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GranBossito

GranBossito

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I'm in the process of redoing all the plumbing in my house. It is an old house that we are completely remodeling. I noticed that my plumber is using PEX tubing, fittings and connections from the Home Depot for potable water. He told me they are all the same.

I want this job to be done correctly and I want it to last for a very, very long time without any issues.

Please tell me if there are any differences in manufacturers besides price. It seems that Viega is the most expensive. Is it 2-3 times better than Uponor/Wirsbo to justify the price?

Please rate the following manufacturers for me. Viega, Uponor/Wirsbo, Zurn, Watts, Rehau, Sioux Chief.

Are there any other manufacturers that you would recommend?

Thank you for your consideration. :)
 
Last edited:
He's using Zurn...
http://www.zurnclassaction.com/documents.html

Need I say more?

I would consider Wirsbo/Uphonor to be the best.
Viega is also decent....
Rehau is discontinuing their potable water line
And Sioux Chief I believe is picking up the Rehau Line...

Rehau has had some problems in Las Vegas... Seems the water there does not like brass...:eek:
 
What do you think of the Home Depot tubing and fittings? Should I make him change everything to the Wirsbo?
 
You can but he's not going to like that idea. It's not just the material that's different it's also the tooling. But the depot crap is just that...CRAP.
 
GranBossito@aol.com said:
I'm in the process of redoing all the plumbing in my house. It is an old house that we are completely remodeling. I noticed that my plumber is using PEX tubing, fittings and connections from the Home Depot for potable water. He told me they are all the same.

I want this job to be done correctly and I want it to last for a very, very long time without any issues.

Please tell me if there are any differences in manufacturers besides price. It seems that Viega is the most expensive. Is it 2-3 times better than Uponor/Wirsbo to justify the price?

Please rate the following manufacturers for me. Viega, Uponor/Wirsbo, Zurn, Watts, Rehau, Sioux Chief.

Are there any other manufacturers that you would recommend?

Thank you for your consideration. :)
Click to expand...


Not all PEX is the same.
My order of rating is Viega and then Uponor. Zurn has way too many quality issues, watts crimping is too slow for me, and I don't know about the last two.
 
So you think the Viega is better than the Wirsbo/Uponor. That is the first time that I caught that on this site. But is it worth the extra 2-300%?
 
Unless you specified a manufacturer, or rather prohibited one, you may be in the position of having to pay additional if he has to remove what he has installed and then install a more expensive product. His installation ONLY has to survive a one, or maybe two, year warranty period before he is "off the hook" and that material will probably do that.
 
GranBossito@aol.com said:
So you think the Viega is better than the Wirsbo/Uponor. That is the first time that I caught that on this site. But is it worth the extra 2-300%?
Click to expand...

I'm puzzled for such a premium unless this plumber doesn't yet own the tooling ... uponor is really good, however, I like the fact that I can "dry-fit" all my joints and then crimp at the end (which cannot be done with Uponor). I believe Viega is much faster.
 
Viega's fittings are restrictive.

Uponor has been in business longer than all of the others put together

Why would you hire a plumber that buys his materials at H.D.
 
OK, let's resolve this "restrictive" flow issue once an for all to avoid confusion.

BOTH UPONOR AND VIEGA ARE RESTRICTIVE AND REDUCE THE ACTUAL TUBING DIAMETER.

I just measured the ID of a 3/4 copper tubing type L and it equals .790"

I just measured the ID of 3/4 PEX tubing and it equals .655"

Here is the ID of a Uponor coupling per their spec. which equals .614"

Here is the ID of a Viega coupling measured with a caliper which equals .550"

SO BOTH UPONOR AND VIEGA ARE RESTRICTIVE ... UPONOR 1/16 LESS SO. But if you are a purest and want the maximum flow, you cannot beat copper!
 
Uponor's fittings do not create a ledge when installed due to the expansion process.

605.6 Fittings. Pipe fittings shall be approved for installation
with the piping material installed and shall conform to the respective
pipe standards or one of the standards listed in Table
605.6. All pipe fittings utilized in water supply systems shall
also conform to NSF 61. The fittings shall not have ledges,
shoulders or reductions capable of retarding or obstructing flow
in the piping. Ductile and gray iron pipe fittings shall be cement
mortar lined in accordance with A W A C104.
 
good post....

Redwood said:
He's using Zurn...
http://www.zurnclassaction.com/documents.html

Need I say more?

I would consider Wirsbo/Uphonor to be the best.
Viega is also decent....
Rehau is discontinuing their potable water line
And Sioux Chief I believe is picking up the Rehau Line...

Rehau has had some problems in Las Vegas... Seems the water there does not like brass...:eek:
Click to expand...


Good information ,

but I dont think that plumber is going to be happy with anyone on this thread....

if it is Zurn, you are already in trouble..as are hundreds of thousand of others out there..

it really depends on how far the plumber has already
gotten done with t he system..


Wirsbo is the best and actually the black plastic fittings seem to be better than the brass ones. in my experience.....


good luck pissing off your plumber..

.


 
Uponor's fittings do not create a ledge when installed due to the expansion process.
Click to expand...

NH thanks for the code quote which is very appropriate. Arguably both systems have a ledge based on the dimensions I just listed ... the Uponor will "transition" better from the ID of the PEX to the ID of the fitting but there still will be some kind of ledge. Have you ever heard of an inspection failing because of the code you quoted? Why do you suppose the code hasn't been modified to accommodate PEX because it appears to be here for some time.
 
99k said:
NH thanks for the code quote which is very appropriate. Arguably both systems have a ledge based on the dimensions I just listed ... the Uponor will "transition" better from the ID of the PEX to the ID of the fitting but there still will be some kind of ledge. Have you ever heard of an inspection failing because of the code you quoted? Why do you suppose the code hasn't been modified to accommodate PEX because it appears to be here for some time.
Click to expand...

Three major city inspectors failed Viega and Watts systems.
 
How important is the fact that PEX is more restrictive than Copper when all the supply lines are 3/8ths inch (three eights inch)?
 
The consensus on this board is that Zurn fittings are of low quality. Does that go for the tubing too?
 
supply lines

It can be important when you use more than one faucet at a time. And if you think copper fittings are restrictive, measure the i.d. of the plastic ones.
 
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