PEX vs copper

Other than stub-outs, shower-valves, or water heater connections- pex a all the way.

Ppl that sneer at pex users talk about sweating copper like it is an art. Please- a child could sweat copper.

Years ago- the same debate was made when lead pipe aficionados started to see pvc. The skill needed to connect pex is the same required to sweat copper is the same skill needed to glue pvc is the same skill needed to connect electrical receptacles.

Do it enough times and you get good at it. I have it all- I can sweat, I can Propex fit, and I can use ProPress with Viega fittings. They all have their place.

 

I'm not a plumber but i've pretended to be one. I also live in an area where freezing is not a factor. I used CPVC when I repiped my house from that poly butyl crap.

At work I see alot of plumbers using PEX, but I think its mostly for speed and flexibility when repiping in an old house. CPVC is still popular in new construction.

There's no way you can convince me that some plastic is going to last longer than about 25 years though.

 

Not saying it is some hard art but I bet you there's a lot of damn homeowners that couldn't sweat their own copper without screwing up a joint not all but a lot. You can pick up a guy making french fries at McDonald's at noon and have him putting PEX together by 12:30. Once again I'm not saying sweating copper is impossible but it is nothing like gluing together two pieces of PVC. Lol
But like anything in life there's a lot of people that can do stuff doesn't mean you're good at it. Just because I can pick up a paintbrush doesn't make me a painter.

 

You can be anything you want, don’t sell yourself short!!

it took me a while to be professional at most of these, even longer to be proficient. I still don’t flow with nitro when I’m braising……….

 

You can pick up a guy making french fries at McDonald's at noon and have him sweating copper by 12:20!!

 

Also worked at McDowells, that shit ain’t happening. I’ve got stories of people putting a wet mop head into a hot fryer……..

 

"Home of the BigMick"...better than McDonalds -
You can pick up a guy making french fries at McDowells at noon and have him sweating copper by 12:15!!

 

You can also take the same fry guy and have him competent in sweating residential pipes in less than a week and an artisan in a month- so I fail to see your point.

There are also a lot of vehicle owners who can’t change their own oil or tire.

Just because connecting pex is easy doesn’t make sweating copper hard. No skill to either task. With enough practice, both can be mastered in no time. The true skill is the trade in its entirety.

Sweating copper doesn’t mean you are good at plumbing. Being able to hook up a main breaker panel doesn’t mean you are good at electrical. Laying floor tile doesn’t mean you are good at masonry. Hanging a door doesn’t mean you are good at carpentry. Changing oil doesn’t mean your are a good mechanic.

All the above has one thing in common- with basic tools, some ambition, YouTube and a few books, and practice- they can all be completed to a high level while being self-taught.

Go to a new house build. The individuals doing most of the work are not pros by any sense. They are regular joes that picked up skills. Electrical, plumbing, hvac contractor working under someone’s license.

They actual licensed guys come in to do finish work, fix a mistake, or to rough-ins that if messed up could be catastrophic.

 

I'm in central MA. We have hard water. Our 38 year old copper was all pitted, tinted green, and showing signs of leaking. We just replaced it all with a Manibloc and home runs in PEX.

I like not having joints in the wall for no other reason than being a big believer in the KISS method. Plus it's been around for almost 40 years at this point. I'm not sure there is a right or wrong between the two products.

Find a reputable business in your area, hire them, and you manage your budget while they manage the plumbing. I think total cost of ownership is a wash after all things considered.

 

The first time you are jackhammering (our first house) up your house looking for the pin hole copper leaks you'll go pex or CPVC and gladdly put all the pipes in the attic if on a slab. Not in a freezing area mayself.

 

^^^Expansion tool ^^^

@L_S_SHOE …Consider adding a poll.

 

This guy has seen a few things…..

 

That is the press tool. Below is the expansion (Pro-Pex). Pro-Pex is much easier, faster, and more fool-proof.

 

no one warms first time buyers to look for that, copper in concrete. Every house since then I have looked for any thing buried in the slab when built. Funny, 3 houses later all craw spaces.

 

Yes, as pictured in thread post I quoted…below the crimper.

 

Sorry, hard to see on my phone. I failed to see both pictures. You are correct. Both are bad ass tools. I’m lucky enough to own both. The copper crimp fittings do take more finesse.

if you get the M18, you can get jaws that allow you to do black pipe. Just have to make sure your inspector allows it. If black pipe gets any poorer in quality, I may have to pick one up.

 

We actually had the "heated slab" in our raised ranch described as a feature. 3 months after purchase, walked downstairs and one room was a puddle. Copper heat pipe had spring a leak and was coming up through the slab. Never again. Everything else was abandoned and rerouted.

 

Not even close to true! I've had pex underground and non protected for close to thirty years and if this was copper it would be destroyed. There is a small amount of electricity in water that slowly causes corrosion in metal pipe. After about 30 years you'll be replacing copper piping. There's a reason why utility services are replacing all of their metal underground piping with some form of plastics. The one place copper should be used in place of pex is anything that is exposed because it is easily damaged and is sensitive to extended periods of sunlight exposure.

 

I vote copper. I named my dog Copper. I carry a knife with copper scales. Yeah I love copper.

 

Chester copperpot?

 

I don't agree with any of that. Maybe in new production but I was a service plumber and sweating is the harder of these three, PEX is the easier. I knew guys who got hired right out of McDonald's and they were using PEX and shark bites to repair pipes. Those guys couldn't sweat.

Sweating isn't "hard" and isn't a black magic skill if you're working with dry lines. Sweating in a tight spot with water in the lines is different. That takes some experience to get away with. Pex doesn't matter if its dry or full of water, its essentially like putting a rubber band on a wad of cash.

Now I'm gonna end this debate for all of you. You can't make plumbchucks out of PEX.

 

Winner!

 

It took me hours to replace the water heater. T he expansion tank was shot. I could have easily hung the new one the same way as the old one. Most tanks are not made to be hung horizontally. My daughter is probably going to be in the house for three more years so I could have done a half a$$ job, but still wanted to do it right. I rerouted all the pipe just to clean things up. Here is a before picture. I don't have an after.

 

What makes a good welder? A good painter.

 

A gynecologist!

 

Yeah my in-laws haven’t been able to find a carpenter either. We drove down there hauled 10k lbs of metal roofing materials and put two new metal roofs on their house that first weekend after. Place is a real mess. Good luck on fixing it up.

 

Copper will last longer than pex. I know several people with pex and after about 5 years the the fittings start leaking.

 

My parents have a house that was built in the 1960’s - started developing pinhole leaks and failed joints. We ended up taking it room but room and replaced it all with pex. I found it much easier to use. I never mastered the art of sweating copper and got nervous even attempting it. We had our hot water heater replaced by a “professional” and he turned the water back on and left. By the time he made it out of the neighborhood we have an inch and a half of water pouring out of one of the joints he forgot to sweat and a joint that wasn’t sweat properly.
We had no problem installing the led ourselves and it is much easier (in my opinion) to work with. It’s flexible so you have to cut less drywall and access holes because you can manipulate the pipe and it flexibility makes it more versatile. Used hangers on long runs to reduce sag. YMMV