Pex

[lvmci]

we dont drink or cook with water from the tanks. lvmci...

[Scott & Heather]

Ace, I mentioned this when we chatted at the rally, but seriously, spend the $$ on getting all pex sharkbite push connect fittings. You'll thank yourself over and over when you want to change things around later. They are awesome and I have never had one leak....ever. No need to deal with crimping rings and special tools. That's drama and I know how much you love drama.


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[Barn Owl]

spend the $$ on getting all pex sharkbite fittings

I love them also and have made some emergency repairs on the road with them. No more fittings than you will find in a conversion why not use them? Yes, they are pricy, but in the end are only a very small percentage of the overall cost of materials in a build. Anyone else have experience with these? Pros/cons. I now carry several fittings in my emergency parts kit.

[digesterman]

Dittos on the shark bite fittings, huge variety of sizes and configurations available. Only way to go


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[TomC]

I used Quest tubing (Polyb, I believe) on my bus 20 years ago. Haven't had any issues yet. Am going to use Pex on my truck. At least on the truck if I have any issues, I have the basement to crawl around to fix anything. The bus to replumb would be a bit more of a challenge.
If you don't use Pex, what else can you use (not copper). Good Luck, TomC

[belfert]

I used PEX and Sharkbite fittings in my bus.  I will be using a Sharkbite fitting or two in my house to avoid difficult situations with soldering copper.  The places I am using the Sharkbites in the house won't have damage if there is ever a leak.

[Dave5Cs]

I don't know if I 'd use sharkbite fittings behind a wall in the house I just don't trust that o ring in there over time. All rubber goes when dried out over the years.

[B_K]

I don't know if I 'd use sharkbite fittings behind a wall in the house I just don't trust that o ring in there over time. All rubber goes when dried out over the years.

I used PEX and Sharkbite fittings in my bus.  I will be using a Sharkbite fitting or two in my house to avoid difficult situations with soldering copper.  The places I am using the Sharkbites in the house won't have damage if there is ever a leak.

He says he only intends to use them in an area that won't be damaged IF a leak occurs. My guess he's talking about in a garage or basement area where they are exposed for easy view & repair.

Also if they have water in them wouldn't that keep the rubber from drying out
  BK 

[bevans6]

I've used Sharkbite and re-used them a time or two as well.  In tight territory they are a godsend, not having to use the crimp tool.  At roughly 6X the cost of plain fittings, I'll do a lot of crimping but some you just can't get to.  What I haven't done is come back after 30 years to see how they stood up...  They can be used with copper, or other 1/2" OD tube, which makes they a great transition from old work to new.  I had the white hard plastic tube, came out this spring and put pressure in the system, I had leaks at a half dozen joints, it just kind of fell apart.  Water system was open and drained for the winter.  PEX can even survive a freeze, often as not.

Brian

[Iceni John]

Elkhart Products Corp. (who make the TecTite push fittings for PEX, very similar to Sharkbite) have a 50 year warranty.   This type of push-together fitting has been used for many years in Europe with great success  -  it's a relatively recent development in this country.   I use some TecTite and some Sharkbite fittings, depending on which is cheaper or if I'm near a Lowes or a Home Despot  -  they seem comparable to me.   However, I take care to support the PEX either side of the fittings so it cannot move inside them at all when assembled: that's the only way I could imagine them leaking.

Yes, PEX itself is resistant to freeze damage, but the fittings and valves may still get damaged if they freeze, so it's prudent to protect all the plumbing if you're in brass-monkey weather, no different than any other plumbing, or simply drain the bus before winter.

John

[Scott & Heather]

I can't stress this enough, I have completely plumbed our coach (including behind the walls) with pex sharkbite fittings and have never (not once) had any of them leak. I have had brass shower valves split at a seam and leak, I've had brass nipples split and leak but never once my pex. I froze my pex main line last winter (-22F so it froze hard) and after thawing the brass elbow out and getting the water flowing again, I was back in business. The best reason to go with push connect fittings even though they are expensive is that you can move stuff around and rearrange your plumbing even years later if you need to. We are in the planning stages of a bother conversion to better suit our needs and even though we are putting our coach up for sale, I don't think we could sell it for $20,000 so if not, I'm stripping every pex fitting I can out of it and transferring to the new coach. I love the stuff. It's like tinker toys.


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[luvrbus]

Sharkbite fitting will leak over time especially on the hot water side with the vibration BTDT,it is same principal as the push in air line fitting on the later model buses and they leak over time also

[Homegrowndiesel]

Every situation is different. Here in Delaware, our water has a ph of 4.5 to 5. Any brass fittings will be eaten away within years.
   My family always thought copper piping was the only way to plumb. [not from Delaware]

After seeing copper & galvanized steel fail with our local water conditions, pvc and cpvc have lasted years longer. But,, after 5 years on our commercial dish washer, with all the jerking motions, the joints of the cpvc failed more than 2 times. About 10 years ago I put pex on the line to the dishwasher. I used flair it fittings, whitch are pom based plastic fittings, they are still there. I have tried sharkbite fittings and have have mixed results.

  On the 2 busses I have converted, i used nothing but pex, or heater hose.. I have used brass, or copper when it is used with antifreeze, but not with potable water. Our water will eat through most metals. Sharkbite, and all of the seals are only a temporary solution to work for a long term system.

   As most of you wont have to deal with our local ph water,, but,,, pex has stood up to the flex on my worst case situation.

the fittings are the issue. i just plumbed up an hot water heated floor , using several different fittings. Only time will tell. 

[blue_goose]

Why would you use any fitting with Pex?  Make all home runs, only fittings at each end.
Jack

[Dave5Cs]

Also if they have water in them wouldn't that keep the rubber from drying out
  BK 
[/quote]

BK did you really say that, ??LOL

Dave5Cs