Professional tool reviews for professionals
What is a PEX tube? Before answering this question, let us review history so that we do not make the same mistakes ourselves. Look at the plumbing in any old house. You may find that a consistent material is used: bright, shiny copper. Sorry, am I talking about brilliant and shiny? Catch that. Look for copper pipes covered with faint blue-green scabs.
Before talking about PEX, it is helpful to review the reasons that led to its creation. For us, this means talking about "the way of the past." What we mean is that before around 2009, most plumbers have historically had access to popular solutions.
For a long time, plumbers and builders only installed copper in residential and commercial environments. These provide sufficient and effective ways for the water distribution system. For plumbers, this also requires (and still requires) a lot of torch time. Professional plumbers must weld every copper pipe joint in the building. If you miss a solder joint or have a bad joint, you can only find out if you pressurize the system.
If (and when) a leak is encountered, the system must be drained (after many options that do not fit this article). Then you will separate the problematic connection again, wipe it dry, clean it again, and then solder it again. All this takes a lot of time. Manufacturers went out to find a simpler and more cost-effective way to transport water throughout the building. Did I mention that copper is really expensive! ?
Although PVC was introduced earlier, it really took off in the 1970s and beyond. However, PVC requires a glued connection every time its direction changes, and it becomes brittle over time. PVC is still a very popular choice, but PEX offers some unusually obvious advantages.
So why use PEX pipes or pipes in pipe installations on PVC or copper pipes? First, this alternative to copper and PVC water pipes provides quick installation-usually reducing the time by half. Technically speaking, PEX has been around for about 50 years and it has gained momentum in the residential pipeline sector.
In this pursuit, PEX pipes (also known as cross-linked polyethylene for all of us nerds) make running water pipes easier and cheaper than copper pipes. But in order to make life more interesting, the developers proposed three different levels of PEX-PEX A, PEX B and PEX C.
The different grades you see on PEX (A, B, and C) refer to the manufacturing process and not the thickness grade. PEX-A uses peroxide method, PEX-B uses silane, and PEX-C uses electron irradiation process. But these processes produce different characteristics, and each manufacturer must choose what they want to use.
Among all available PEX types, PEX-A has the highest flexibility and provides the highest degree of cross-linking. The user can also use a heat gun to repair kinks in the pipe. PEX-A has no coil memory, which means it will not try to restore its original shape in the coil. One of the disadvantages of PEX-A is the price; the cost of PEX-A is 100%-160% higher than PEX-B. It also burst at a lower pressure than PEX-B. This type of wall thickness often lacks consistency, and due to the manufacturing process, PEX-A often exhibits a higher chemical leaching rate. This may cause problems in pipeline applications.
PEX-B has high resistance to chlorine and oxidation, and provides the highest burst pressure. Due to these qualities, PEX-B can be used for up to 40 years, making it a reliable choice for pipeline applications. Its cost is lower than PEX-A and PEX-C, and has the lowest dimensional tolerances. However, it is more robust than the other two PEX types and shows obvious coil memory. It provides a lower crosslinking rate than PEX-A. In contrast to being able to start a hot air gun, it is usually necessary to splice the parts and then reconnect them together for repairs.
PEX-C is the latest PEX type, almost no coil memory. It is more flexible than PEX-B and more environmentally friendly in terms of manufacturing process. However, PEX-C shows a tendency to crack, is easy to kink, and is particularly difficult to crosslink. It is even involved in class actions because it is prone to premature oxidation.
The clamp ring connection method involves sliding a ring on the PEX pipe and then sliding the pipe onto a special joint. Then position the ring in the middle of the male end of the joint and tighten it with a stainless steel clamp ring crimping tool. Closely related to the clamping method is c=standard crimping.
The push-in method does not require tools, but requires a special coupler. The PEX is pushed into a dedicated coupler, which contains a stainless steel barbed ring. The ring closes itself around the PEX tube. This method is one of the simplest connection methods.
The expansion method uses a special tool, such as the Milwaukee M12 FUEL ProPEX Expander, which can expand the end of the PEX tube so that it can be installed on a brass fitting. The plastic sleeve slides over the connection point. After the PEX tubing shrinks back to its original shape around the joint, you're done! The extension method is fast and reliable. We also have a handy installation guide on how to install PEX pipes with expanders.
The compression fitting includes an insert that is inserted into the end of the PEX tube. A nut and a nylon sleeve slide over the end of the pipe. Then slide the PEX into the connector, tighten the nut down on the sleeve, and clamp the PEX tube between the connector and the nylon sleeve.
There are a variety of tools that allow you to easily install PEX pipes, however, we would like to list some of the tools that we have reviewed. If you want to learn real stories about how they work and save your time, these reviews should provide you with everything you need:
Dan Bedard grew up around tools, mainly in woodworking, thanks to his grandfather's passion for tools. As a plumbing and gas fitting professional, he leads a rough crew in Edmonton north of the Alberta border. In his free time, he is decorating his home and designing a new landscape concept for it.
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Where did you find PEX A to extract more? I always think that PEX A is the safest, even though all PEX will leach chemicals in the water.
If you choose PEX, please choose Uponor!
The explanation of the extension method is incorrect. Place a plastic ring at the joint, use a tool to expand the pex-A tube and ring, insert the fittings, and then the ring and tube shrink by themselves in an attempt to restore their original inner diameter. There is no second tool to crimp the joint and the expansion joint together.
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Professional tool reviews for professionals
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