In Floor Pex Tubing Problems

Before opting for pex plumbing you might want to know about the problems associated with it.

In floor pex tubing problems.

It cannot be recycled. Pex tubing is easier and faster to install than most other types of plumbing pipe which makes it a popular choice for beginning plumbers. No single pipe tubing system used in the us has been 100 problem free and pex is no exception. Unconfirmed estimates say there are approximately 200 000 homes in bc with poly b water systems and some 700 000 homes across canada.

It can be buried underground in concrete in radiant floor heating installations but it is not meant for external piping applications. Pex piping was invented in the 1950s and refined during the 1960s for use in for radiant floor heating systems. It s not a good choice for water pipe under pressure. Polyethylene including pex has dimensional stability problems i e it shrinks back over time.

As more and more people are using pex tubing over the past few years failures are being reported. With 1 2 tubing a 6 pattern is sometimes used in smaller spaces such as bathrooms and for extreme cold climates while 8 and 9 patterns are standard for most living areas in most climates and a 12 pattern is used in garages. Pex piping is not meant for external use. There s been a lot of debate over pex for the last several years because pex has a few downsides that you might not expect.

Poly b is a flexible grey pipe used in residential plumbing and hot water heating systems from the mid 70s through the 80s and into the mid 90s. At plastic expert group our experts in pex analysis will determine if the pipe failed due to defective installation or because of a manufacturing defect. To avoid these potential problems be sure to follow these four tips when installing pex pipe. When i built my last home in 2005 the plumber tried to pull a switch and substitute pex for the copper pipe he had quoted saying pex was superior.

The reasons for this are twofold. I fired him on the spot. The new plastic fashioned into flexible pex pipe also known as pex tubing arrived in the us in the 1980s initially for radiant floor heating systems. For example by increasing the flow through 1 2 pex tubing by only 0 1 gpm floor output will increase at 5 btu sq.

However if pex pipe is incorrectly installed leaks kinks and other common challenges can easily occur. Here are some of the pex pipe problems you ll want to know about before making any decisions. It cannot be used outside. Pex tubing or piping is used for water supply lines as well as radiant floor heating.

The pipe and the fitting. Most of the failures can be tied to 2 specific areas.