Solution for noisy pex?

kevin coppinger_4

use foam pipe insulation when is goes through the studs. to secure the pipe then use oversized (size of the pipe insulation) to hold the pipe to the studs.....kpc

Bob Vennerbeck

Pex creaks in hangers

Any good ideas on stopping pex from creaking in plastic hangers? I've got 3/4" barrier pex run up inside a closet wall to second floor, with Sioux Chief plastic bushings (rebranded as Qest by the Home Despot) in correctly oversized bore holes, and when the system comes off setback in the morning, the closet wall resonates with the creaking as the pex expands.
I'd be tempted to pack the bushings with magic goose grease, if there was a consensus here as to what was safe to use with pex.
The wall is still open on one side, but not for long.....gotta get this apartment finished and rented, then will be able to make plans to replace the heating plant with a mod-con and outdoor reset next summer, which is an expensive way to try to solve the noise problem.,,,

Thanks for thoughts!

Vbob

hot_rod

use different tube!

that glossy EVOH barrier on the outside is the noisemaker, and the expansion and contraction is the motivation.

Wrap the entire run with Rubatex, Armaflex (sp) or any insulation rated for the temperature.

Or use PAP, FostaPex, etc.

I notice that more and more tube manufactureres are adding an additional layer over the O2 barrier to help protect and limit noise.

Constant circ would help, but any movement will cause the noise. Even when you carry a roll of EVOH pex it squeaks.

hot rod

[Deleted User]

Living with PEX expansion..

PEX has a HIGH co-efficient of expansion. On the order 0f 1.1" per 100 foot length per 10 degree rise. For those of us that are math challenged, that equates to a BUTT LOAD of expansion ;-)

You have a few options. You can live with it and call it a "grey noise", and tell people its how you know your heating system is working. Without the alarm feature, you wouldn't know you had no heat until you got REAL cold...

You can do as Kevin stated and bind it up at as many points as you can feasibly get to and hope that the remaining balance of tubing DOESN'T come into contact with the framing members, and if it does, revert back to scenario # 1.

Or, you can accomodate it. Accomodating it is not as easy in a retrofit consideration as it is as the time of actual construction. If you have a long lateral run, you can "lock" the tube into the framing using simple wooden clamps that are then screwed into the framing members. You have to be particular where you do this. If you do it on one end, and not the other, then the expansion is going to go the direction it is not bound. Make certain there is enough free play on the end of the run, because if there is not, and the PEX comes into contact with the structure and gets block from expanding that direction, then it will start growing back towards the other bound up end, and start coming into contact with the framing members and sounding like a herd of crickets running through the floor boards...TICK TICK TICK Tick tickk tickkk tickkkk....

The most preferrable method is to bind the tube on both ends, using the wooden block method, and install a "360 degree loop" approximately in the middle to accept the expansion from both ends. If you use the P.A. (plastic A$$ hole) type of hanger, and over size it by one pipe size, it will allow the pipe to slide though the supports, and not cause the EVOH barrier to stick, hopefuly lessening the ticking assocaited with PEX expansion.

The only other sure fire way to guarantee it doesn't tick and click is to bury it in concrete, But you have to stop and ask yourself, "if it is GUARANTEED to go through this expansion cycle every time it gets heated up, where does the expansion go when its buried on concrete?"

ALL pipe should be accomodated for expansion, because it all expands and contracts.

Speaking of contraction, the same coefficients apply. I've seen 1-1/4" PEX rip itself out of tubing support systems in crawl spaces becaue it go hit with extremely cold glycol first from exposed snowmelt slabs. It works against you both ways. Learn to live with it, and your systems will be MUCH quieter, but never silent.

Merry CHristmas and Happy Holidays from the Mile High City.

ME