There seem to be many ways to fit and join PEX, from the $1k uber-tool to the “even a monkey can do it” “Shark Bite” system. For my small one-off job (300 feet total, perhaps 40 fittings, two small manifolds), what’s your opinion of the best system?
My wife and I are renovating a small 1940s house in Portland. It’s 866 sf with a full basement, and most of the walls are currently torn out, so it’s all very accessible. I haven’t done much plumbing before, so I’m getting advice from architect friends and having pros do the harder stuff: installing a pressure regulator, moving the toilet drain. We’re moving around so many fixtures that it’ll be a big time-saver to replace the entire current cast iron system with PEX.
Thanks in advance.
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We're moving around so many fixtures that it'll be a big time-saver to replace the entire current cast iron system with PEX.
I'm going to take a wild guess & think that you are referring to galvanized iron pipe.
Sharkbite¯ is new but the concept has been around for quite some time.
I prefer the uponor¯ system which uses a pex ring & an expanding tool---- very user friendly.
I have recomended to others to buy a new expanding tool & then sell it on Ebay after you're done.
You can cut and fit your PEX together to save time, then rent the tools and crimp all the fittings at once. The crimpers rent at places like Home Depot or hardware rental places for about $8/ea/day. You need a crimper for each size pipe you use. The copper rings are the fastest, easiest, and least expensive way to connect your fittings. If you have a few fittings later that you need to make, check out this tool i found, which works great, but isn't fast enough that you'd want to use it for a whole job. I don't know of any place a DIYr can rent the Wirsbo type of connectors, but your mileage may vary.
You speak of replacing a cast iron system, which usually means a drain line, not the supply line that PEX repalces. Do you mean galvanized pipe? You might want to get some books and read about plumbing before you start...not trying to be snotty, but it will help to call things by their proper names if you need to go shopping and ask for help. Also, if this is your first go at plumbing, you might want to pay the extra money to shop at a plumbing supply house so that you gain their expertise in exchange for the usually higher materials costs.
Manifold systems don't make sense to me unless i'm selling the materials to put them together, esp in a house as small as yours. When i read literature saying they "reduce water use by 40%", i smell BS.
Draw out your entire plan on paper before you go shopping to get a tidy list. Don't forget to install exterior hose bibs...seems like all the DIY's forget to do this in Round One.
You're both right about it being galvanized pipe, of course. Thanks for the other advice, too. We do have a plan of the house, so we have a good bill of materials.I'm not interested in the manifold system because I think it will save water or money, but it should allow us to centralize our shut-off valves (still checking code on this) and equalize pressure. What we were thinking of, really, is a small manifold right under the bathroom, near the WH, and another one under the kitchen.I'm still reading threads here, but if anyone else chimes in it'll be helpful :)
you're dead on with the manifold system. The only reason not to use at least a hybrid home run is cost, and PEX isn't that expensive, nor are the plastic manifold systems out there.Full on home run is great unless you're large enough to need recirc, then a hybrid home run with distributed manifolds can consolidate your recirc runs.-------------------------------------
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