What are the differences between stainless steel pipes and copper pipes?

Comparison of hygiene performance 

Stainless steel material is a type of material that can be implanted into the human body. It is inherently safe and non-toxic, with excellent cleanliness. Stainless steel water pipes eliminate the problems of "red water, blue water, and hidden water", have no odor, do not form scale, do not release harmful substances, and maintain pure water quality, being harmless to the human body. 

The copper pipes have problems such as excessive copper content, the corrosive blue-green water that produces a corrosive and bitter odor, and scaling. The copper pipes are prone to corrosion, resulting in copper green deposits, which have a contracting, irritating and corrosive effect on the mucous membranes inside the body, causing reflex vomiting. They also have a strong stimulating effect on the intestines. Modern medical research has shown that drinking water with excessive copper content (whether it reaches the level of blue-green water or not) poses great harm to health. 

2. Differences in Materials 

The surface of the stainless steel pipe has a protective film, which effectively slows down the oxidation rate of the pipe material. 

Although copper pipes are generally stable, they have a low passivation ability and poor corrosion resistance. When the water flow speed is high, the corrosiveness to the pipe material becomes greater, and the aging of the pipe becomes more obvious. The welding joints of copper pipes cannot undergo solid solution treatment, acid washing and passivation on the construction site, making it difficult to perform anti-corrosion treatment on the welding joints inside the pipe. Therefore, the welding joints of copper pipes are often the first places to show corrosion. 

3. Comparison of Economic Performance 

In China, copper pipes are more expensive than those from abroad as water supply pipes. Thin-walled stainless steel pipes are about 40% cheaper than copper pipes. Therefore, the economic value of thin-walled stainless steel pipes is significantly better than that of copper pipes. 

The thin-walled stainless steel pipe has a lower life-cycle cost for water pipes compared to copper pipes. Once the thin-walled stainless steel pipe water pipe is put into use, it shares the same lifespan as the building, lasting for over 70 years. Other pipe materials cannot achieve such a long service life. Its overall cost will be at least 2 to 4 times that of the initial investment in the thin-walled stainless steel pipe water pipe. 

Choosing stainless steel water pipes not only has a relatively low initial cost, but also has a very low total life cycle cost. This is the greatest advantage of stainless steel materials over other materials in terms of economy. 

The above are the differences between stainless steel pipes and copper pipes.