HANdLING 447

UPONOR INFRASTRUCTURE

HANdLING

448 HANdLING

damage during transport and unloading

on site can be largely avoided by han-

dling the products with care and taking

the following, simple precautions. unload

the materials as close as possible to the

job site, to avoid unnecessary carrying.

Keeppipesandfittingsintheiroriginal

packaging for as long as possible, for ease

of handling and to protect them during

transport, handling and storage.

10 Handling

The impact resistance of PVC reduces

in cold temperatures. For this reason,

handling PVC products in temperatures

below -15 °C should be avoided. PE and

PP pipes are highly resistant to extreme

temperatures and can be handled without

problems, down to at least -20 °C.

unnecessary damage can be avoided by

handling and transporting pipes and fit-

tings with care.

Pipe loads delivered in wooden frames

must be unloaded by crane using slings

of sufficient width, or by fork-lift

truck. Loose pipes must be unloaded

individually.

Pipes, pipe bundles and pipe coils must

never be thrown or tipped from the truck.

Avoid dragging wherever possible.

HANdLING 449

To avoid loading the socket ends, socket

pipe bundles are carefully stacked at the

plant so that the sockets extend beyond

the bundle frame. In bundles not stacked

by the manufacturer, pipes may extend

beyond the truck platform by no more

than one metre.

Transport

In a correctly loaded pipe bundle, the

rearmost frame should rest on the truck

platform.

Because black PE pressure pipes scratch

easily, extra care should be taken to avoid

surface damage during handling and

transport.

450 HANdLING

Pipe bundles and loose pipes must be

stacked on a level base. The pipes should

be kept for as long as possible as-deliv-

ered, on their factory pallets or in coils.

Pipe bundles in their original packages

must be stacked by resting the bundle

framesontopofeachother(frame

battenstogether).Themaximumstack

height is four bundles. Loose pipes of the

same size can be stacked a metre high. To

avoid placing a load on the sockets, loose

socket pipes must be stacked so that the

sockets extend beyond the stack ends.

Store pipe coils upright or on pallets.

Storage

double-wall pipes and ribbed pipes

should be stored so that the packages are

unloaded from the side. This is because

moving them lengthwise is difficult due

to the pipe structure.

Pipes stored for long periods should be

protected from sunlight, since uV and

heat can cause the outsides of pipes

to fade in colour. However, sun-faded

pipes are fully up to standard in all other

respects. On the other hand, heat can

cause permanent deformation in pipes

that are incorrectly stacked.