pex tubing not allowed in cold climates??

kevin

that suit was won by the pex mfg...it must be accepted now...kpc

Dave Millet

Dan Holohan and I think my local building dept. is \"uninformed\"

I was recently informed by the head of the building dept. of my home town (Truckee Ca.) that we cannot use pex for supply line due to the cold winter temperatures. He claimed to have "researched" other cold areas such as Alaska, Montana, and others and found they have had problems with leaks due to the amount of expansion and contraction of pex tubing. "Up to seven inches per 100ft. It simply doesn't work" he tells me.
My thought is that it couldn't be any worse than copper-which doesn't expand and simply breaks. Why wouldn't it work better than copper when installed in accordance with the standard plumbing practice in our area (all water piping graded to a stop and drain valve)?
If anyone has any info. regarding the banning of pex by building departments in areas of cold climate or has run into problems due to using pex tubing for their supply pipe (as opposed to copper) please respond.
Thank You
Dave Millet

Steve Eayrs

No probems up here.....

I believe I am no alone when I say I have seen no problems up in Alaska, with pex. The UPC permits it and a lot of it is installed up here with no problems I know of. What code do you go by in your area? Is not the local inspector somewhat obligated to allow what is allowed in your written code?
Any body up here had probelsm with leaking pex? We almost always use Wirsbo is it makes any difference to you.

Steve

kframe

I'd have to say he's fed you a line of BS.

PEX has been used extensively throughout Europe -- Germany and Scandanavia included -- where it gets darned cold.

It's been in use in Europe for nearly 60 years, and has been very servicable cold and hot water plumbing and heating systems.

Yes, Pex expands and contracts more than copper & PVC, but because it's flexible, it's able to handle those changes.

The ONLY reason I can think of for the system failing in cold weather applications is if it is installed in hot water and stretched tight. Pex needs to be installed with some slack.

When properly installed, it shows no higher failure rate that properly installed copper or PVC products.

The Pex industry is currently suing the state of California over its failure to include Pex in its latest revised plumbing code.

Tom Meyer

RPA has a guidelines book

just perfect for a Christmas present for your building inspector.

And they will even send it for free. Drop an email to John Fantauzzi at johnf@rpa-info.com. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to mail it out.

Senior Designer/Trainer
Precision Hydronics Corporation
www.precisionhydronics.com

Vernon P. James

supply pipe

Are you talking about the underground supply line from the house to the street or interior supply lines? Our local code says we must still use K copper for underground service but pex is approved interior.

Guy_5

Pex in cold

The only disadvantage to using pex (or similar) that I have found, is when it does freeze up. Here in Boston I had a few cases of frozen pex loops, and the thaw machine never left the truck. I ended up opening up walls to overcome the cold spots. The good news, as stated above, is that the flexible tubing is much more forgiving than it's copper counterpoint. I am interested in any "tricks" that anyone may have on thawing pex.

Dave Yates (PAH)

freeze/thaw

PEX has proven to survive freeze/thaw cycles that would have killed metal piping.

When the insulation contractor did his thing last summer on an addition where we had no choice but to run H&C to the vanity in an exterior wall, he removed our PEX from the tube talons and pushed it to the exterior siding! Now you have it, now you don't! The owners didn't like the intermittent use & raised a bit of he-double-hockey-sticks. In the end, the GC had to remove the siding. Low & behold - there was one red and one blue 1/2" PEX H&C set of tubes a-staring him in the face. We were off the hook (breathing a sigh of relief) & he had to eat the costs.

I still prefer copper, but labor costs drive us to homerun systems.

I should add that your plumbing inspector is bound by whatever codes and ordinances were duly advertised and passed. S/he doesn't have the right to make up rules to suit personal preferences or whatever mood they're in that day.

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hot_rod

Some of the connections

especially the expander type are a bit slow to seal in extreme cold weather. Keeping the rings warm helps. This may be what he is talking about.

hot rod