Pex pipe

[HogHunter34]

Just know it’s not designed to be on the exterior with sun exposure. UV light will deteriorate it. I’ve heard mixed opinions on chlorinated water can over time impact it chemically but not certain how valid that is? It’s basically a cross-linked polyethylene so mechanically very durable hence why it can expand & recover okay without fracture
Pvc is more chemically resistant but rigid & why it will fracture

[Notaguide]

I’m going to repipe my house with pex this spring . Going to use the uponor fittings .

Make sure you use the red and blue colors only though.

[mikemorvan]

The weak point if pex is the fittings Still good stuff all the service calls I’ve went on this week 2 have been pex burst all the rest copper or cpvc

"Go"/ "No Go" gauge / tool is your friend.

[Buck hunter332]

"Go"/ "No Go" gauge / tool is your friend.

I’m just talking about when it freezes the fittings usually break before the pipe will more for a Pier and beam style house then in the slab job

[jdavidson]

As stated...the fittings/connections are the weak link.
Rarely if ever will the pipe fail

[Zmaxhunter]

Good info. Thanks. Don't worry about the lack of replies. Most here ignore you until you're Pope & Young status.

Oh heck im in, ive got lots of them.. 🙂
Ive lurked here a bit, not often.. just every once in awhile.
Not sure how far north the op's plumbing project is, he could always add a heat trace and a bit of insulation.
"They" say we are in a Grand Solar Minimum.. i think we can expect more winters and cold cycles like what we just had.. the jet stream is like a sine wave.. and less of a flat line.

[Draco]

If you do it your self then get ready for the heart attack when you see how much the fittings cost. Wow!

[TxKronik]

Pex pipe

Just know it’s not designed to be on the exterior with sun exposure. UV light will deteriorate it. I’ve heard mixed opinions on chlorinated water can over time impact it chemically but not certain how valid that is? It’s basically a cross-linked polyethylene so mechanically very durable hence why it can expand & recover okay without fracture
Pvc is more chemically resistant but rigid & why it will fracture

Not trying to be confrontational, just trying to learn something new I am a plumbing inspector.

All I ever heard on chlorine resistance was there was a batch a while back they they forgot the additive that made it resistant. This caused the hot line predominately to break at a bend. But that was a limited run from an oops that could have happened to CPVC also.

Is there other scenarios I’m not aware of.

[bowhunterhelm]

My grandma's house has pex pipe, pier and beam cabin. Her pipes froze and I thawed them out two times and nothing broke.

[Landrover]

Our entire home is PEX, zero issues!

[kmitchl]

If you do it your self then get ready for the heart attack when you see how much the fittings cost. Wow!

Get the fittings from ebay. MUCH cheaper than the big box stores and afaic no difference in quality.

[Briar Friar]

Thank God the forces that be got rid of the old PEX that had the aluminum sleeve inside. Ive had more leaks from that stuff than I care to admit.

The PEX lines to my house run between the first floor and second floor cavity. Half my house lines froze in this past cold spell. Theyve frozen numerous times in the past 10 years...no leaks...knock on wood.

When I have rental house yard lines break due to soil shifting...the plumbers (almost) always use PEX to to allow some play in the line.

The only time Ive seen PEX fail is when the homebuilders plumber has a little air gap stub above a fitting (like an exterior spigot or washer box supply) and over time air gets trapped and never escapes and eventually builds up pressure to expand the pipe...makes a preggo pipe and pin hole...then it starts tinkling in my walls. It fails in the pipe not at a fitting. Ive seen this only 2-3 times...and its only been this particular situation Ive seen PEX fail.

[Strummer]

If you do it your self then get ready for the heart attack when you see how much the fittings cost. Wow!

I’m just getting ready to redo my house with it . I’m sticking up in fittings now . Finding good deals of Facebook market place .

[JGadbury]

I just re-piped my house using Upanor pex about 3 years ago. I got several quotes for it ranging from 8-12K. Decided I could do it my self and spent about 1K in materials. Very easy to work with and you can cut access holes in drywall at the fixtures and pull it like cable. I did have 2 of my lines freeze during this last winter storm but they thawed out and we had zero issues. It was my kitchen sink which was an external wall on the north side of my house. The house is very old and the external walls aren't insulated very well. Not all pex are created equal. Some pex isn't made to expand but with the Upanor brand you use a tool with a sleeve to expand it over the fittings then it shrinks down to hold it in place.

[HogHunter34]

Not trying to be confrontational, just trying to learn something new I am a plumbing inspector.

All I ever heard on chlorine resistance was there was a batch a while back they they forgot the additive that made it resistant. This caused the hot line predominately to break at a bend. But that was a limited run from an oops that could have happened to CPVC also.

Is there other scenarios I’m not aware of.

Very well could be true. I don’t know all the additives that go into it to make it more chemically resistant but I’ll do some more research on it