Blasphemy, but......
plumguy said:
I'm with you on that!! However this new product Pex was just approved here and it is going around like wildfire. I myself am going to stay away from it! I see a train wreck coming...just like polybutalene!
Before you read the following let me go on record and say that copper is a very reliable and time tested product. I personally like the stuff
I know how those up north feel about pex versus copper, and agree with the argument about "dumbing down" the industry so that even an ape could do it.
However, with the price of labor going through the roof, pex is rapidly becoming the first choice in many parts of the country. I have used it for seven years without exception. To this date, I have never had a leak due to any kind of product failure. We had an ice storm about six years ago while I was still working for another plumber. There were about 400 homes under warranty and I was the only service tech for the company. Literally half of the homes under warranty had frozen piping in several areas of the house due to power outage for several days. Of the 200 homes that froze, there was only one leak! It was a close piece of pex piping that was serving a sillcock that froze and split. The freeze tolerances of the pex make it a worth-while investment for those with temperatures colder than ours. We use Rehau pipe and brass fittings with copper crimp rings. If you are crimping a buried connection, you may want to use the stainless steel rings. Copper rings tend to corrode in some soils. Oh, and you can crimp a tee in a line without draining it completely. Stay away from the plastic fittings and aluminum rings! That is what messed up polybutylene.
Copper will always be my first choice for custom shower installations (car wash showers) and cases where high temps are a concern. There isn't any type M on the truck, just L. After the polybutylene disaster, I can't blame anyone for being reluctant to use pex.
Have a great day!
-Dave