Maybe I'm getting old and crusty, but myself I'd just stay with copper. It's too cheap and easy not to, and ought to be far more durable. (For what it's worth, I won't tolerate any kind of conpression connector on the supply side of a shutoff either . . .)
- Tim
Sharkbite sounds good, but i also bought the tools to crimp PEX. Maybe a Sharkbite connection and then run with PEX might simplify some things?
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20 some years ago when our house was built it was plumbed with copper and sweated connections. In the last 2 or 3 years we have had at least 6 pin hole leaks temporarily fixed with Shark Bites. This year we had it completely redone with PEX with a manifold etc.
I figure I’ll give this a try - my only experience with it before has worked out. The shutoff I’m replacing is the second one, there’s a gate valve on the other side of the water meter a few feet below where I’m working.Originally Posted by tadawson
The copper is already in place, so...
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
If I ever have to repipe, this is the way I’m going.
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
Ive mostly used copper, but started with pex on a house that already had it. I just ended up buying the Zurn tool and am glad I did. The stainless bands are much easier to remove when needed, the copper ones are a pain in the arse.
Ive used sharkbites some, I was skeptical, but theyve been fine. I recently checked further, they are rated or code compliant for in-wall use for the most part, some places amy be different, but they are OK in many from what Ive gathered. The removal tool Ive used is a small plastic C clip thing, anything that can pull the flange back will release them. They are cheap enough that one should have a few around so you can find one when you need it.
I de-burr the inside and outside of the pipes, copper anyway. I use a sharp knife or razor knife. I make it as clean as I can so theres nothing to damage the sharkbite parts.
I think its a good idea for people to keep a few of the sharkbite caps in 1/2" and 3/4" handy for emergencies. Get a leak, cut it, cap it, turn pressure back on so the rest of the house isnt without water, repair when possible.
If anyone is going to do work with pex, check on expansion techniques. It should be set up so the hot can expand (lengthwise) as it heats, they need a certain amount, and the clamps should be the correct type that it can slide in them when it expands.
Last edited by Malamute; 12-04-2020 at 08:35 PM.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Our house was built 15 years ago with pex and a manifold. Recently had a minor leak at . . . . . wait for it . . .
a sweated elbow going from the main to the manifold. I'm really a big fan of the manifold, when using water no prssure drops from the dishwasher, washing machine, etc. Using pex and sharkbites it was really simple to add a cold water supply in my garage. A hot water one is next on the radar.
"There are two ways to do most anything- right and again."
You can get a Sharkbite connector with a PEX nipple on it and go from there.
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You can use the sharkbite directly on the pex same as with copper. Ive had no problems doing so.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
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