As noted in another thread, I am getting ready to completely re-pipe a house we are buying. I was all set to order the M12 expander tool and go with the Uponor system.
However, a plumber acquaintance of mine does a lot of Viega crimp work and offered to loan me the crimp tools.
Sooooo, I have read practically everything I can find on the web (including searching this forum) and I really can't find a good reason to go with one system over the other.
In Uponor's favor, there is the slightly better flow - presumably from the slightly greater ID of the fittings. There is also just something elegant and beautiful (minimalistic perhaps) to me about the expansion system. I would probably use the EP fittings.
The only downside I see is the $400 for the M12 kit. I could probably flip it at a small loss, but we will be building another story or two on top of this house next year. I wil need the tool then also.
On the other hand, I haven't read anything actually bad about Viega. They haven't had any de-zinc issues that I have heard of. Borrowing the tools means another $400 can go to sheetrock, carpet etc.
As it stands now, I am still leaning toward Uponor. So, this is kind of like a wedding - if you know of *any* reason that I should not be wedded to Uponor, *please* speak now.
However, a plumber acquaintance of mine does a lot of Viega crimp work and offered to loan me the crimp tools.
Sooooo, I have read practically everything I can find on the web (including searching this forum) and I really can't find a good reason to go with one system over the other.
In Uponor's favor, there is the slightly better flow - presumably from the slightly greater ID of the fittings. There is also just something elegant and beautiful (minimalistic perhaps) to me about the expansion system. I would probably use the EP fittings.
The only downside I see is the $400 for the M12 kit. I could probably flip it at a small loss, but we will be building another story or two on top of this house next year. I wil need the tool then also.
On the other hand, I haven't read anything actually bad about Viega. They haven't had any de-zinc issues that I have heard of. Borrowing the tools means another $400 can go to sheetrock, carpet etc.
As it stands now, I am still leaning toward Uponor. So, this is kind of like a wedding - if you know of *any* reason that I should not be wedded to Uponor, *please* speak now.