Sorry, I’m a regular over in FWW knots, but this is a topic for here. I’m moving to PA and a 500k house (new const) I’m looking at uses a water system called PEX. It has a manafold mounted in the basement with each cold & hot running idividually Blue for cold and red for hot. Is this system ok. It had compression fittings and reminded me of a plastic tubing system similar years ago in a house I had that resulted in an industry settlement. I’m a copper pipe kida guy. Am I out of touch or is this stuff for real? I would love to hear from some of you guys in the business. Thanks.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
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PEX is about 99% of what is done here now, has been for several years. Copper is rare. The only drawback to a manifold system is that when you run hot water in the bathroom sink it will not bring hot water close to the shower.... or vice versa. Not a big deal.
Thanks to all. The house is built, but I had never seen the stuff and wondered if somebody was cutting corners. All the houses I've owned over they years except a mobile home for a short stent (with PB) was copper. Sounds like its commonly used. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I'm an old school plumber that builds highrise condos & apartments, we use copper & stainless for our large mains & pex (Uponor¯) for our branch lines.
We do use manifolds for each unit.
I would not do a main manifold in my own house, but more of a sub manifold at each bathroom. I prefer to have a circ system on my hot water so I don't have to waste water & wait for hot water.
Pex has been around since the late 60's in radiant heat aplications & early 90's for domestic plumbing.
I do prefer copper, cause pex always looks like crraapp.
Do NOT stub out pex for your angle stop connections unless floppy bastard angles of your valves is OK in your book.
Any more questions feel free to ask away.
How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.
>>I do prefer copper, cause pex always looks like crraapp.
Do NOT stub out pex for your angle stop connections unless floppy bastard angles of your valves is OK in your book.
All true. PEX generally looks fairly sloppy, it's rarely straight, plumb, level, square, or anything else that makes skilled piping look good.
I have plumbers on my jobs use drop-ear brass elbows and nipples to stub out. The copper sweeps that connect to PEX are lousy IMO.
None of this matters to the OP. The house is already built from the sound of it.
"The copper sweeps that connect to PEX are lousy IMO."
Why don't you like them? I use them mainly because everyone here does and I didn't know there was an alternative, but I've never had any problem with them.
They're always wobbly. There isn't an easy way to strap them tightly unless you have them right on the side of a stud. I always put a block between studs for the plumber to screw drop-ear elbows to. Three screws in those and they don't move. My main plumber has PEX-compatible drop ears that he uses, since I started asking for them.
Ah, Ours come with a soldered mounting plate.
I don't mean to hijack, but while y'all are talking PEX connections...how do you feel about Sharkbite fittings?
I don't do much plumbing professionally(and even then it's mostly fixtures, etc.), but I used a couple in my own house a few months ago to add a slop sink in the garage. They're more expensive than crimp rings of course, but for someone that doesn't own a crimper...
They are expensive, but they do work.
The only problem I have with them is they use a rubber "O" ring to make the seal.
All rubber eventually fails in contact with water.
We use the copper sweeps, but we solder them to a holdright¯ bracket.
We use the drop ears when Kohler stops are spec'd.
"we solder them to a holdright¯ bracket."
There ya go. Started doing this when I switched over to PEX. Makes for a nice job.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA