Last fall I ran some pex pipe under ground out to the garage. I never got around to hooking it up, 25 foot has been coiled up outside of my garage.
I have read UV exposure is bad.
How can I tell if my pipe is still good to use?
If it breaks when you uncoil it, don't use it. Generally, it takes a few years for any degradation.
UV is bad on PEX. I think I read sixty days above a foundation is the max exposure, thus should be covered with plastic (some protection) temporarily to prevent damage.
Underground is okay with the correct pipe. Anything above ground just find out how brittle it is.
Your UV exposure may not be as extreme as it is in our Mojave desert.
OK It is acutally under a tree not in full sun. So if I can bend it like normal, just go ahead and use it..
Thanks
Sure. If it breaks, just fix it ...
Wirsbo limits the direct sunlight exposure to 30 days.
I'm sure there is some margin in that number but I don't think 12 months is ok.
You could lop off a piece and pressure test it (with water) to see it's current burst strength & then do the same test on a fresh piece of PEX.
cheers Bob
Cut off a piece and pressure test it with compressed air...or you could just pressure test the whole line while you were at it. I'd go with double the house water pressure.
R
You *could* twist it & bend it and pressure test it-- and hope that was adequate.
Or, for $20 or so you could replace it and not have to replace all the crap that gets ruined when a pipe bursts & nobody's home.
Seems like a pretty cheap insurance policy to me. There are so many things that can go wrong when you do everything right--- why tempt the fates?
Jim
I agree with the $20 is not worth it. But I just wondered how valid the UV exposure was?
Jim-
Good point....I kinda lost sight of how cheap PEX is and how little $'s were involved.
If OP can easily dig up & replace the pipe (if he doesn't want to have a fitting buried), I'd just replace.
The times I've worked with PEX I was paranoid about direct sun exposure. Until I read or hear otherwise, I'd stick with the 30 day max.
cheers Bob
Digging is not an easy option.
I checked the pipe that was exposed to the sun, it is not brittle. I can bend it all the way over, it does kink.
I am going to cut off out of the ground and near the garage. Throw away the excesses and crimp a 90 degree where it enters the garage. I as then going to cover this entire connection with a large PVC type tube (larger)
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