more pex freeze up info, study

[toolaholic]

google pex piping as a fail safe backup by Morgan. good info on what contributes most to bursting, aside from COLD , he he.
Next summer we build our home at 7000 elev. in the sierras. Was going Pex
, not now THANKS MARK

[Dunbar Plumbing]

google pex piping as a fail safe backup by Morgan. good info on what contributes most to bursting, aside from COLD , he he.
Next summer we build our home at 7000 elev. in the sierras. Was going Pex
, not now THANKS MARK



Put it out there for all to see. Interesting find.



http://www.solar2006.org/presentations/tech_sessions/t37-a234.pdf

[master plumber mark]

thats actually pretty informative.....

putting it all in a freezer with no place for it to expand..



the only thing that probably saved my

wirsbo pex pipe in that manifold that froze up

was the fact that the COPPER froze and burst

first and it releived the pressure and stress by makeing

a big flood of running water down through the garage...



I would still do the WIRSBO with the plastic compression
fittings over all the other choices......


Wirsbo is definitely freeze tolerant over KITECH
and probably all the other choices out there including copper




so what are you gonna plumb your house with if .... not the pex???.......

Oh, excuse me .....

I meant to say
what are you gonna have your plumber ...plumb your house with
if not the WIRSBO or Copper????






.also when are you gonna post some pics of some of your
manifold work??..

[toolaholic]

To answer Your question Mark type L copper. I learned My trade in Mass. and thin wall M was used in heating only. As a lic. gen. in Ca. I enjoy doing all My own plumbing. Have cast iron tools, elec. pipe threader , ect. Back East I'VE also been out there with My welder thawing pipes. Be happy to post pix in the future. We have a small cabin in the Siearras ,snowmobiled with son last weekend. Unlike Mass.You leave the snow and cold when You return home.

[toolaholic]

New cabin will have all copper pitched to drain in a gravel bed under the home.
This is done with a long t wrench. R V anti freeze in toilets and traps.
The sierras at bear valley gets around 30 ft. of snow per year [not this one]
It doesn't get down as cold as back East. So much snow is a good insulator.
Roofs enginerred for 200 sq. ft. snow load!

[Gary Slusser]

The data shows that PEX is pretty good when frozen as low as -30C!. Copper doesn't withstand freezing much below 25F. What is that, like -2 or -3C? And it also shows that repair should be very simple.

As to heat, with PRV and T/P valves, along with following codes for the max temp on a water heater, there shouldn't be any problems.

The bottom line is that copper doesn't come close. And it corrodes and then can cause water quality problems and health concerns.

[Dunbar Plumbing]

To answer Your question Mark type L copper. I learned My trade in Mass. and thin wall M was used in heating only. As a lic. gen. in Ca. I enjoy doing all My own plumbing. Have cast iron tools, elec. pipe threader , ect. Back East I'VE also been out there with My welder thawing pipes.


Sounds like a plan. Put you some good brass ball valves in that equation and you're good for 70+ years like we get in my area.

[Phil H2]

There is more detailed information here: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy06osti/39664.pdf . The reserch was done for solar hot water heating. Thus, there is more concern about freezing pipes in the winter and higher temperatures.