Before I go into what PEX is all about. I’ll tell you the nightmarish alternatives still being used today.
CPVC- This heat resistant variant of PCV held some popularity in the 90’s. It's a glue together chlorinated polyvinyl chloride with a slight tan color. CPVC, although fairly inexpensive, poses some serious problems to the installer and the homeowner. It tends to be brittle so any movement or repairs around this plumbing could cause catastrophic failure. Secondly, it is rigid enough to need elbows and fittings to wind it around every corner. This creates weak points along the system. Caustic primers and chemical glues are used to create a bond in these joints. The marrying of two pieces of plastic is not so simple. Poor installation and preparation short-cuts will lead to breakage of the joints and the glue itself can shrink or become brittle over time. This results in weak joints that simply pull out of place. We will get into how PEX is different, even though it is a plastic product.
Galvanized Plumbing is the huge nightmare here (see photo). Galvanized plumbing is a steel product that has a coating of zinc on the surface to protect it from corrosion. The zinc coating is not totally impervious to degradations and certainly does not hold up to wear and tear. You will get weak spots on the treatment that will result in rusty water, pinholes in the pipe, or even having your plumbing disintegrate all together behind your walls. If these traits were not bad enough. The zinc and steel promote build up of minerals within the pipe causing water to flow to become restricted. And finally, If you're galvanized system is tied into a copper system- commonly found at the hot water heater- an electrolytic reaction will occur that will cause the process of rusting and mineral deposits to happen at a rapid rate. All of these frustrations are compounded by the fact that the rust will get washed into your existing faucets, valves, appliances and anything else you run water to and will cause them to fail.
PVC has successfully been used to make everything from DIY greenhouses to low rent splash pads. And while this is an effective/ cheap irrigation tool. PVC is best left for the small projects. It is , however, very appropriate for sewerage as your waste is not pressurized and typically not hot.
Copper- beautiful and durable. Copper has its own old-school downsides:
It is expensive to buy and scrap copper can be sold in a big heaping pile so your plumbing may attract thieves. Installation is also challenging as joints have to be soldered with heat and a soldering material. These materials often contain lead, even today, and is best left to professionals to install. You can use press on fittings with copper but each comes at a high cost, and when added to the price of copper it becomes less and less affordable.
PEX competes well against any of the above products. It comes a lower cost than copper when it comes to the pipe itself, although some fittings and tools could be considered higher on average than the other systems. The installation labor is considerably less. All joints are either crimp or push on. And make no mistake, these joints are stout. Also, this product is heat and freeze proof (resistant to be safe), color coded for easy identification of hot or cold (or white if you'd rather) and are easily adaptable to older systems. When you have the benefit of a complete new install you have the option of a whole-house-run system. Instead of pipes branching off of the main line to your different fixtures and losing pressure at every branch, the PEX Piping system can be installed from a main manifold that sends equal pressure to all lines. Each line from the manifold can be flexed around corners and through walls so you can get away with having no elbows or joints between the manifold and your fixture. This greatly reduces the chance of a hidden leak and lowers the installation cost considerably. It also has the added convenience of being able to shut off each line separately from the manifold. If you do find that you need to make a repair or if you are doing remodeling in one part of the house you can shut the water off to just that area to leave your dishwasher and shower free to use while you put in the repairs over a long period of time.
Wait.. did you read that one thing about press fittings. .. do you even know what that means? It means you just push the end of the pipe into your fitting (Elbows , Transitions, Valves) and a watertight and permanent seal is made. That means no tools (er..you'll need cutters for a clean end) and no way to mess it up. You can trust that your install will be okay whether you paid a professional or you did it yourself. If your project requires a lot of connections (but remember, the stuff is bendy so few connections are needed by the nature of the product), you can get off a little cheaper by using a crimper a tool that does just as you would expect and is just as easy to use as you would expect (i'll show you one on the next PEX blog). Some PEX is compatible with expanding and using a collar to make permanent connections.
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