By: Jonathan Simon on November 2nd, 2023
Green-Colored High-Contrast Cement Now Included in 2024 Plumbing Codes
Contractors | Installation | residential plumbing | CPVC
In March of 2022, Lubrizol Advanced Materials announced FlowGuard High Contrast Solvent Cement for the FlowGuard Gold CPVC plumbing system.
Now, we are pleased to share that green-colored solvent cement for use with CPVC is included in the published 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) section 605.14.2; International Residential Code (IRC) section P2906.9.1.2; International Mechanical Code (IMC) section 1203.3.4; Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC) section 1211.3 (2); and Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) 605.2.2. The IRC update will be published in January 2024. The updated versions of the other codes have been published. Here are links to the updated codes:
What this Means for Plumbers
Green-colored solvent cement was approved by the model code bodies. It was added to reduce the risk of dry fits when installing CPVC plumbing systems. Prior to this change, only yellow cement was approved for use with CPVC, and the lack of contrast between the cement and the pipe color made visual inspection of fittings difficult in some environments. The inclusion of green-colored cement in the updated codes eliminates this issue.
The FlowGuard Gold team has worked to advance this change within code bodies based on strong interest from plumbers for an alternative to yellow solvent cement. The product has been available on the market for over a year, and a number of plumbers have already been using it.
Plumbers who have adopted the green cement have found it to be a welcome addition to the FlowGuard Gold CPVC system. By making it easier to inspect systems, the green cement color provides additional peace of mind that all joints in an installation have been solvent welded, even if those joints are in poorly lit areas.
Using FlowGuard High-Contrast Cement
With the code changes now published, there’s no reason for plumbers not to use this product. While the updated model codes have been published, your state or local code may be using an earlier version of the code, so it’s still a good idea to advise local officials of your plans so that there are no surprises at inspection.
The only change with FlowGuard High Contrast Green Solvent Cement is the color. The green-colored cement follows the same installation instructions and provides the same bonding strength as traditional, yellow-colored cement, forming a weld at each joint that is stronger than the pipe alone.
Green-colored cement for use with FlowGuard Gold CPVC is available from our partners Oatey® and E-Z Weld®:
Oatey FlowGuard High Contrast One Step Green Cement
E-Z Weld 228 One Step Green Solvent Cement for FlowGuard Gold CPVC