Help identifying pex and fittings.

dobro23

Have a boiler replacement job coming up next week that has an existing radiant zone. the pex is grey with a blue stripe and says on it: Polytherm fussbodeheitzung mit system ho VPE C 16x2 DSN 16892 diffusionsdicht DD. I have attached a few pictures in case they help. Looking for any info at all but primarily if this tubing is compatible with a more available brand of fitting. in this area we use viega, fostapex, wirsbo, zurn, etc. I have seen similar zurn "compression" fittings but not sure if they are still made. I would like to abandon these brass headers and just use sweat or Npt to pex crimp adapters. not sure which brand might work. any help is appreciated. thanks.

SWEI

Those look like Euroconus (EK) fitings -- probably EK-20's if that is half inch tubing. Lots of sources, uncluding Uponor, but theirs are not quite compatible with everyone else's.

dobro23

thanks swei. I will check it out. hopefully i can get something in time. did you mean that uponor's fittings are not quite compatible or the EK fittings in general are not? again i am just trying to abandon these particular headers and get a connection to the tubing from 3/4 sweat copper. I was hoping a crimp type fitting would work. btw, it is visually 1/2 tubing. i haven't used calipers yet for the exact dimensions.

SWEI

Correct, the Uponor nuts will not fit others' manifolds (and vice versa.) I don't recognize that tubing, but someone else here very well may.

hot_rod

The manifolds and connections look pretty good, a few gasket leaks could be re-sealed., why do they need to be replaced?

If you could measure the id and od maybe something is still available that would fit.

Caleffi has a Universal pex fitting that accommodates some tolerance variation with a dual o-ring tapered insert and segmented "olive" It would require a brass manifold again, however. I'd be glad to send a fitting sample to you to try.

Not all types of pex are expandable, you may need to find a compression or insert type of the correct dimension.

I've found the the old PB insert fittings sometimes work on odd sized Euro tube, those are getting harder to find also.

With a blue colored Grundfos, that system must be 25 years old? That pump label will have a date code, typically year and week.

Hopefully those pump pics are 1/4 turn off, the float type air vents would not be productive on their side.

dobro23

thanks hot rod. very insightful. after trying to learn more about this stuff i am now wondering if in fact, it is PB and not PEX based on the grey color etc. unfortunately I can't measure the ID until this wednesday, the day of the job! i understand that pex is 1/2" ID and 5/8" OD. I have been told that sharkbite push to connect fittings may be my best bet since the crimp ring fittings have some variance and can only be used on certain pipe. The push to connect is based on OD if i understand correctly. i want to abandon the manifolds all together because only 1 circuit ( of the 2 pictured) is being used. the manifolds have electric actuators and an electric mixing valve that modulates according to return water temp. but in this case, none of it works. there is no brand identification on the headers or any other parts. the tubing itself says; Polytherm fussbodeheitzung mit system ho VPE C 16x2 DSN 16892 diffusionsdicht DD. which roughly translates to: Polytherm with underfloor heating system ho VPE C 16x2 DIN 16892-diffusive DD. i wonder if the VPE C could be V Poly Ethylene Crosslinked? I couldn't find much info on polytherm which is what i "assume" the brand is. I also don't know the date of the original install. the blue grundfos is a good clue though. didn't realize that. and no the pictures are correct orientation. I thought the same thing as far as the air vent! my plan was to just pipe it in as a zone and temper the water through a regular mixing valve. the entire zone is only for a 40 sq ft bathroom with tile floor. Thats it! I was going to pull 100 degree water through a mixing valve and push it through the floor. hopefully i can just find a fitting that will convert from EK-20 to 1/2" NPT in stock and local. that would be ideal but im sure it wont happen. ( that is assuming they are EK-20 compression unions at the manifold. ) anything else you can add is greatly appreciated.

Zman

I think both the VPE and the DIN 16892 are strong indications that you are dealing with PEX-a. Most of the available literature you find when you google it is in German so it is hard to be 100%.
It also looks translucent like pex not solid grey like PB.

dobro23

zman, Any idea what fittings might be compatible? what makes it different from regular pex? google points towards wirsbo stuff

hot_rod

If a Sharkbite fitting fits, so will a pex crimp ring, they both work on the OD.

I think PolyTherm, the Irish company and HeatLink out of Canada were once connected.
There may have been other companies that used that name in Europe?

I think Watts/ Heatway may have pulled some tube from them many years ago. Possibly Weil McLain also.

I remember meeting a radiant tube guy from Cork at a trade show once upon a time. Wicked funny fellow as I recall.

http://www.polytherm.ie

hot_rod

Also the Canadian branch

SWEI

If it's PEX-a, you can use Uponor fittings. Depending on the diameter, you might need the UK versions.

JeffM

16x2 indicates a metric tubing size (16mm diameter with 2mm wall). I usually look to Hydronic Alternatives for metric conversion fittings when I come across pipe like this.