pexy little pixies

Ok.. sorry,, pex makes me think of pixies and that makes me think of Harry Potter.... anywho!....

I am reading like a mad woman about PEX... but want to know if there are any good plumbing books dedicated to working with pex. If not.. on line stuff that is a must read?


And long as I am here I will throw this one out... Pex or CPVC?.. we have a billion year old galvanzied that is popping pin holes like crazy.. so something has to be done.. and given the price of copper that is out of the question!

Maddie

In a nutshell, pex probably is eaiser to install - lends itself to manifolds and home runs, minimizes unions and connectors. CPVC is more conventional, but in a remodel, getting it threaded into walls, like copper, is much more of a problem. PEX requires some special tools that are not cheap, but you can probably resell them on e-bay afterwards.

My wife has gone off the deep end with Harry Potter so I knew what you were talking about. I used pex when I plumbed my house. I liked using it and I am confident it will last. The blue and red lines look cool. The tools were expensive but were of good quality. I was concerned about the glue leaching into the water with cpvc. I used cpvc for the fire sprinkler system (it's red). But that system supplies the sprinklers and each leg ends at a toilet so the water stays fresh but does not get into the drinking water. I don't know if the glue will leach but that glue smell stayed in the pipes a long time. I really liked PLUMBING A HOUSE by Peter Hemp and Tauton Press. However, the edition I have does not have anything about PEX. I learned most of what I learned about PEX from the manufacturer literature and reading plumbing boards like this one. If you use PEX get the book with the complete line of pex plumbing products for whatever manufacturer you use. That way you can figure out what you need before you go to the plumbing store. My local plumbing supplier really looks down their collective noses at homeowner diy people but the box stores around here do not carry the brand I wanted to use. In about 50 years I wonder if plumbers will even remember how to sweat copper.

pex

They are supposed to "look down their noses" at anyone who is not a licensed contractor. They are in the business to serve us, not act as competition to Home Depot. For that reason you are fair game for whatever they wish to charge you, and you have to put up with any attitude they have.

If I were doing my own, I would use 3/4" CPVC if I could get it into the walls. CPVC 1/2" is smaller than copper and I would use it only for serving a sink or toilet, or where the added flexibility is needed to get through a wall.

The fittings for PEX are pretty expensive, in addition to the cost of tools. You should estimate the whole project if cost is a consideration.

pex is simple to work with, just don't install it anywhere it might rub against something. secure it well. i'd assume your connecting to copper, which means you'll need to swt a brass pex adapter to your copper... fittings are expensive, but battery op pex expanders aren't cheap, try $2600... hand expanders are avalible but i don't know of the cost. you can also crimp pex fittings, but i have minimal experience in this.

hope this helps

Depends on the brand you choose whether you crimp or just expand (Wirsbo just uses a ring that you expand at the same time as the tubing).

personally, i have crimped once (i'm a pro, btw) and it was an instant leak. we use real wirsbo and rings to expand. i would never crimp pex again, because a correctly expanded fit should never leak or 'stress out'

You can use copper, Cpvc, or Pex. They all have the same outside diameter. Copper will cost more due to the high raw copper prices. Cpvc is a little higher than pex, and will take a lot more fittings to plumb a house. Pex is a little cheaper than Cpvc and comes in many different length rolls. But you may have problems finding where to buy it.
As far as having to buy a "special" tool to assembly pex, gluing Cpvc, or having to solder copper don't worry.
CashAcme has a product out called SharkBite that will connect copper, Cpvc, and Pex together. All you have to do is snap the pipe into the fittings and you are done, NO crimping, gluing, or soldering. If you make a mistake the fittings are reusable. They cost a little more than the crimps, solder or glue but you don't have to deal with all the extra time and mess that you have with the others.

I think Sharkbite fittings cost a lot more than the equivalent fittings for copper,CPVC or PEX.To use them for a repipe would really get expensive,even taking into account labor expense for sweating copper,glue for CPVC,or buying a crimper for PEX.
The Sharkbite is a Godsend for specific service situations,and they are a must on the service truck,especially for connecting different types of CTS tubing.But for a water supply rough in,or a repipe,the cost would be too high.

My local contractor plumbing supply company went out of their way to help me with plumbing my new house, no looking down their noses or anything, I guess they realized I was just another customer who otherwise would be shopping at one of the big box stores. They still remember me as the guy that bought a ship load of Vanguard tubing to put hydronic heating in his floor slab, and yes I am happy with that choice, it's solar heated.

Rancher