Pex

[svk]

PVC water pipes?

Yeah. Or whatever you call the plastic they used in the 70’s.

 

[grizz55chev]

PVC water pipes?

Everything outside from my well IS PVC, my pressure tank is under my back porch and everything from that point is copper. I plumbed everything from the well to the pressure tank and have had -0- problems in 22 years. Copper pipes are actually relatively easy to install and maintain, if you make sure to clean the joints properly and make sure no water is present. The price of the Sharkbite fittings areWAY too expensive to make me go that route .

 

[NSMaple1]

Sharkbites can be worth their cost and then some, when used in certain spots & circumstances. They can save a lot of aggravation especially when trying to fix a leak quickly. I wouldn't bury one in a wall or floor though - still kind of leery of them.

 

[steved]

PVC water pipes?

PVC on cold water, CPVC for hot water...common use.

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[ChoppyChoppy]

Interesting. I've only worked on copper, galvanized or pex for water. PVC or ABS for drains.

I suppose it is rated to like 150? psi. We have it for airlines in the shop. Been there 20+ years and working just fine.

 

[sundance]

Interesting. I've only worked on copper, galvanized or pex for water. PVC or ABS for drains.

I suppose it is rated to like 150? psi. We have it for airlines in the shop. Been there 20+ years and working just fine.

Brave man. I wouldn't use PVC for air. Ever impact or shatter one and you'll have shrapnel everywhere.

 

[steved]

My parents have only ever used CPVC for everything...their house is 50ish year old and it's still going strong. The only pain is gluing the joints and leaving it set up...

We just changed them over from a above grade jet pump with a buried wellhead to a exposed wellhead and submersible pump...we had to modify the system for that, took us an hour to completely redo how it adapted into the existing plumbing.

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[bigbadbob]

I plumbed my basement with pex for my air,,,150psi. Been near 10 years, the stuff that ends outside has endured -30
Sharkbites,,, expesive but handy.
Copper,,, we had a bunch of bad copper here,, to thin, would last bout 10 years,, called Wolverine.
My bros place has some,, we replaced most of it.
LOL I replace a short piece of poly B for a friend tday,, couldnt get at the fittings,, so heated up the pex and forced it on, had to use the new style crimps as you couldn't get a crimper in. old house trailer.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Brave man. I wouldn't use PVC for air. Ever impact or shatter one and you'll have shrapnel everywhere.

If it get hit, someone would have been doing something stupid and the airline would be the least of the worries, as the building would be hit too.

If I redid it, I'd do it in Pex, but don't need yet another to-do at this point.

 

[sundance]

If it get hit, someone would have been doing something stupid and the airline would be the least of the worries, as the building would be hit too.

So, I assume nothing inside the building and nothing y'all do in the building could cause an impact to the PVC piping? Take a piece outside, pressurize it (I'd place it somewhere to contain the debris) and throw something on it to impact. Then report back. Because it hasn't happened in 20 years says nothing other than luck. The pipe's 20 years old as well.

 

[sundance]

The use of PVC pipe is common but NOT RECOMMENDED for use with compressed air. It is often used because it is readily available, inexpensive, and easy to install. However, as with many plastics, PVC gets brittle over time and can crack, break, or even shatter. The presence of air compressor oils in the line and heat from the compressed air accelerates the degradation of PVC. These failures, combined with air under pressure, are potentially fatal due to the airborne, razor-sharp shrapnel. It is also an OSHA violation to use PVC for compressed air distribution, which means you could incur a hefty fine.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

So, I assume nothing inside the building and nothing y'all do in the building could cause an impact to the PVC piping? Take a piece outside, pressurize it (I'd place it somewhere to contain the debris) and throw something on it to impact. Then report back. Because it hasn't happened in 20 years says nothing other than luck. The pipe's 20 years old as well.

Yes, runs on the ceiling about 12ft in the air with a couple drops against the wall in corners and what not. It only has pressure when we need to use the air too, there's a valve on the compressor.

Anymore with all the cordless stuff it's pretty much just filling tires or blowing stuff off. Even have a cordless 1" impact gun for semi tires.

OSHA can brush their teeth with a 12 gauge for all I care.

 

[mesupra]

The pex expansion is the way to go if you are doing a decent amount, only issue I found was that only the local supply house and online suppliers had pex-a and expansion. Home depot and Lowes carry pex-b and the crimp style. Therefore buy yourself the cheap crimp tool and go that route. Whatever you do please avoid pex universe, horrible business practices, would not replace a less the on $20 part after spending thousands.

 

[svk]

Well I guess I never updated this thread.

Last October I bought pex and was able to simplify my guest house from two water heaters down to one. Took three evenings of part time putzing around to get it all done. The pex was amazingly easy to work with.

Next question. Is the pex used for pressurized heating systems the same as regular pex or do they make different grades?

 

[president]

That was poly B pipe and fittings.
If you kinked the pipe it eventually leaked there.
The fittings were attached by chlorine.
In canada we never got the plastic fittings.
My home is 25 yrs old and has poly b,, not an issue yet.
The city water has near zero chlorine.

Us too Bob,we are on our own well, poly B and copper fittings

 

[uniballer]

Is the pex used for pressurized heating systems the same as regular pex or do they make different grades?

There are different grades. Some experts recommend the oxygen barrier version for radiant heating systems to prevent rusting ferrous metal parts (e.g. pumps, valves). I used it when I built a root-zone heating bench in a greenhouse (for starting seedlings).

I know the following site sells the stuff, so take it with a grain of salt:
Differences between Non-Barrier, Oxygen Barrier and PEX-AL-PEX tubing

 

[tla100]

Sorry, didn't read whole thread. Sharkbites for connecting anything to pex. We have had 1/2" and 3/4" PEX set for years. Well worth it. Heard the brass fittings have been replaced by plastic. But no issues with the brass so far. We have the copper crimp rings.

 

[tla100]

If you use an antifreeze like glycol, you need oxygen barrier pex. Have in garage for in floor heat with boiler.

Also we have PEX in camper. There are 2 shutoffs outside for winterizing, exposed to sunlight, they can't hold up. Although camper is 15 years old, one side leaked a few years ago. Just dry rotted.

 

[svk]

My pipe dream (get it) is add an additional heat zone to my heating system and run the line into my guest house. The outdoor run is very short so I just need uninsulated pex under my house and a short run of thermopex under the deck into the guest house.

The guest house is 400 SF and is well insulated except for an old sliding glass door that will be replaced. It’s built with true 2x6 lumber, and has wood paneling inside plus two layers of wood siding outside so the walls are nearly 9” thick.

 

[mga]

had to add additional baseboards, so i used 3/4" PEX (oxygen barrier only).

priced out the shark bites....wtf?? went on ebay and i bought three packages of 90 degree elbows for 5 bucks each. Brand new and they worked perfectly