What kind of glue works on HDPE pipes?

What do you use to join your HDPE pipe - butt welding, polyethylene glue? Whichever one you choose, the safety and efficiency of your pipeline depend on you making the right choice. 

HDPE pipes have a number of uses in private and municipal utilities, from carrying drinking water or sewage, to conveying wiring and fiber. It is vital that they are able to bear their loads reliably for a long time, and that requires outstandingly strong bonds between lengths of pipe. There are a few different methods that are used to achieve these high-fidelity bonds, including welding and mechanical joints. However, it is possible to create unbreakable joints between HDPE pipe lengths using only glue. The only condition is that you make very sure that you are using the right glue. So what glue can you use? There is really only one type that will do the job. 

Polyethylene glues vs. other glues on the market

Here’s the thing about using glue with HDPE: in most cases, it is not a good idea! Unless you have the right one, of course. Most adhesives do not form bonds with HDPE very readily, and if they do, the joints don’t last long. At the same time, gluing is often the best way to preserve your pipes: HDPE doesn’t hold up well to heat and solvents, which makes welding or induction heating sub-optimal joining methods. At the same time, these methods are capital and labor-intensive, raising the costs of installation. All of this makes glue the best option, provided you have an adhesive that can form the bond you need. 

Until recently, effective polyethylene adhesives have been hard to come by due to the difficulty in finding a formula that can effectively bond with HDPE. With a bit of knowledge and determination, however, a solution can always be found, which is why there are now dependable, and cost-effective polyethylene glues on the market. GRA Services has developed PE Fusion specifically for this purpose. PE Fusion is a modified acrylic, high-strength adhesive designed for coupling and splicing HDPE pipe lengths to one another and - uniquely among glues of its type - to other materials, such as PVC, aluminum, steel or fiberglass. PE Fusion forms secure bonds on underground pipelines, and is the ultimate solution to the demand for a reliable HDPE adhesive. 

How PE Fusion compares to other adhesives

PE Fusion works by chemically bonding polyolefin to other dissimilar materials. It is this chemical bond that makes the difference between PE Fusion and competing products. Other adhesives claim to be able to bond products and may look very similar, but their two-part epoxy-based mixture relies on a mechanical bond and is vulnerable to impact stress, and is slow to cure even at room temperature. Test results verify that when using a mechanical bond and adhesive, failure is common with epoxy-based products as opposed to coupling failure with PE Fusion’s modified acrylic formula. PE Fusion does not require a mechanical bond - its chemically-based method ensures bonds that form and cure quickly and remain secure under all the stresses that an underground pipeline might experience.

For more information on PE Fusion and GRA Services’ other solutions for the utilities industry, contact us today.