Plastic (cpvc) versus copper

[RicodJour]

Make your own connectors? Huh? Why? I'm not sure what connectors you were pricing, and where you got the prices from, but, what?, a buck and a half a connection (if you buy only a few at a time) is 'horribly expensive'?

There are also a number of different PEX joining methods, and there are different crimping tools. I bought a crimping tool on eBay, with

50 each of 1/2" and 3/4" crimp rings, for $60 including shipping, and the brass barbed fittings work out to about a buck a pop. There are also a lot fewer fittings in a PEX installation as the pipe is so flexible and you can snake it to pretty much anywhere.

It took me a long time to move from copper to PEX. There are some differences in installation, and thermal expansion has to be taken into account to a greater degree, but once I used the stuff, I didn't really look back. I'll still use copper on some jobs, but it's kind of lost it's, ahem, luster.

R

[Zootal]

RicodJour wrote in news: [e-mail]:

The only 3/4 barrel connectors I found were about 7 bucks. The equivalent copper was, what, thirty cents? The others for the 1/2 stuff were $3 to $6. Maybe there are less expensive sources for connectors? The job I'm doing now requires roughly 15 or so bends and tees, and maybe 12 straight connectors. There are a couple of places where I can bend the copper (or PEX) and avoid the usage of an elbow or two.

[RicodJour]

- [e-mail]:

Oh, it seems you were pricing Sharkbite fittings, and, yes, they are substantially more expensive. For small jobs and repairs, they're definitely worth it, but for bigger jobs it adds up, and that's where the much cheaper crimp ring/barbed fitting comes in.

Water distribution with PEX, at least in new construction, or a complete repiping, is closer to electrical distribution from a panel board, than the typical water distribution setup. In a PEX manifold system there's usually only the connection at the manifold and another at the stubout to the fixture - the lines are all homeruns.

There's a really good PEX manual online - 50 or 100 pages or something like that - and it covers everything. Download it and check it out. It's worth the read if you're doing your own plumbing, or planning some work.

R

[Oren]

So I take it, the pipe didn't burst.

Here is a good ground solution:

[auggie]

- [e-mail]:

i had a tight space for putting in a shower valve, used pex quick connects 2 to 4 bucks pricey but worth it no way to get a torch in there , the reaming tool is exspensive but my dad already had one, ummm.. can i borrow that

[Bob F]

The sun may have destroyed it by then.

[JIMMIE]

Thats cool.My brother and I ran some1/2 in PVC through a PVC sewer pipe like that several years back. The galvanized plumbing under the slab in my dad's house had gone bad so we had to run it through the attic. Even though we only needed about 15 ft to go from kitchen to bathroom we extended the sewer pipe the length of the house. The idea was that should it freeze the water would be allowed to drain outside. Wish they had PEX back then.

Jimmie

Jimmie

[JIMMIE]

Only been out about 5 weeks now

[Harry K]

Dunno about PEX and sun but PVC and sun seem to be okay. I have a "temporary" PVC line from one hydrant to another that is inoperable - about 65' total that has been in for .... well, years. The only repairs I have had to do is replace a few spots that broke from freezing when I forgot to drain it in time...hmmm....seems I did it again last fall. Wonder how much will need replacing this time.

Harry K

[Harry K]

[e-mail]:

Just stuff a piece of bread in there. It disappears when the water is turned back on.

Harry K

[Bob F]

Don't know if this will be readable - it was extracted from a pdf. Can Zurn PEX be stored and/or installed outdoors?

No. All plastic pipes can break down when exposed to ultraviolet rays

(sunlight) unless they contain certain pigments or stabilizers intended to

prevent the damage. Exposure of unstabilized pipe to ultraviolet rays (UV)

causes the molecular structure to break down and oxidize causing the pipe

to become brittle and eventually rupture. Zurn PEX contains UV stabilizers

that are intended to protect it for 6 months of exposure, which is intended

for protection on the job site in case the project is delayed. Most other PEX

tubing has only 30-60 day protection. If it must be installed outside it must

be sheathed in a protective sleeve. Zurn PEX should not be stored outdoors.

[Harry K]

s.- Hide quoted text -

Yeah to the 'brittle' That is what is happening to my 'temporary' line. When it does freeze it isn't just a small spot but a long crack now. Used to be just cut out a foot or so, now it is up to 10 ft at a shot. Still serviceable and I still have a lot of used pipe in the shed for repairs. Had it running all over back around 30 years ago to water new tree seedlings.

Harry K

[JIMMIE]

ors.- Hide quoted text -

Oh well, maybe I can get it in the ground in the next couple of weeks, if not I will replace it when I can bury it if it hasnt cracked before then.

Jimmie