at what levels these minerals may or may not be
contained in potable water. Instead of worrying about the
pipes and how they are made, thereby creating additional
expenses in unnecessary testing, we’d rather test the
quality of the water that is dispensed. If that is safe, then
surely the pipes are doing their job well?” he contends.
Botha states that cheap imports of galvanised steel
pipes from China are being scapegoated as suppliers of
low-quality galvanised piping. China will produce to any
specification that the buyer stipulates; the unscrupulous
buyer who focuses solely on profiteering from selling the
lowest standard/specification of ‘cheap’ product is really
the nexus, which has resulted in the availability of the
low-standard galvanised piping being sold today.
At the end of the day, Botha says that where large
amounts of water are being moved, galvanised pipe
remains a viable choice.
“In many instances where the pipe is buried
underground, particularly instances where cold water is
being moved, the correct specification galvanised steel
piping remains appropriate,” he says. PA
www.plumbingafrica.co.za