Pex piping

[cody]

I've been looking into pex for piping not only as a better choice for the bus but also for the skanee house and I'm told pex is the wiser choice over cpvc and further information is that supposedly the best is actually pex-m piping, that regular pex can still freeze and break but pex-m piping has memory (this information came from a plumber that seemed eager for me to buy the pex-m from his inventory) and can, in theory, freeze and expand and then thaw out and return to it's original shape, thats the 'm' part of the designation, any thoughts or experience in this area?  The skanee house will most likely be closed up for winter while I lean up against a palm tree somewhere in the sunny south, (not this winter but next lol), I've always used an air compresser to blow out the water lines for closing up the house but it seems I never get it all and still have breaks from time to time.  Any thoughts on this are welcome.

[bevans6]

our friends Google and Wiki have never heard of Pex M piping, but they do say that regular Pex is considered freeze-break resistant, not freeze-break proof.  So Pex should reduce your incidence of damage as long as you continue to winterize the system appropriately.

Brian

[cody]

Thats why I'm asking, I can find fittings listed for pex-m but not the pipe itself, I saw the Pex-M on the side of the sticks he showed me, he has it in 20 ft sticks so I know it exists somewhere but can find very little information on it.  He has several kinds of pex, from Dura-Pex to Pex-al-pex, it all seems to have a specific application either for water piping, to natural gas hookups to underfloor radiant heating.  Pex seems to be the best thing since sliced bread if you read the claims, but I can find little to tell me the drawbacks other than cost of the fittings and tools.

[John Z]

Lot of places will rent the tools, if you cannot borrow them. The brass fittings are a lot more freeze resistant than the plastic ones. I replumbed my whole bus this spring - no leaks at any of the fittings. Nice stuff. And you can color code it, with blue pex for cold and the reddish stuff for the hot water runs.

[bevans6]

The Pex i used came in rolls, not sticks.  Maybe it was a brand name?

Brian

[zubzub]

Don't be buying it in 20' lengths...it's way cheaper by the 100' roll.  Fittings are about 2X copper pipe fittings but they instal 10X faster and as they still pivot after assembly they are so forgiving.  I just use the regular pex I can't be bothered with the special pex.  Buy the stuff at the HD it's true that the crimps (I use the crimped solid ring system) are a little pricey, but you can just sell them afterward. You won't believe how fast a rough in can be done using pex..  BTW I use the copper "L" pipes  for the end of the rough ins, allows for a nicer finish.

[cody]

The biggest problem in this area is the almost total lack of neighborhood outlets for the fittings that you forgot to buy even when you buy extra lol, when you have to drive 100 to 150 miles one way to get that fitting that you dropped into the bottomless pit or the one that you forgot about is frustrating, we have to depend on neighborhood stores that haven't even heard of pex or plumbing shops that think they are gold plated.  We do have a menards store 100 miles east of us that carries a generic brand of pex but none of the actual fittings will fit because of a slight size difference, so looks like it's sticks for me but thats ok, none of the runs are very long.

[Eric]

I used pex for the bus w/no regular pex fittings I used "sharkbites" or something like depending on what part of the country we are in....push click done... it's great

[bevans6]

I used Sharkbites too, I like the little fish on the side of them, also they are brass.  I have no idea if brass is better in this application, I just liked the little fish...

You use a whole lot less of them than you would think if you do "home run" layout.  But they are a little pricey.  My local store lets my buy as many as I want and return the ones I don't use for full credit, which is good.

Brian

[desi arnaz]

when winterizing i would blow the pipes first then with a sump pump and a hose i would pump in a few gallons of pink RV type antifreeze with the faucets open until you get pink flow. i would drain the cold water heater after closing the supply valves .  also i have used sex all through my house and love it. i would find a home depot and just buy a bunch of fittings,any and all you may ever use and then return what you don't use on your next trip to the big city.

[Len Silva]

when winterizing i would blow the pipes first then with a sump pump and a hose i would pump in a few gallons of pink RV type antifreeze with the faucets open until you get pink flow. i would drain the cold water heater after closing the supply valves .  also i have used sex all through my house and love it. i would find a home depot and just buy a bunch of fittings,any and all you may ever use and then return what you don't use on your next trip to the big city.

I love it too, but that is not appropriate talk for this board

[David Anderson]

when winterizing i would blow the pipes first then with a sump pump and a hose i would pump in a few gallons of pink RV type antifreeze with the faucets open until you get pink flow. i would drain the cold water heater after closing the supply valves .  also i have used sex all through my house and love it. i would find a home depot and just buy a bunch of fittings,any and all you may ever use and then return what you don't use on your next trip to the big city.

Whoa Desi,

The spell check didn't catch that one did it?   All through the house, right?? You naughty boy.

I'm still chuckling

David

[Len Silva]

On my keyboard, the "P" is no where near the "S".  There had to be something besides plumbing going on id Desi's brain.

[twocnusa]

I also used pex, got it in 100 ft. rolls, both red and blue. than i used sharkbite fittings from home depot or lowes. great fittings, just slip pipe in and you are done.  ron

[Eagle Andy]

  I used the pex Cody , Iam not finished yet but I sure like the shark bite fittings