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A buddy of mine (a GC) told me about this new product that is supposed to be easier to install & a whole lot cheaper than copper. Once the line is stubbed up through the bottom plate a copper fitting is attached to the plastic via compression. You then have copper showing on the interior. Suposably this plastic tubing resists cracking due to freezing & you can lay it directly into concrete with out any effect on it. Is anyone familiar with this product? If so, what is your take on it & if it’s as good as it sounds where can I find it?
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This has been code for the past 20 years in UK. It does resist freezing because it will expand, although the expansion of water in the line will usually push apart the compression fitting.
The only major change it entailled was using earth-leakage trips on the electricity supply as the water main no longer provided an earthing source.
*PEX is what you are looking for. Wirsbo is one manufacturer, their product is AquaPex. They have a wide variety of fittings available to interface with copper. The system requires a proprietary expansion tool. I bought one and I have started using it more and more. The joints are basically foolproof and I haven't had a leak yet. PEX is not cheaper than copper by the foot, but installation is definitely cheaper. I haven't done any jobs from beginning to end with it yet, but I like the system.
*JG - Ask around and see what your local plumbing and heating contractors think of compression fittings 'for the long run.' I vote 'no.'
*I have seen both compression fittings with the copper rings and the WIRSBO expansion fitting. I do not recommend the compression fitting for the long haul... the WIRSBO fitting is superior. PEX has a memory so it will continue to "tighten" over a fitting if expanded. I've also found that if you have a connection to make in a joist space, you end having to do the work up in the joist space with the ring compression style but if you use the WIRSBO style you simply cut your tubing to the right length and then use your tool at ground level and make your connection, slick as snot! As well up here we had a product called POLY B tubing which used the same style copper ring compression fitting...didn't work worth a damn. Not approved anymore by most inspectors....TDC
*A friend of mine had her house redone with PEX last year, a few weeks ago she found out that she also had some unexpected hydronic heating in her kitchen - there had been a small leak at the fitting where the kitchen faucet had been "T"ed off which had sprayed a fine mist of hot water on the underside of her kitchen floor. It was only discovered after the underlayment swelled to form a small mound in her kitchen. She did manage to get a new kitchen floor out of the deal from her homeowners insurance, but had to do without a kitchen floor for a couple of weeks while the entire floor was replaced...
*We set up water systems with PEX, but home-run from manifolds to fixtures, or to sub-manifolds, located in an accessible space. In restoration work, the ability to pull piping through walls for heat and water is the biggest advantage. Also have some acidic water around here which doesn't agree with copper.
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A buddy of mine (a GC) told me about this new product that is supposed to be easier to install & a whole lot cheaper than copper. Once the line is stubbed up through the bottom plate a copper fitting is attached to the plastic via compression. You then have copper showing on the interior. Suposably this plastic tubing resists cracking due to freezing & you can lay it directly into concrete with out any effect on it. Is anyone familiar with this product? If so, what is your take on it & if it's as good as it sounds where can I find it?