How To Use Pex A Pipe

[@GJM_US]

Just wanted to drop this appreciation note, you explain all concepts very clearly without any technical terms - makes it very simple for average home owner to fully understand. Thanks, good work.

[@marke3623]

I’ve always been a copper guy, but I think it’s time to update my skills. Going to try this stuff next time. Thanks for the instruction!

[@armandhammer2235]

I'm a licensed plumbing contractor and I concur. I've never used the hand operated expander wish Shannon demonstrated that just FMI.

[@jasonmay5227]

It’s a bit tricky at first but then you just get used to rotating the tool every time, and when it’s a bit cooler out I use a heat gun or torch to very slightly warm up connection point to make sure everything seals properly

[@mikerobinson4698]

@@jasonmay5227 If there's a power tool, you can bet we are going to have it on hand. But since we don't do a lot of plumbing daily or weekly on a regular basis, we'll probably stick with the crimp rings.

[@heshakajayawardena5612]

Clear and straight to the point. Another A+ video. Thanks!

[@joelweikguitar]

You’ve got a real talent for explaining things!

[@dougjones4538]

Always informative and well-explained. Thanks, Shannon!

[@rickbartley9255]

Thanks for the explanation of the PEX type differences.

[@CajunGreenMan]

This is perfect, exactly what I needed! Keep up the great work!

[@thomastommy1192]

Great video thumbs up. I live in a small house I moved here 30 plus years ago. (I'm handicapped.) The house had all copper & metal pipes. Seemed like every month a pipe would leak. I tried & tried to get the plumbers to replace them with PVC. Finally, after years they got all PVC in here. The first ones were installed almost 30 years ago. From the outside into the house through a bedroom closet. That is the main water line from the well. Think God they have not busted once in all that time. Over the years I made them replace the other pipes with PVC one pipe at a time. Now I'm in good shape. "I think." Can you connect the Pex pipes to PVC pipes? How many years do you think the Pex will last? Years ago I saw pipes similar to the Pex on TV shows like This Old House. But they gave very little info. Thanks for the help. Stay well & safe.

[@jasonmay5227]

Another great video! Well done Mr. Shannon!

[@jamesstufano1504]

Watched you for many years now. Love how you are so detailed and do things the right way. Question - plumbers in my area would only use Type B. I love and used Type A and have the electric tool, and tons of fittings. They ignored all this and I was forced to accept their Type B after talking with 1/2 dozen plumbers. My question is there a good way to connect Type A to a Type B pipe? Thank you

[@HouseImprovements]

Well they say you can use Pexb connectors and rings to join the two but most Pex A manufactures do not approve it but it does work. Other options are shark bites or threaded fittings one with pexB to threaded and one PexA to threaded and then connect the threaded ends.

[@bobwilhelm8364]

This pipe also works great for compressed air distribution system. It will not fail catastrophically like pvc or cpvc will.

[@leboon3843]

Any idea much psi it can withstand?

[@Dee-hi5zj]

I helped a friend who had a failure from the compression ring encircled pipe popping off a poly Tee during a freeze...Without the expansion tool was a struggle but I got the pipe itself back on the poly T by stretching the pipe with a Lonnnng needle nose plier and then secured it with 2 small hose clamps. Hopefully the freeze will be prevented as the previous plumber didn't use much insulation around the pipe, which we will eventually beef up with air cell material (bubble wrap). Thanks for the video even after the fact, cuz I hadn't seen the PEX - A with the plastic rings before and couldn't figure out how to get them off the pipe itself. Anyway - Good video! And even better is you don't use any distracting background music...!

[@HouseImprovements]

I have never heard of that happening? I would suspect it was not properly installed to start with?

[@shawn9356]

Great vid for new diy job, thank you!

[@SeanInAlaska]

You have no idea how timely this was for me! I am ready to start framing walls on my cabin and was thinking this would be a good product, now I am sold. What is the major difference between A and B?

[@jasonmay5227]

Pex-A is what Shannon demonstrated, it uses plastic expansion rings, Pex-B uses the stainless or copper crimp rings and make sure you check all fitting with go/no go gauge after crimping and when purchasing because some can only be used with A and some only with B

[@SeanInAlaska]

@@jasonmay5227 thank you for that!

[@armandhammer2235]

@@jasonmay5227 I concur

[@HouseImprovements]

Here is my video for Pex A vs Pex B kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaOto6mrltStr8U

[@wayno4425]

Gives me a little bit of good knowledge 👍👍

[@derpherpp]

wish u could explain more about coper to pex soldering part since most of use diy fixing our old copper pipes home. i solder electronics but never plumbing

[@mr1pearl]

Good one sir thanks for sharing !

[@TapelessDrywallFinishing]

Very informative like always. Good job buddy 👍

[@chrisharris1884]

"Hotdog bun" LOL ....Great info.

[@catblue6393]

Very thorough. Thank you. 👍🏼

[@DarkSevariant]

Hi..! Nice video. Question. So I bought a Expansion tool from China, because everything is made in China. Question, without the expansion cap screwed on, the expansion tool will close. When I add the expansion head unit, the tool doesn't close all the way. 2:26 See how you're holding it, how both arms of the tool are at closed. Mine will do that when there is no fitting, but once I put the head unit on, it only closes like if you can imagine one arm of tool is at 6 o'clock, the other will only close to 8 o'clock, it won't come together at 6 o'clock. I don't know, I'm redoing the plumbing in my RV, and I have NEVER dealt with PEX-A but I like the quality of PEX-A fitting.

[@HouseImprovements]

Some tools are like that , you can store it with the cap off.

[@MarkMiller-t2t]

Is there any restrictions on Pex Connector in dirt. I need to lay 500 ft of water line from meter to job site.

[@HouseImprovements]

I would check the website for the specific type of Pex you have to 100% sure. Pex A Uponor should be no issue.

[@robroby10]

Great video.. thanks

[@dancouncil2222]

I'm keeping the HotDog Bun analogy up my sleeve forever !

[@Ermes12FloorSander]

Very nice work 👍

[@phubui1453]

thank you

[@mjuhanil]

So the push fitting is like the shark bite? Can you trust those to hold?

[@ohger1]

Some updates - some PEX B pipes are now certified for F1960 expansion, and since PEX B is less flexible but more durable, it might be a better choice than A. PEX B is less susceptible to chlorine and chloramine. While the bend brackets eliminate a fitting and improve flow, recent failure points show PEX A can fail at the bends, so sweeping 90 degree fittings might be a better idea. There are many examples of Uponor PEX A failures around the country in just over 5 years and no explanation for these failures exists. Some think it's municipal water quality, others think it's the way the pipe was stored before installation with regard to UV light (stored in the back of a pickup, outside of a supply house, on shelves under artificial lighting?). I would buy PEX only in straight lengths to avoid and bends and make sure it's in black poly wrapping or sealed boxes so the pipe could not have had UV exposure. I would also not bend the PEX (straight runs only) and use sweeping 90 degree fittings, and then cover the PEX so it gets no indirect sunlight or indoor light.

[@mariorivas8459]

Where can l get the expander the black one you have

[@My-Say]

Something you didn't mention are connection leaks. I do not need to use any glues? These work as shown and just don't leak? If so, I should just replace all my copper with this stuff.

[@HouseImprovements]

No glue is used with this system

[@seanm3226]

Cold expansion and contraction. No glue, no solder, no crimps, no clamps. The tubing/piping contracts around the fitting.

[@My-Say]

@@seanm3226 Well then this stuff is pretty amazing. I have that other plastic piping and the shutoff valves refuse to move. I used almost enough force to break the pipes and definitely don't want to do that. I may need to replace the pipes with Pex-A and new shutoff vales.

[@tazmania17171717]

I have an existing installation where the Pex comes out of the wall and elbows over to a valve and goes back into the wall. I want to add a water softener and run the pipe up which means I need the elbow to point up. The question is: can I rotate an existing fitting? What would I need to do to get the elbow to point up instead of sideways?

[@HouseImprovements]

Once the pipe is cut the elbow should rotate by hand.

[@mikechiodetti4482]

Definitely keeping this video. If I need help, this video explains a lot.

[@jacquelynwilliams5025]

Should a 90-degree elbow fitting be able to rotate once expanded and pushed on? It won't come apart byt it does spin. The connection is waterproof, but I'm not sure it will hold once installed in a pressurized system.

[@HouseImprovements]

With Pex A the fittings can spin

[@MaMa-qh4dy]

I have heard that ammonia in the chloramine that is added to some municipal water systems is causing cracks in Pex A in as little as 7 years. I think there was a class-action lawsuit against Uponor due to this. Please explain.

[@jasonbaughman77]

The pipes that the class action lawsuit where about were Uponor's red and blue color coded pipes. The way that the colors were baked into the tubing is what made them eventually brittle. Those pipes they have discontinued. They now use all white piping with red lettering and blue lettering to decipher hot from cold.

[@MaMa-qh4dy]

@@jasonbaughman77 I have heard the same. Very surprising that it took them so many years to find this out.

[@ohger1]

@@jasonbaughman77 I think the red and blue will suffer failures earlier, but there are examples on plumbing forums where even the white/opaque Uponor pipe is splitting for no reason. Most of those failures show the pipe yellowing before failure.

[@ronm6585]

Thank you. 👍🏻

[@Africanspanish]

Good video.

[@oldoldpilgrim7898]

Which would be the weaker link in a hard freeze situation brass or plastic fittings?

[@HouseImprovements]

I can't say for sure but my bet is on the plastic being better in a freeze application.

[@hoppd21]

Thanks! Would that Iwiss tool be okay for running lines to about 5 new fixtures? Think it's worth it to go for the auto expander tool?

[@HouseImprovements]

Absolutely the Iwiss will work for anyone doing PexA plumbing even as a pro using it everyday. If you dont do much plumbing the power tool expander is not worth paying for.

[@raywood8187]

I tried that with the Sharkbite fittings and couldn't get it to seal. Not sure why. So I went with copper since I'm good at soldering was afraid to have this inside of a wall.

[@topgun52]

How much time do you have to insert the tubing into the extracted end before it closes becomes too small? Just a few seconds?

[@HouseImprovements]

5 seconds or so

[@johnpeters8652]

They make barbed copper for toilet and sinks use those.

[@johnpeters8652]

You can cut it and put your 1/4 turn shut off on it. Nice, it helps the kink of the pipe.

[@coolwaterhubby5208]

It looks like the same thing that I have seen in new construction homes that has replaced copper , is it not .

[@swarajpalsingh]

Hi i used the tool to expand but now it is leaking after i joint

[@HouseImprovements]

I think I have had two of these ever leak after . One was a bad expansion ring and the other was user error...the ring slid down the pipe about 3/8" and I never noticed.

[@gabrielkind2970]

I believe if you use push fit it will eventually leak, no? I believe those are designed for pex b.

[@HouseImprovements]

Nope , Push fit fittings like Shark Bite work with copper,Pex A, PexB and CPVC

[@rdhudon7469]

I've split a few pieces of wood "like a hot dog bun ." lol

[@Okcbill3500]

Are there concerns about rodents eating holes in the PEX? Also UV concerns?

[@TheSlipperyNoodle]

Mice like to eat it. You can not have it exposed to sunlight ... most manufacturers materials are explicit on that.

[@ohger1]

Both. For UV, buy the pipe in sealed packaging that won't let light in, even indoor lighting. For rodents, you can get a garden sprayer and fill it with Ivory liquid soap and water and spray the pipes. It's bitter and rodents won't touch it.

[@mikerobinson4698]

I'm sure you have thought about this, but should you ever find that you can't find those red and blue rings, have red and blue tape handy to wrap onto the pipe.

[@HouseImprovements]

Actually the manufactures do not recommend electrical tape or duck tape on their pipes. You could tie on coloured ribbon tape.

[@mikerobinson4698]

@@HouseImprovements 👍

[@richardjeun]

Red/blue pex are now known to premature failure; CPVC is also failing prematurely, not because of poor craftsmanship, but premature failure over time. Colored pex are showing cracks forming due to the die that they put in. Also, it’s important to note that it is important to rotate the head, if it’s not automatically rotated by your tool, but also make sure the inside of the pip is not scuffed from forced removal of a fitting, and to wait 20 minutes before pressurizing the pipe.

[@ohger1]

The Uponor white pipe is also experiencing the same failures.

[@felixcat648]

Shannon where are based from? And where you Canadian at any point of time lol?

[@kevintillack56]

Yes, he is in Canada.

[@felixcat648]

@@kevintillack56 I was going off his accent (and thought about it from previous videos) except some of the locations he is in seems like it's from the States. Also it had nothing to do with the Timmy's box I see on the floor lol. It could be he is from a different province. Sometimes housing and construction seem different and unique depends where you are at. Alright, thanks for the answer Kevin.

[@HouseImprovements]

Kevin is correct I am in Canada

[@Sucherrie]

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@TheSlipperyNoodle]

🤘🤘🤘

[@Struktualnyj]

👍

[@Gazooo29]

What happened to the good days of soldering copper pipe

[@fadidankiha2132]

God loves you all and you can all be saved (if not already) by just putting faith and trust in and having a relationship with Jesus Christ and repenting of sins (turning to God from sin and changing your ways for God) And you should ask for forgiveness of your sins (this can be anywhere) have a nice day Jesus is my lord! And the solution to hell! And I'm not a bot . ..