You just have to love PEX

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2,369
I gotta say, PEX is the answer for anyone who hates plumbing.

I have never worked with the stuff before, but since that is what you use to lay down radiant floor heating, I had some left over. After thinking about using pvc pipe and all the bends, elbows, glue and whatnot I would need to finish up a wet wall in time for my drywall guy to come in, I decided to buy PEX fittings and do it with PEX.

What a great idea that was. It took longer to drill the holes and route the PEX tubing then it did to hook everything up. In fact it was like running electrical cable. Drill the holes, push the pipe in around the corners and bends, then push on some fittings and you are done. No leaks, no mess, no glue, no noxious fumes, nothing, just a nasty job done and over with.

I gotta say, when I plumb my shop for compressed air, its PEX that I am using. About the only bad thing I can say for it is that the cost of fittings can get high at 4 bucks a shot. At the same time no matter how you arrange PEX tubing, if its not hidden inside a wall, it just looks goofy. There is just no way to make it look nice and clean like copper or galvanized pipe.
 
A friend recently did his house with PEX. He and his wife plumbed the whole place in a matter of a few days. Great stuff - though I tease him about running a garden hose through the house!:rofl:

Wes
 
I'm getting ready to try it in the next few weeks. All the new plumbing for my master bath will be PEX. A local hardware store rents the crimper for $5/day.
 
Travis,

If you noticed/recall, I used PEX when I did that little bit of plumbing in my shop. It sure is easy to work with!

I went ahead and bought the crimper, since everything I read said that is THE proper method of installation. Plus, the barbed/crimping fittings are WAY cheaper than the slip-fit ones. For example, a simple straight coupler in slip-fit runs about $5.00. That same fitting in barbed/crimping costs about $0.50 (less, since I bought in bulk). In less than twenty fittings, the crimper was paid for! :rolleyes:

As for using it for compressed air, I'd suggest you do some research on the web before you finalize that decision. There are specialized PEX products for handling compressed air, but they're costly. Most manufacturers specifically state that their product is NOT for use for compressed air. I'm not saying not to do it, just read up and make an informed decision. :thumb:

- Marty -
 
PEX is cool. As Marty says, for compressed air check to see that the fittings and tubing are rated for the pressure. The anesthesia machines I take care of are full of this kind of tubing and fittings that require no tools to disconnect the tubing. We're only running around 55 PSI in it though. I don't know about using it for higher pressure applications.
 
Travis,


As for using it for compressed air, I'd suggest you do some research on the web before you finalize that decision. There are specialized PEX products for handling compressed air, but they're costly.

- Marty -

I think that you may be right about the expense. I found this site that sells a form of PEX called Excel PEX AL PEX that they say is suitable for compressed air systems. I have not priced it yet but being a combination of PEX and aluminum I would be willing to bet that it is not cheap to say the least. If I get time I would like to compare it to the cost of copper. In the meantime if anyone else gets the chance to compare the two it would be good information for a lot of us.

http://www.flexalpex.com/
 
Question, can the PEX be used in conjunction with galvanized pipe? I ask as I have galvanized throughout my place and am in need of fixing a few small drips.
Shaz

They sell adapters to adapt pipe thread to Pex. I sweated a set of pipe-threaded fittings on when I cut off my old plumbing and put pipe plugs in them for now. One of my coworkers has had most of his house replumbed in Pex from galv. The only thing not done is an upstairs bath they plan to redo soon. When they do the plumber is going to come back and do that room in Pex.
 
I am not sure if slip-on Pex fitting will attach to galvanized pipe or not. If it did, you would be golden. The fittings I bought will slip onto PVC pipe, copper pipe or Pex...all with the same fitting...all by just pushing the pipe onto the fitting. And its not hard neither. I must say I was really impressed.

When I attached my pex to my existing plumbing (pvc pipe) I simply cut it, inserted a T slip on Pex fitting then connected the Pex to the T fitting. Literally, it took me longer to cut the pipe then it did to insert the leak free slip on fitting and get everything connected. For this non-plumber, that was a nice, fast clean job.

Myself I am a big fan of those slip on fittings. I could see where I would save a ton of money buying crimped fittings, but for me the cost is really worth it. The fittings are tight, waterproof, easy to install, fast and can be taken back off in seconds. In this application that worked well. I just roughed in my pipes so I could cover the wall with drywall. I let the pex run through holes in the wall and then capped them with slip-on-plugs. When the time comes to finish the plumbing to the fixtures, I will pop those plugs off, and then finish the installation. I was really impressed. Like you said, you pay for that convenience though.
 
One of the things I did when I poured my concrete floor was run a length of PEX tubing from my laundry room and out to my shop. I did that so that i could have a air compressor fitting inside my home. That way the compressor can stay out in the shop, yet when I want to do work around the house, I can plug my hose into the fitting and just have a air line in the house. With 2 50 foot air hoses, I should be able to go anywhere in the home without moving my compressor at all. Of course I do have valves on either end to allow the line to be energized only when I need it.
 
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