Orderd Some Pex Line

[big rockpile]

Needing to put Water Lines in our Cabin.Pex Line was brought up on here.Went by Local Building Supply they had 100' Roll we didn't need that much so they orderd what we needed :banana02:

big rockpile

[GrannyG]

That sounds like work....got a shovel to go with that ?

[Ed Norman]

Our local lumberyard will loan out the crimpers. They finally had to make you leave a deposit when a few didn't return. I did our two bathrooms and kitchen and some outside wall hydrants in a weekend. It's amazing stuff.

I finally ordered a little crimper from ebay. Made up in New England somewhere. It uses a big 10" vise grip to squeeze it shut. Now I can plumb on Sundays and nights when the lumberyard is closed. Plus this crimper does 3/8", 1/2", 3/4".

[texican]

Crimping tool costs ~150 last time I checked... big chunk of change for one tool. Pex is worthless without fittings, and for fittings, you need the crimper.

[highlands]

I paid $50 for a crimper that will do 3/8" up to 1". Excellent tool. It uses the stainless steel clamps (SSC) and cinches them very nicely. You will also want a tube cutter ($20) and a clamp cutter since you'll make mistakes ($40). A hair dryer is also handy to warm tube especially when disconnecting. With this the tubing can even be disconnected and reused. I used all brass fittings, not plastic fittings.

I am very pleased with the PEX. I've done PVC, CPVC, Copper (hard & soft, soldered & compressed). PEX is by far the fastest system I have worked with and it has withstood repeated freezing.

I did insulate almost all of my lines - I still have one I need to insulate. On the to-do list.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[Ed Norman]

My crimper was about $20. It isn't for production work but is totally usable for household duties.

[EasyDay]

Originally Posted by texican

Crimping tool costs ~150 last time I checked... big chunk of change for one tool. Pex is worthless without fittings, and for fittings, you need the crimper.

You don't need the crimper if you use the "shark bite" fittings. Our new house is all pex, and DH did it all with shark bite.

[blooba]

Those Sharkbite fitting are REALLY nice. They can used for multiple pipe materials and are easy with no tools required. That said they are a little more expensive.

[Darren]

PEX is easy to work with. Keep in mind it will deteriorate if exposed to sun light. Ultraviolet in the light will ruin it.

[Nevada]

Originally Posted by blooba

Those Sharkbite fitting are REALLY nice. They can used for multiple pipe materials and are easy with no tools required. That said they are a little more expensive.

Yeah, that's what I used. The sharkbite fittings are expensive ($4 to $8 each), but are really nice. They are also approved for behind wall use with no service access.

A nice thing about sharkbite fittings is that you don't need to make a drop for future water access. For example, if think you want a sink in a future location you don't need to tie into the lines now. Just run the PEX past the location, then cut the PEX and tie into it with a sharkbite fitting when you're ready to install the sink.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can't bend PEX too much without it folding. That becomes problematic while turning corners. I use two sharkbite 90 degree ells to make corners, like this:

http://windowrock.com/plumbing/9.jpg

Other than that it's straightforward. Just shove them in and forget it.

[Wolf mom]

PEX is nice to use for hoop houses too as it doesn't off gas like PVC (will deteriorate your covering) & is a lot easier to use than having to bend pipe.

[HermitJohn]

Isnt PEX that stuff that got a class action lawsuit cause it deteriorates from chlorine chemicals they use to treat municipal water supplies? I thought they now only sold it for repair on existing PEX systems, not for new lines? Guess for underneath mobile home where it just wets bit insulation and rest goes on ground wouldnt be big deal, but I wouldnt want it destroying lot drywall and woodwork inside.

Course if you are on well with no chemicals, then maybe wouldnt have deterioration problems.

[tamilee]

Originally Posted by HermitJohn

Isnt PEX that stuff that got a class action lawsuit cause it deteriorates from chlorine chemicals they use to treat municipal water supplies? I thought they now only sold it for repair on existing PEX systems, not for new lines? Guess for underneath mobile home where it just wets bit insulation and rest goes on ground wouldnt be big deal, but I wouldnt want it destroying lot drywall and woodwork inside.

Course if you are on well with no chemicals, then maybe wouldnt have deterioration problems.

I need to check that out. I was thinking about building a biomass water heater using pex. Thanks for the info HermitJohn. If you have any links please post. I'm on well water now but IF I build the new house we are palnning on building next year I MUST by law, have county water.

[copperkid3]

Originally Posted by HermitJohn

Isnt PEX that stuff that got a class action lawsuit cause it deteriorates from chlorine chemicals they use to treat municipal water supplies? I thought they now only sold it for repair on existing PEX systems, not for new lines? Guess for underneath mobile home where it just wets bit insulation and rest goes on ground wouldnt be big deal, but I wouldnt want it destroying lot drywall and woodwork inside.

Course if you are on well with no chemicals, then maybe wouldnt have deterioration problems.

********************************************
of plumbing failures in mobile homes and stick-built residences between 1978 -
1995; resulting in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the "victims"......

http://www.polybutylenelawsuit.com/

[HermitJohn]

Originally Posted by copperkid3

********************************************
of plumbing failures in mobile homes and stick-built residences between 1978 -
1995; resulting in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the "victims"......

http://www.polybutylenelawsuit.com/

Ok, PEX was the stuff they mainly used for radiant heating back when it came on market? And it deteriorated if exposed long term to ultraviolet light?

[oeb2]

Hermit,
You may be thinking of Q'est and it wasn't the Q'est pipe; rather it was the fittings and clamps they had a problem with. I'm thinking PEX's only problem thus far seems to be with slow breakdown in ultraviolet light. Both tubes, with proper clamping and fittings, are wonders of modern technology.

[byexample]

We've used PEX for the majority of our fresh water plumbing lines both buried and installed behind finished drywall. Compared to working with copper or PVC it's a real dream. Very fast and easy to work with. And there's no solvents or glue required.

We use the copper crimps for the most part, but the Shark Bites are great for those hard-to-reach spots where the crimpers don't like to go. The Shark Bites used to be really expensive... but they've come down quite a bit in the last year or two as PEX has become more popular and accepted.

[Hank]

There is also a new compression fitting for pex ( will also work on copper and cpvc).
Works great and is cheaper than the sharkbite. It is made from cpvc. Most Home Depots have it now. Used it to transition from 1/2 inch copper to 1/2 inch pex.
Another good thing about pex is, it will freeze solid and not burst. (In most cases,LOL)

Hank
http:/www.doublemfarmandchuckwagon.webs.com

[Ezekiel's Garde]

Love the PEX. DH and I did our whole house in a weekend last year. It was great. Okay, dh did most of it, and I was moral support & babysitting.