Supply Tubes, Who Uses What?

gitnerdun

I sometimes wonder if I am the only plumber left who still uses the chrome plated soft copper supply tubes.Sometimes, if it is a tight bend or a sloppy stub-out, I will use a braided or poly-supply.

So what do you use?

Ron The Plumber

Cutsom homes we always use crome or what ever the finish trim will be of, if they will be visible, if not visible we use poly supplies.

All Clear Sewer

I use ss/braided or poly

Double-A

Acorn headed chrome plated copper for exposed lavatories and toilets and Pex supplies for kitchen sinks and vanities.

If you get the right brand of chrome plated copper, you can just push your toilet supply washer, friction ring and supply nut up behind the acorn and slide the acorn up into the ballcock all the way. Once there, you can bend and align your supply tube and mark and cut flush to the top thread of your supply stop.

Took longer to type this than to install.

Install your stop nut and ferrule and pull the supply down into the stop, tighten that up, then tighten the ballcock nut up and you're set. No way that can ever blow out of the ballcock.

BTW, have any of you ever cut up a SS over braid supply? The insides of them seem to be nothing more than flimsey surgical type tubing. They might be burst proof, but how many of you have ever had a toilet supply 'burst' on you?

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

tzzzz216

I never use poly, I only use chrome copper tube or ss braided , but custom work is always chrome copper tube.

Teetorbilt

AA, they tend to blow loose from the fittings anyway, pretty much the same as the reinforced plastic. I never did understand the loose woven SS, Tight woven, like Weatherhead, I understand.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

cmwacasey

I like to flare my copper tube above the cone washer.Had a toilet supply blow out once,shortly after I left the job.It was my fault,I know.tube did not extend far enough.After my embaresment,I vowed to never let it happen again.

BULLHART

SS Braided

hjm

SS Braided

reveivl

ss braided

__________________
From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science)

plumber jay

braided

gitnerdun

call me stubborn or old school, but I can't seem to trust the braids not to burst and flood a house. Any horror stories out there involving braid bursts?

smellslike$tome

Not on the braided section but I have encountered no bursts that had plastic nuts that seem to have some sort of factory defect on the nuts. They seem to want to split right along the hose end edge of the nut. Don't know if this is because of installer/HO over tightening or what but I have had reports from HOs that it was fine and just started flooding one day all of a sudden.

I used to use nothing but pex supplies due to cost and the speed with which they can be installed (holdover thinking from my new construction days) but within the last 6 months I have gone back to chrome plated copper. A friend of mine, whom I once worked for, told me a horror story one day about a pex supply they had installed that blew out of the angle stop under a ks and did a lot of damage. I kept using them thinking someone must have just messed up and didnt install it properly. A few months after that I went to a service call for a lav supply that had been flooding. At first glace it looked like a jackleg install in which the pex supply had been cut too short and had just pulled out of the angle stop. The supply at this point barely reached the top of the nut. When I went to insert the new supply into the angle stop it would'nt go. I shined my flash light into the angle stop and discovered that the previous supply had not been too short it had simply broken off just above the compression nut. It took about 10 minutes to dig out the remains of the old supply. That was when I made the decision to go back to chrome plated copper. It won't blow out and if it leaks it will only be a drip at one of the nuts. I guess no burst with metal nuts only might be ok but it is still only a rubber hose inside a mesh sheath and plus I decided that it is better for me and my family and my company if my customers call me for ALL their plumbing needs. No burst flex lines might make some people think "Hmmm, no special tools or knowledge required here, I think I can do this."

smellslike$tome

Oh yeah, I spent $10 or however much it was on a cheapy set of tubing benders because it is often very hard to get the right bend in a toilet supply without mangling it. One of the best tool purchases I ever made! It makes it so much easier and faster and I haven't had to throw away a single supply because I kinked it since.

Ron The Plumber

We use thousands of pex supplies, the thing about it is you can't use brass ferrule that come with the angle stops, you have to use the poly plastic ferrules.

Using the brass ferrule will cut the supply with no hesitations.

smellslike$tome

Yes! When I was using them I always used the plastic ferrules, but the one I came across that was broken (and it was broken not cut) also had a plastic ferrule. I too have used many, many pex supplies and to my knowledge have never had a problem. I just decided I did'nt want to take the chance anymore. It's not a big deal really, it adds about $3 to the cost of the install and adds less than 5 min. each to the install all of which is passed on to the customer. It is also generally pretty easy for the customer to see the value of it which makes them appreciate me more for installing top quality instead of that "other plumber" who would cheap out on them and open the door to some level of unnecessary risk so that he could save $3 on materials. I'm not knocking anyone who uses pex supplies I'm just trying to generate additional customer appreciation and loyalty by educating them about the benefits of the higher quality of the product I am installing. Mostly though they could care less but I don't ever have to worry about it after I leave it.

Teetorbilt

Somebody sell me on PE other than cost. I've had a host of falures with the stuff.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

Ron The Plumber

Three years zero failures, are you sold now. You must be talking about a off brand, Made In Russia

cmwacasey

three years is not good enough for me.what is 50 ( or maybe 25 ) years going to cost.In other words , what does history tell us .considering history ,tell me what is better than good copper supply tube.In 25 years if pex is still holding up ,I will be sold.

cmwacasey

teeter, care to expound on the damage of blown loose fittings.and exactly where is the weak spot.No argument here.