house is commin along good so far, but question

[Mike Zechman]

house is going well and now quick, as of yesterday they were doing the plumbing, my question is, does any one have experience with Pex for the water lines? How does it hold up? How do you do repairs on it, or new add ons such as valves ect? Heres some pics of the fromt and back as of Yesterday.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

The Pex piping will outlast copper, will not bust if frozen, and does not wear away over time like copper will... As far as adding any vavles, you need the crimping tool for the pex crimp rings... simply cut the pipe, add whatever you are adding... valves, fittings, etc. and crimp in place.

You can rent the tool at most rental centers... Looks to be a nice place... Enjoy

KB

 

[JAMES MOORE]

Pex works fine as long as it's not in direct sunlight. Shouldn't be unless it's exposed near a window. If so, insulate to prevent sun/uv penetration. Other than that it holds up better than copper. We've used it on a number of our engineered projects due to the high and climbing costs of copper.

 

[Mike Zechman]

Thanx guys, I was looking on the net and got alittle confused, I saw the crimping tool, which I am going to order, but do I also need and expanding tool? I'm used to soldering copper, and working with PVC and CPVC, but no this stuff, from what I read, it seems good.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

No expanding tool needed... Unless you are going to be doing alot of Pex work... I would just rent or borrow the tool!!!!

KB

 

[Bill Hamilton]

mike - Listen to KB. He knows his stuff! My local plumbing supply house will LEND you the crimping tools (different sizes) since they are very expensive ($100+ per pair). Unless you plan to do LOTS of work it wouldn't pay you to buy. I love the pex in my house and when I had the addition put on I told them to only use Pex and not copper. No more sweated joints!

 

[Brad Harder]

Mike are you running the whole house with pex? if you are buy the expander tool and the fittings to go with it. The crimping tool smashes the pex against a fitting that has a smaller Inside Diameter than the piping itself which restricts water flow (no good, hot shower when someone flushes the crapper) the expander stretches the pex around a fitting with the same ID as the pex. good luck

 

[Mike Zechman]

OK, thanx guys, I was going to buy the tool, cuz I do alot of side work, mostly electrical, and HVAC, I do copper all the time, and this is just new to me, so I will be buyin it, but now that KB says about renting it, I may go rent one for awhile and play with it and see how it goes.



Brad, my house is mostly Pex, with a manifold system, I also have some PVC/CPVC on the main branch, and then it goes to pex

 

[Brad Harder]

as long as you have the manifold system you should be ok using the crimp tool because each location will have its own direct line. not just one "homerun" line weaving it's way through the house.

 

[JD Johnson]

They sell this crap very well but the biggest thing it is about it is the profit margine in my oppinion.

They have been trying to perfect this type of system for years with no success. I used it to run automatic waterers for my pigs, cows and horses but would not trust it in my house. One of my neighbors is re-doing his entire house now because of it. He has caught and fixed three leaks in the last year that I know of and didn't catch the last one before it flooded the place.

Simular stuff has been involved in class action lawsuits for years because the joints blow apart without warning.

If it were my place I go with copper and not worry about but that is just my oppinion.

Good luck

jdj

 

[Kenneth Brown]

JDJ, Your comments are not warranted.... If properly installed, the PEX system will NOT develop leaks. It is one of the best water systems i have installed in my 26 years doing plumbing and process piping systems.



The old Quest piping was a joke. That is what had all the class action suites.



Mike, you have nothing to fear... I'm not a big fan of the manifold deal

A properly sized system will give you all the water volume you need...

KB

 

[Steve Hutson]

I built my new house last year and the plumbers used copper. No problems at all. The house next door was plumbed with PEX. I don't know anything about the stuff and I'm not a plumber, but all three of my neighbors showers/ tubs and the kitchen sink developed leaks. The plumbers came back out and fixed it with no problems, except for the dry wall repairs.



As I'm not a plumber, I will defer to kb5601 about the proper installation. If copper isn't installed properly, it will also leak.



You asked for experiences,

Steve

 

[JD Johnson]

My oppinion is not changed of the system, but it is just my oppinion and the builders I asked about it today. It may be great for you but I will stick to copper. BTW: My neighbors house is only a few years old, to new for the quest system and he is still fighting plastic leaks. I am glad it works for you though and I truly hope it works well for Mike.

 

[Mike Zechman]

I've been researching this on the internet, and have not found one problem with pex, everyone I talk to says, if its installed correctly, its the best stuff out there, leaks are developed from not properly crimped, these things are rated for very high pressure, more than I'll ever see in my house, i opted to go this route cuz copper is too expensive, plus installed incorrectly will also leak just like steve said.......we'll see how it goes, the engineer told me any problems THEY will fix it, but they haven't had problems in the past with this stuff

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Thats good info, Mike... The only leak i have had with Pex was my fault... We test the system to 90 psi for a few hours... You should not have any problems...



JDJ Your opinion is noted!! I was a die hard copper man for years, just would not try the new stuff... Cost for material and saved labor changed my mind...I had far more problems with copper than Pex over the years...

Kb

 

[JD Johnson]

I personally have not tried the new and improved plastic pipe system but when the boulder puts in a bathroom and washer/dryer and has three leaks I have the same faith in it that I had in the old systems.

Again i hope it qorks perfectly for those that use it.

 

[Mike Zechman]

Thanx for all the comments fella's!!!! I appreciate it much!