PEX-A vs PEX-B - What's the Difference? Which Should You Use?
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- Опубликовано: 21 май 2024
- Both PEX-A and PEX-B are great products that are becoming more and more common in plumbing. But what's the difference between PEX-A and PEX-B? Which type of PEX should you use? I'm going over all of that and MORE today!
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Which do you use more and why?
Huge fan of Pex A, the Rehau Everloc+ system in particular
Per b if you size it correctly you will have no problem been putting it in for 10 years now also Noticed in areas with high chlorine pex a will fail faster then pex b but if I’m doing repairs on copper I’m putting copper back in and yes I replaced 10 year old pex a in restaurant that are exposed that have uv light hitting it all the time
Pex b because uponor takes a while to shrink down in the cold and I dont feel like buying a heat gun
To my knowledge we don't really have any pex pipe in the uk but we do have barrier pipe which works incredibly well and is much quicker than copper.
I work on RV's I hope one day they will switch to PEX A but due to cost/time manufacturers don't have a care for a superior product. Plus they only install 1/2 or 3/8 PEX B.
I had to replace the plumbing in my mobile home 15 years ago. The plumber wanted $5,000. He showed me how to work Pex A. I bought a manual expander tool and needed pipes and fittings at a cost of $500. I did the job by myself in 14 hours. When I turned the water on, I had zero leaks. I highly recommend Pex A.
i will be re-piping my mobile home in a few years and will go pex-A. looking to do it myself, but will still get a quote too
Beware of uponor pex a on hot water near a heater we build homes and after about a year it will split on the lines where it was expanded. I hate uponor and wont use it anymore.
@@plumbherhub1664 i think code requires a min 18" of metal pipe installation kit from a water heater before you go pex to rest of house.
@@DScott8732 12" here from the water heater is code for Pex-A.
@@plumbherhub1664 how do you split poly pipe do u mean melted or something because I am a plumber and have never even heard of anything like that
Pex B is what I use when doing renovations. I used to do all renovations in copper; time consuming, but tried and true. It took many years of renovations to go to Pex B. initially using Pex B, I was concerned with it service lifetime. For what it's worth, never had a problem with any Pex B I've installed over the course of my 23 years as a contractor.
Any lack of pressure problems?
Don’t use 1/2” pex b on the connection between shower valve and tub spout. I have seen it cause the shower head to “leak” when only the tub was on without the diverted pulled.
@@markpetri3405 If you read the instructions that come with the tub/shower valves, they tell you not to use pex for the riser to the shower head and using pex to go the tub spout is just dumb! The tub spouts should always be done in copper, so they don't float around!
Well, disagreement arises now.
I'm not certain of Pex A: Builders use it, for one thing. It can fail, as well: Plenty of contrary anecdotes.
I noted black Pex pipes at Lowes....
@@jakemf1 Not really noticeable.
I repiped my whole house two months ago with pex b. The material was available at the home depot and the ryobi ring tool was only about $120. My flow is better then before because I upsized the pipes and designed it more effectively.
Never had a issue with Pex B but the method Pex A uses makes things so much more efficient. Eventually I will purchase the tool for Pex A or what many call is uponor but sucks because its not readily available at your local lowes or Home depot. Which is why I use Pex B, the convenience of being able to run down to the local hardware store rather than ordering a bunch of parts online from amazon or a plumbing supply house for Pex A .
If you were going to spend the time to do all the work, why did you not just use pex A? Pex A is trustable. I dont trust crimp rings at all. If your crimper was off just a little bit then those crimp rings could slide off over time.
@@common_c3nts From the research I performed the crimp rings seemed plenty reliable. It is much more convenient for me to use the same store and tool line I'm already invested in. The majority of the plumbing is in a crawl space so long term accessibly is not an issue. My old copper pipes had pin holes forming, and there was a high chance of failure in the near future. So moving to any new system offered much less chance of failure. I agree that PEX A is a superior system, but I don't think that discredits PEX B. I'm trying to portray that the much more accessible system PEX B is still very viable. All trades work has a chance of failure and require some skill and competency.
@@apollowolfe I think bot A and B are good if like all things they are installed properly
My only pet peeve is restrictions
Even with copper I prefer where possible to do 2 45s to lesson that 90 restriction
I have installed B
Pressure was fine
I run all 3/4 pipe to the fixtures and drop 1/2 into the fixture cabinet and 3/8 to the faucets and toilet and if course the shower remains 1/2
But
Every fitting is a restriction
Maybe some OCD in ME
I don't know but your fine with B
In my opinion.
It is more convenient the big box junk stores but
I recommend check out the supply house products
I once was closer to a Depot so for a p trap hell with it justbgrab and get done
Well try to cut that junk with your cutter it squeezes it rather than cuts it you have to twist the pipe in the cutter
Supply house same money pennies different but
Put that in your cutter and see the difference
You know you have quality materials
Do it once right and forget it.
Big box is not
Well my opinion does not matter OCD again LOL
Just food for thought
But if your happy with pex B and its working for you
I agree its better than leaving the bad pipes you know your going to be working on more often than you care to.
So if I'm changing out some 1/2" polybutylene for pex b, I should step it up to 3/8?
I am remodeling my home that was a flip house 12 years ago. The copper lines under the house were a mess. A friend told me about PEX and the differences. He said that PEX "A" was more expensive and the hand tool to put it together was difficult to use. After finding a Dewalt tool that matched my existing battery line up, I was sold on PEX "A". I have replaced the water lines in my my home with all PEX "A" now and have never had to re-do a fitting and had no leaks. I LOVE this stuff, and will not be going back to copper. Thank you so much for the great information. I hope folks watch this before making a rushed decision.
Since I will be saving almost $7,000 or more by doing my own Uponor upgrade, I decided to treat myself and buy a battery powered expansion tool.
If you upsize the hot water lines when using PEX B, you will also increase the amount of time it takes for hot water to reach the fixture - both annoying for the person in the home and less energy efficient. A 3/4" line holds 2.25 times as much water as a 1/2" line, so it will more than double the time it takes for water from the shower/faucet to get warm. Upsizing the lines, if not necessary, could be a very bad move. There are guides covering run distance, vertical height, and number of fittings to maintain pressure levels. The guides should be followed and upsizing done only if necessary after analyzing the system.
Personally, cold is easily upsized. Hot needs to be done with due care.
Agreed. Better to run 2 or more ½" lines rather than ¾". Also in the clip he shows of the water heater you can see only ½" running into the tank. No wonder there is no pressure.
Great having 3/4” main lines, no temperature fluctuations when other taps turned on.
If you don’t want to wait, recirculating line, with a small pump keeps your water hot all the time!
@@davehudson4607 if properly designed, you shouldn't have significant temperate variation when other taps turn on, even with 1/2" lines. Recirc pumps are an option, but they add a lot to install cost and are energy hogs. I think the tiny benefit they have is a gigantic waste of energy.
Patience is a virtue lost to some due to technology. Get over yourselves and be thankful you're not carrying it in from a well by the bucket and heating it on a wood or coal stove. PEX A rules!
Great video. Solid explanations of how and why they are different.
When I was a young upstart in construction in the early 80's I watched the other trades go thru the same amount of changes in materials and methods as I was going thru as a carpenter.
Once we all made it past the CPVC phase and into pex it seemed that all the plumbers that were already inclined to cut corners on a job for speed and money were the most likely to choose pex B or crimp pex as what they built and stocked their company around. The higher end guys went with pex A or expansion pex. When I built my own home years later i purchased all the stuff for pex A and still use it on my own stuff to this day.
Not to say that pex B now is the same and has not been improved but rare was pex a system 30 years ago that leaked where as the pex B houses were hard to get thru the winter during construction without a leak.
Someone spoke about what home depot sells and What home depot sells is availability without having to know the secret handshake and code talk of a lumberyard or plumbing supply house.
You can walk up to all of it, pick it up and turn it over and decide on your own if you can make it work. You dont need to suffer thru condescending counter intelligence trying to make you look or sound stupid. Pick it up, buy it, install it and learn for yourself if it works or not. Doesn't mean its a good product, just means they sell it and usually have more of it if you need and you can get it without ever speaking a word to anyone at the store.
In short, Pex A is my jam and I'll stick with it but full disclaimer, I own a few pex b tools as well because they are cheap and sometimes you have to match stuff on a job.
Invested in the M12 expansion tool for a small job years ago and finally used Uponor to rough in three houses over the past couple months. It’s definitely going to take over.
I misspelled Apex Legends and accidently searched PEX it was a good decision
This is great information to me as I know a fair amount of plumbing but I'm not a professional, I retired from construction and now work at Lowe's. I get questions every day about PEX and I try to give the customer the very best information I can. Thanks for the video.
I got Polybutylene pipe in my mobile home and gradually upgrading to PEX B. I prefer the compression rings all over the crimping rings. PEX A is more ideal for a contractor than a homeowner, just because the tools are expensive.
Manual tool is about a hundred. Just used one for my home. Pex-A is the way to go.
@Homestead Haven that's fine for small projects, anything bigger you will want the battery ones or pex b, my other issue is availability, where I live very few hardware stores and building centers stock pex a fittings which is a significant drawback for those who aren't plumbers and don't buy fittings by the case.
I'm not into plumbing but these videos are interesting to watch
Same
Hi Roger,
Thank you for posting.
I've never used either. Not sure what the plumbing cost in NYC requires for new construction. I'm pretty much a dinasour with all new plumbing technology. When I heard about shark bite and pro press fittings I was pretty amazed. On the commercial side of plumbing and if your working on pipe size over 2" I think most plumber will be using copper.
All good stuff all around. Keep that watet flowing where it needs to go.
Stay safe stay clean.!!
Hi Roger, thanks for the videos. You're really good at explaining this stuff, your video style and pacing is also really great and easy to follow
Really informative and helpful. Recently inherited heating and plumbing business in PA and looking to updating systems we use.
In 1989 I was lucky enough to go on holiday to florida and stayed with my aunt and uncle,, florida is flat but believe me they didn't have pressure issues in fact even at sixteen year's old the shower nearly knocked me to the floor,, sounds like water companies have lowered the pressure as they have here because on the road I live it's serviced in lead here in the UK and they've told us that they can't put the pressure up anymore because it will blow the lead,, I've gone off topic as usual,, love the USA tho,, hope you get your cities back under control,, to much right to much left of any fitting will cause a future problem,, it's so true in politics as well, be blessed master plumber ❤️👍
It sounds like you PRV in Florida went bad. That’s why the pressure was so high.
Over pressure will damage flexible supply lines and water heater tanks prematurely
Different city's run different pressures. It also depends on what line is feeding the house. In my parents city, they're out on the outskirts in the country area (on a farm). The city the pressure is normal. However, my parents is high. They got told the reason for it is the line in the road is much much higher then the rest of the city. Their lives goes from a pump house, down a hill, up their hill, then feeds the city, along with a water tower. They don't restrict the flow past them so they get max pressure. They are regulated as much as they can, but it's still pretty good pressure.
Pex A all the way it's more easy to work with Less fittings Very rare The connections leak.
Specially here in California with water restrictions pex B is hardly used in new construction. I have seen more issues with pex B leaks,kinks,and low water flow.
You 100% right Roger great video!
I’m just a homeowner but do a lot of my own work and I bought the uponor pex expander tool and love the expander/pex A system. It looks professional and the simplicity and durability of the expansion system is great. The tool was expensive but compared to shark bite fittings (I know, I know.. lol) at $10+ each vs a couple bucks for the expansion fittings, after just a few jobs you’ve broken even. It really is an awesome system.
Even the internal crimp fittings add up in price, compared to the expansions, if I remember the pricing right,
I work as a plumber in Southern California and all we use is pex A. Of course all our our stubouts are copper sweated but I can attest to the reliability of the system. 🤙🏻
I did a bunch of homework about 5 years ago (took about 6 mo's) to learn about all the updated residential plumbing line/supplies and came to the same conclusion as you that PEX A has the best characteristics and I would say better than copper in some ways as well.
I've done a lot of remodeling on kitchens and bathrooms, so for me, I lean heavily toward PEX A even though I have the tools and know-how for all of them. When I did learn what looked like the best choice, I bought the Milwaukee expansion tool and have no regrets. In haste, before I got done with my learning session, I bought a PEX B crimper also made by Milwaukee and have only used it a couple times...oh well, live and learn.
I refurbished a older home with all new plumbing using PEX a while ago. I laid it out so it had NO fittings or valves inside the house. Each fixture had its own line going to a manifold outside the house where each line had its own valve. This eliminated crawling under cabinets to turn the water off and on. Also it seems like the valve inside the houses always need replacing each time you tried to fix something. Totally eliminated that problem from ever occurring. It also eliminates leaks inside the wall.
We use a lot of pex b however we don’t use any 90s with the exception of getting to the sinks or toilets etc. We’ll do our best to have the pipe undistrubed by fittings. If you try to make the pex “pretty” by 90ing every bend the pressure is insanely reduced !
Yeah, whats the point of using flexible pipe of your going to use fittings everywhere? I see some people do it and I don't get it. Its also a huge waste of money. The only place a fitting is acceptable is when you need to make a turn to sharp for the pex to make on its own.
Ricky Kendrick agreed!
Video should have just been labeled "Use PEX-A"
I’m a pex A guy. I feel the connections are more reliable. Also the wall thickness of the fittings is thicker. I do wish the big box stores in my area would stock pex A. They all stock the pex B. It just would make it more convenient.
Prefer PEX A as easier to work with, like the Milwaukee m12 ProPEX tool for making the connections, don’t have to worry as much about the flow restrictions when using PEX A, & just really like it; especially on jobs when have a lot of “turns/bends”.....PEX A just so much easier to work with👍🏻
Cheers✌🏼
I took a certification class at the hall and am a Uponor Installer. Love it. My intention to build a new home keeps getting postponed, Covid19, etc. but when I build I will be using Uponor!
Ive had my milwaukee uponor tool for 3 years now and I use it almost every day. Super awesome tool to have
I've put in thousands of feet of uponor over the last 6yrs and after seeing it split like copper or cpvc after the Artic Blast last month I must say that I'd trust the old grey polybutalene pipe over any Pex A
Thanks for explaining the difference between Pex A and B. I used B when I was redoing some of the plumbing in a house I used to own. I'm having a new one built now, and will definitely be talking to my plumber about Pex A.
Save your money. Plumber here from Canada. Uponor is aweful. Pex b only for us. And yes you can bend it around a looney (a Canadian coin) and it rarely kinks. Uponor in cold weather leaks like the titanic.
Check out the Zurn line of expansion fittings for PEX B. It could be the future.
Pex a leaches chemicals and falls apart. Stick with pex b. Pex a is only good if you make money when pipes fail.
I do think it is worth to mention, that while shrink-fit "quick and easy" joints are available here in Finland (the home of the Uponor system), it is common practice to use PEX-A with copper-style compression fittings with an insert, such as what is used with soft copper pipe. This is completely up to code here, as long as all connections are exposed or failure (leak) can be easily detected and repairs carried out. And the same code applies to copper pipe. For some reason, I have never seen this kind of combination used overseas. Furthermore, the reduced inside diametre of the pipe is usually not an issue, unless using something like 3/8" pipe, as sizes 1/2" and 1" are commonly used using this method.
(and if you were wondering, PEX-B is not commonly seen at all)
I’m an electrician, but I love learning new things from people who know what good work is and take the time to teach others.
This man and others like him are national treasures.
Normally I would agree but this video lesson is just rubbish. Crimp the fitting or expand them, it does not make a difference (and those that kink a pipe are not breaking out a hair dryer) and the flow rates of each is the same because the restrictions the water faces once it enters the faucet (the valve) is tiny. A few years ago maybe, but today everything is flow restricted at the point of discharge, like a lot compared this A or B stuff
He's the only guy on RUclips that I take any information from. He's my homie. 😆
@@ryeckley7267 Your information needs to be qualified whether you are talking about home run/manifold systems, or trunk line systems. In a trunk line, every fitting creates a restriction and frictional losses which are cumulative and legitimately do result in loss of flow. It's very common for devices at the end of trunk lines to be substantially reduced in flow and pressure to the point that they can be a major annoyance.
@@WickedG5150 check out Integrity Repipe for good info on Zurn PEX B expansion systems.
I'm glad you watch this video Sparky ! Don't stop learning! I'm a plumber and he even taught me.
There are some PEX B pipes that can be expanded for F1960 fittings. SiouxChief power pex is a good example that can use expansion and compression fitting. Apollo has some as well, have to check the labeling on theirs though. The SiouxChief is ASTM F2023 rated 5306 meaning 24 hour recirc level 5 chlorine resistance, and 6 months uv exposure
I replumbed our entire stilt home in 2004 after Hurricane Charley badly damaged it. Being a stilt home, I was able to replumb from underneath the living space.I used Vanguard pex B runs off of a manifold in the garage to EVERY valve in the house. I could, for instance, shut off the water to the guest room cold sink valve if it needed to be replaced, without having to shut water off to the whole house. That installation It worked fine, though I did have a few problems crimping fittings in tight spaces. Because we had over sixty pounds of pressure from the city water, I never noticed any lack of pressure at any tap. When we moved to the current home in 2013, I did a major remodel which included pulling down the entire drywall ceiling to put in new ducts and insulation. I used that access to the entire attic space and the top plates of the stud walls to replumb with pex again, only this time I used Uponor pex. I even had an Uponor guy come out and answer questions I had. The $400 bucks I spent on the Milwaukee Pro Pex expansion tool kit was well worth it. The joints went together quickly and securely. We're on well water here, so our pressure, between the pump kicking on, can go down to about 30 psi, but with the joints not being reduced in diameter like with pex B, our pressure is fine at every fixture. And, one thing you didn't mention. When I tore out the old copper pipe from 1979 when the house was built, nearly half the inside diameter was blocked with mineral deposits. Pex, as you know, is extraordinary slick. Nothing will build up inside it like on copper and, even to a slight extent, pvc.
I agree Roger with all your points about A. I love it. I have cut a ring off (carefully) and heated the joint to pull the fitting out (with a heat gun..no flame). Heated it more till it turned clear..let cool again to room temp and re expanded it. Made the connection again and it's still going strong in my basement. Only thing you left out was that UV light degrades it but.... cover it near sunlight and it's fine. On long runs along joists I run it inside PVC (one size up) to act as a conduit and UV shield. Works great. PVC is cheap.. Uponor Pex rocks.
Thanks for the information. I just replaced frost-damaged copper with PEX B. I wish I had oversized it - it's an off-grid owner-built home, with gravity feed water system. The flow is now very weak, as you mentioned.
@3:21 You know, now that I'm getting older I have reduced flow too. Love this video BTW. I am getting ready to replace/replumb all my PolyB in my house. I'm not a plumber. I'm stuck on Uponor AquaPex.
We use Rehau PE-Xa expansion fittings here in Germany. we use also PE-Xa, b, c or PE-RT for floor heating systems.
Thank you for this video , my wife and i recently bought a home that has the polybetaine piping a will eventually need to be replumbed. When we talk to a plumbing company ,we will as a consumer will have an understanding of our options.
I like the pex a for all the reasons you listed and on top of that, you can use pex b fittings with pex a piping.
This is 100 percent true. Uponor pipping can be used for pex A and pex B
And your warranty is is gone or cut to like 10 years, from 30, if you use non uponor fittings with uponor pipe.
Well I prefer Pex A now.
Starting a new build soon and your vid sold me on the A. I've never used pex before, but been around it for years as a mechanical insulator and have seen the benefits in both material and labor costs.
Thanks for sharing your time and expertise, much appreciated.
Thanks, just what I wanted to know. I'm a do it yourself home owner. Just moved across country, built a new house for me and my wife (that also does it all) in SC. I did copper when I was in Ca. but this new house has pex. Just built a huge barn that I need to plumb. My wife is doing the drains and I am learning pex since the house has pex. From the well I was going with 1" and thinking about 3/4" for the horse wash rack, washer and tankless heater. And you told me what I was looking for. Pex A is the answer.
super videos and explanations ..... been remodeling some basements in a commercial space with many separate bathrooms and the plumbers used pex B. I didn't finish the ceilings and left everything exposed. GOOD THING! Pex B started to leak slightly. I don't know why ... the trouble areas were replaced with PEX A and then I finished the ceilings. ZERO problems.
After watching this, I'm using Pex A for a lot of reasons but mainly because on a big job, as you said, you can't assemble it and forget to make the connection since it'll be obvious. Thanks for your time to share your knowledge.
redid my moms plumbing with pex B, very fast and easy. I would say the one benefit of pex b is that the tools to do it are cheaper than pex-a, so it may be more viable for a DIY person. the crimper was like 15 or 20 bucks!
Great information thanks Roger!!!! Great video
I moved my shutoff to the inside of my house from under a crawlspace and paid a plumber to plumb it in live, because my exterior shutoff (community well) didn't work at the time. I "had the materials" available for him (the system main was installed with 1" SCH40), but he used his own Pex B. Not only did we have flow restrictions with the fittings, he reduced it to 3/4" Pex.
Add insult to injury, he plumbed it backwards even though I had my lines labeled, and said "It's hard to go behind someone else's work." I paid him and fixed it myself.
I re-plummed a small lake house 2 different times. The first was after the CPVC froze and burst, the second was after the flexible copper was stolen. I went back with Pex A to solve both issues.
Thanks for the video and clear and simple explanation.
Almost definitely going to be going with PEX A when I redo my house and install a manifold system in a year or 2.
As a service plumber i suggest against a manifold system.
@@jefferyevans3860 Mind if I ask why?
@@Ender3D Volume and ease of repair in the future.
I love manifolds they work great
Well done. Very well explained. Thanks for all of the info!
I love your videos! I am not a plumber. I am a DYI guy (over 50 years). I managed large senior assisted living and independent living complexes and learned a lot about plumbing when it failed. I found out that plumbing normally failed after 5PM on a Friday (when my maintenance man was gone for the weekend and before Monday when we had expert help again) I am an expert on using 50 gallon trash cans to catch leaks in leaking pipes; replacing expensive matteresses, and begging for emergency plumbing repairs. When someone recommends "Shark Bite" I know that my backside is where the bite is going to happen. Thanks for sharing!
I switched my house and two neighbors to pex b because it was what they had at the big box store. I have never used pex a. The pex b worked great it improved the flow to distant show
8:44 This isn't really an issue anymore. Modern copper crimpers have a safety hash mark indentation which shows when the ring has been crimped. So visual inspection is easy (Like Pex-A). Great, thoughtful video. Thanks.
True enough... a proper crimping tool is adjusted "just-right" and there is also a "go/no go gauge" to use....not an issue....
Nice video, I own a campground and marina and when I bought it 18 years ago cpvc was everywhere and quite problematic , when asking a plumbing supplier I'd used for years as to what to do he pointed me to NIBCO brand pex (pex b) because of it's UV resistance and underground capability, 18 years later we have had virtually no failures in approximately 6000 ft with 20% exposed to full UV , I'm in the midwest so we get both hot and cold weather, we do winterize by blowing compressed air thru the system but its not full proof and the pex takes freeze/expansion quite well, after a tour of the NIBCO facility we learned they used the product for the plant air lines as well so we've been doing the same, 16 years of 175 psi and not a single failure, sadly what led me to your video is NIBCO having left the tubing market and I'm searching for a pex product that will give us UV and below grade capability for that eventual day that I need to overhaul our system
Great video, I used pen B. This is the first I’ve heard of per A. Thanks for the information.
As a plumber it’s awesome seeing these videos, I like both pex a and b and both are great and easy to work with, definitely pros and cons, but the same goes for copper and pvc.
What diameter pipe is recommended? My plumber wants to install 1/2” pex b in my entire house. Do you think that’s acceptable
@@Sophia-lc9ow how big is the house, may want to use 3/4 just to be on the safe side.
You should never have a whole house in half inch pipe.
Great vid. My mind is spinning as I need to repipe my home and Pex A vs. Pex B is confusing. One plumber even wants to do CPVC. I see that Pex-A may have some issues after years with chlorine in municipal water more than Pex B? Then the hot water degradation of both is a concern as I run my hot water at 140F.
Best part of both is they can be "fished" like wiring. That said here in the Northeast we don't see that much of the Upinor Pex A mostly Pex B in my area, and of course copper as well. Also you can put in a manifold that acts much like a circuit breaker panel for water.
Great informative video! Actually had fun learning and watching because of the great enthusiasm.
Definitely recommend an experienced plumber.
That said, this stuff is *nearly* idiot proof. I re-piped my entire house (removed 100% old galvanized) with PEX A when the hardest plumbing job I had done prior was replacing a toilet wax seal.
Also, for anyone who decides to DIY, screw the manual expansion tool. Spend the extra coin, save yourself time, and get the battery operated one. The auto rotate feature alone makes it worth it.
Agree. Thanks for comment.
Why would anyone doing a home improvement drop all the extra cash on the power tool? I could see if they planed to use it for a long period of time, but for a one off project?
@@snyper1982 I did it because it makes the job so much easier. I didn’t have to guess a single time if I rotated it enough during expansion, and while I was in my crawl space I didn’t have to fight the lack of space when trying to manually use a tool.
To me, the time saved was worth the ~$300. Plus I can resell it and have only paid about the same as if I purchased the manual tool.
Not for everyone, but it makes sense to me.
@@vinny61389 if you can buy it used or know ahead of time that you can resell it for nearly what you paid then sure its a good idea, especially if your one off diy is a larger one like yours was. But if your just doing a small diy job like most people, I dont think its worth the investment. Just my opinion. Especially if your only running 1/2 or 3/4.
@@snyper1982 In my case I got a quote of $1400 to replace a copper line that developed a leak under the slab. Line crossed under kitchen floor from a copper manifold in an interior wall of the kitchen to the outside wall feeding the sink. Quote included removing sheetrock and drilling each stud to place pex through from the manifold to the back of the sink but not replacing the sheetrock or backs of the cabinets. I was able to buy the bare tool (using batteries from same brand I already own), the pex a and all needed fittings for $400. I was going to have to repair sheetrock or pay someone else to do it anyway so I might as well do all the work and save some money and the thought was I could probably sell the tool for 3/4 of what I paid if I wanted. I would have preferred an underslab repair but it was not going to be possible without ripping out cabinets and granite. Another thing that turned me off from the plumber that gave the quote was when I asked what type of pex they were going to use and they said the blue since it was a cold line. I asked if they used crimp rings and they said yes all pex uses the crimp rings.
you said you could bury this in concrete. Could I bury it in the ground running from my pump to where it enters the house? I live on the central Florida East coast.
Thank you so much for uploading this video!!! I'm replacing the poly b in my house and have been trying to decide which pex or copper. I'm going with the pex a!!!
I just replaced all of my supply lines with pex-a . Uponor is a great product. I loved your video. I agree with you.
I've not used PEX-A before, though I replumbed my house with PEX-B. Haven't really noticed a pressure issue; just be mindful of the number of fixtures tied to a specific pipe size.
Who is the electrician version of Rodger?
There’s two Dustin at electrician U and Bill over at sparky channel
@@bigguyprepper what about one that's for furniture repairs?
@Moment2Forever Definitely Thomas Nagy
Electrician u all the way
Big Clive
@@niksimmons4448 Matthias Wandel?
Fantastic video. Very professional and educational. Best type of fitting if I ever run into an issue of existing PEX B in use and swap over to the PEX A now that I purchased a Milwaukee PRO PEX tool.
Not a plumber by trade but with the advice of friends who are and videos like yours i did my own new house. I did a year of research before starting and went with PEXa with a hand built copper manifold system. Used PEXa oxygen barrier for my in slab and under floor Radiant Heating. The two biggest reasons for PEXa would be the lack of flow restrictions and usability (bends, kink repair, etc)
Pex ”A” is the shiznic!!! I use the the DeWalt expansion tool as it has a 20 amp battery.
I brought up the reduction in PEX b in a plumber's Facebook group you can tell a lot about their integrity from guys that say wgaf. I also pointed out that the water heaters from the big box stores have 3/4 nipples with 3/8 ID heat traps trying to explain to the customer why they have a reduction in flow through their water heater I tell them stick with the supply house brands like Bradford White and again I get raked over the coals by all these Facebook plumbers for caring about the flow.
Thanks for the clarification on the different types of PEX. I am definitely using type A
Dude you’re videos are good.
Thanks for putting out quality content actually worth watching.
I've used both A and B and I prefer A for the reasons you stated plus when you're using PEX B in those tight spots it can be difficult to get your crimping tool in proper position and at the end of the day an overhead crimp in a tight spot is not an enjoyable experience.
Great video! Thank you! Does anyone know about the organic chemical leaching effects of Pex-A vs Pex-B? I seem to recall this being a concern with Pex-A.
Yes, why is this not mentioned with all the other details about Pex? From what I’ve researched, the jury is still out on how long the chemicals from Pex pipe leech into your drinking water. The Pex B pipe just leeches less chemicals than the type A and C.
Pex B leaches zero chemicals. Pex A is old school tubing. Who cares that is more flexible. We are plumbers. Pex A also reacts with chorine. PexA fails in domestic hot water return lines. Zurn expansion system installs identical as Pex A expandable but uses Pex B which also has a burst pressure of 1000 psi. PexA burst rating Is 560psi 🧐
@@marcbreault9371 we've always used pex b and recently had a client insist on using pex a. We ended up buying the tools and installing A throughout his house. Now that we have the expansion tools we've been thinking about sticking with zurn B and just expanding it. Seems like zurn b is the superior pipe. You agree? Not a lot of info out there about expanding zurn B.
@@marcbreault9371 I thought Pex-A only reacted with heavy concentrations of chlormine , not chlorine?
@@g0osefraba If the tubing shows F1960 stamp on it than it’s expandable like pex A. You can use the uponor type fittings with it. I believe the Zurn B is more superior.
Around 2015, I had a little plumbing to do. At the time, no supply houses or Lowes or Home Depot in the area(Columbia SC) carried any Pex A. So, I went with Pex B. 7 years later, not 1 leak or failure. While I do like a few features of Pex A, better flow, and you know a fitting is per say crimped if it is on and that you can fix a kink is great, but the fact that the fitting are 2x more expensive is a con for Pex A. By the way, recently, Lowes, Home Depot and the local supply houses have started carrying Pex A. Now for my take on the better flow of Pex A, I use low flow showerheads and faucets, so I don't have a flow issue with Pex B, Amazing how much money is saved on a monthly basis with a low flow showerhead, although most low flow showerheads suck, Niagara make some that are amazing. I have seen people with showerheads flowing 10 GPM, they were running out of hot water in 10 minutes with an 80 gallon tank, and they had to wait about 45 minutes between showers. They had an extremely high water and electric bill. I know many people would say, just install an on-demand water heater! Nope, switched to a 1.5 GPM head, now all 3 can take a shower back to back without waiting, and the water/sewer/electric bill dropped tremendously! Just think, each day, 3 were taking a shower, that was 240 gallons of hot water, with the new head, now 3 showers use 45 gallons!
plumber helper here, i just want to say thank you for these videos they are helping me in my plumbing journey.
Glad to know these videos are serving their purpose 😎
How do you feel about the other type of crimp rings? I’ve switched to them solely because of the smaller tool and it seems like you never accidentally have those rings cocked and crooked the way that the copper rings will
I've been using pex b... honestly I want to start using pex A so i can buy new tools 😂🤣😂. Can't wait to use pex A, to me seems a lot simpler and faster than pex b. Pex a, expand and put together.
Great video. Informative and direct. Not the usual flare and salesmanship. Learned a good bit here.
Glad you enjoyed it Chad
Excellent video tutorial I definitely would use Pex A Uponor.
As a person working in mobile homes this is hella helpful. Polybutylene was the work of the devil.
I have a traditional house built with poybutylene. Most has been replaced above the sub floor. It's had failures at fittings before. I am afraid pex plastic fittings will fail eventually.
Amen!!!
Burn it with fire
We are in the process of replacing our old poly b pipes. Running a 1 inch cold and a 3/4 inch hot from one corner of a finished house to the other up 3 floors with only 3 holes, not bad.
You know the funny thing poly is what is feeding the water meter...
I am a fan of Pex A. Love the full flow fittings and the expansion assembly. Only down side is the cost.
No one I know here in BC uses anything but regular pex b for new construction and service. The cold weather causes much grief for expansion type fittings. 😕 Some plumbers use pro press too, but that gets very expensive.
Totally agree with your conclusion. I'm watching this video because my plumber uses PEX B and I have had doubts about it for years, particularly about the restriction in flow. He's got 45 years more experience in plumbing than I do, so I want to be respectful, but I think he puts way too many fittings in my houses where a bend would suffice.
we use the aluminum shielded viega at our shop with the Stainless crimp rings. never had a problem....but we over size it as much as possible
I still prefer copper. But the PEX is probably also good in places prone to earthquakes because of it's flexibility. It might be less likely to break while the ground is shaking.
Pretty DUMB living in earthquake zone
@@alemgas Tell that to the people of Alaska that get more earthquakes than anywhere on earth.
An awesome thing you can do with Pex when you have the space is use PEX Bend Supports brackets which require no cutting of the pipe or fittings. Really slick way to make sure the pipe won’t rattle around with water hammer and no need for a fitting.
You can bend copper though
Used them throughout my remodel and worked great
I just had a bathroom remodel. I have copper thru out my house and the new shower valve and related parts were installed with a red colored plastic pipe and metal squeeze rings PEX B. I left the pipe trades 38 years ago- this was totally foreign to me.
Thank You for the great video, it’s just enough information to satisfy my curiosity. Well Done Sir.
Glad it was helpful! Have you had any problems with the PEX thus far?
Thank you for sharing this info. I will use this when trying to explain to my customers why I only use PexA. Definitely changed the game. I used a closed loop 50/50 water glycol so I used A for for that. If was taking in fresh water I'd use the PE. You can Always call uponor and they'll tell you which to use. They're always helpful. Unfortunately the uponor fittings have been hard to get lately at least in NETex. Remember do it once the right way because you'll pay for the second. God bless
What diameter is recommended?
@@Sophia-lc9ow half inch is generally sufficient, it depends on how large your home is, it can help to have larger trunk lines 3/4 inch and tee off of that with half inch, pex b is just fine and reasonably priced. I keep hearing pex b leaches little to no chemicals and it has a higher burst rating. This guy is ranting about pex a like a lunatic, must be trying to convince his customers or owns a ton of stock in uponor, lol. All that he is jabbering about also depends on how you design your system. To each his own but he didn't convince me of anything he was saying.
Great video. I have a question for any expert out there that wants to respond. And thank you in advance. I have a 2 story house with all copper plumbing using city water (no well). Last week my water pressure suddenly dropped to half of what it was throughout the house. Another strange thing that happened several weeks ago was the outside spigot closest to the water heater and the main line stopped working except for one time when I had to wait 10 minutes for it to flow and it hasn't worked since (shut off valve is open and the other spigot works fine). I don't know if there is a connection but does anyone have any ideas of what could be going on? Thanks.
Check for dissimilar metals- I.E galvanized and copper connections.. could be that your pipes finally decided to close off. Look into dissimilar metals in plumbing and read up on it.
sounds like a restriction on the water line in the yard. better call a plumber
Victor Gomez - OK, thx.
Damn. It took me a while to realize I watched the same clips over and over again of you expanding the pex a and slipping it on the pipe and also putting the ring and 90 on the pex b. I'm now 6:32 into the video and I think I've seen each clip 10 times or more... lmao
LOL ME TOO!!
Awesome presentation, thank you
Thanks for the video. It was interesting to learn about the two main types of pex.
In this video and an older one, you said Pex A has a higher burst pressure, and is better for freeze worries. But searching for details, most sites say B has a higher burst point than A. Both should be sufficiently high, since one said that the spec they had to exceed was the ~470psi you mentioned, then stating that Pex A's burst pressure was about double that. Do you have any specs on this?
Likewise, do you have any specs on the pressure drop of B connectors vs A, in practice? It could be so trivial that it doesn't matter, or any curved corners (over 90° copper ones you are replacing) might cancel out with the slight pressure drop of a few smaller fittings. In theory the bigger ID of the fittings with Pex A sounds like an advantage, but it depends on if in practice it really matters.
We used viega pex B when I was an apprentice and a new tech. I switched companies and now used uponoor. I love the uponor pex/copper adapters. They take solder so much easier. I thought to myself where has this been all my life?
Howd soldering that pex go? 🤣
@@koryhise4328 I think he's talking about the copper to PEX transition adapters. You still have to solder the copper side.
Come on Rodger, You know the PEX A system installed correctly is the sweetest residential system out there! That's coming from a copper guy!
the best explanation that I have EVER heard
I am not a plumber but working on pans to build a house, would be doing most of the work myself. I knew I was going to run PEX, this was the most direct comparison of the two main types of PEX, thank you. I will be going with the PEX A/Uponor option, I don't want to look at a fitting and wonder if it was made correctly or if it will come loose.
Just make good clean square cuts on the ends of your tubing and make sure you slide the expansion ring over the end and to the stop. Not much to screw up other than not fully expanding enough to get all the way on to the fitting.
What are your thoughts on the Zurn expansion PEX?
They say that their Pex b pipe expands with the same tool as Uponor pex a
👍
Different head same tool pipe cracks if you use the uponor head
Really like these videos, but the music seems kind of distracting.
We love uponor in Colorado... We have to many areas that cold gets to... Usually in crawl spaces...
Thank you so much for your videos!!! Your an official wealth of knowledge for the plumbers community.
I appreciate that! Have you decided if you're going with PEX A or B?
@@RogerWakefield copper the whole house. It’s the second house where 40+ year old copper needs to be 100% replaced. I think type m wall was used back in the day and it just doesn’t stand up like type L. Even the use of soft copper for offsets has a pin hole at the bend. Electrolysis with regard to under 1” proximity to electrical l (120v) turns the pipe black. Corrodes from inside out.
I use Viega Fostapex on everything. It's type b and I upsize as needed. I use it on everything because in my own small way it prevents hacks from using diy sharkbites on it. The aluminum core also allows for sharper radius bends and adds strength to help prevent breakage if it freezes.
Fyi, there is shark bites for oex B....
@@adamplummer2190 not for Fostapex, it's pex-al-pex and the -bite fittings are too small.
I thought the aluminum core pex b was only for radiant heat and not for potable water… ?
@@ronh9384 it's rated for everything. There's still a pex inner core layer.
I'm a regular homeowner and had to repipe my entire house. We're on extremely hard well water and the copper in the slab developed pin hole leaks. I used PEX A and routed all the lines through the attic following uponor logic method. I insulated all the lines as well and used pipe straps to secure it. Was very easy to do and saved me about $20k
I do fixit work, which includes plumbing. I have use pex-B due to parts and tool access (most of the time).. I now have a DeWalt pex expander and plan to use it on my next job. The flow is the reason I am going to pex-A. I have not always been able to get the upsize parts at the local box stores. Great explanation of the two types.