I have a segment of copper pipe for supplying cold water to my gas heater currently. It runs inside a wall so I don't want to replace it. Now I need to change the piping and want to reuse that segment so that the water inside it runs in the reverse direction and it is SUPPLYING HOT WATER to the tap from the heater.

My issue is that can cold water copper pipes be reused for hot water? What is the difference between cold and hot water pipes?


There is absolutely no difference between the materials used for hot and cold water pipes (at least there isn't in the UK!). The same copper is used for both and if you have a piece of pipe that was previously used for hot water you can use for cold water and vice versa.

As long as the pipes are connected up properly then there'll be no problems.

  • Do they have different wall thicknesses in the UK? Here in the US, we have Type M (thin wall), Type L (medium wall), and Type K (thick wall). – Tester101 Jun 21 '12 at 13:19
  • @Tester101 - no. The pipes are identical in every way. – ChrisF Jun 21 '12 at 13:20

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