# homerun plumbing install in Canada



## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

see this link:

Canadians, Take Note! Viega Manabloc - Plumbing - DIY Home Improvement | DIYChatroom


----------



## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Ron,

FWIW, the home I'm leasing has all PEX plumbing. It seems to work OK.. though I'mskeptical as to what its condition will be in 30 years.


----------



## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

BigJimAK said:


> Ron,
> 
> FWIW, the home I'm leasing has all PEX plumbing. It seems to work OK.. though I'mskeptical as to what its condition will be in 30 years.


Hi Jim:

Thanks for the response. My home is just under 40 and the copper is so plugged with minerals it's popping holes in the pipe. I've got a conglomeration of copper, shark bite connectors, PEX and I'm pulling it all out and replacing it with a home run install. Don't have much choice. I figure in 40 more years, I'm not going to be around for someone to complain to in case it winds up in the same state. So, _and awayyyyy we gooooo_


----------



## reikimaster (Sep 29, 2005)

Expected service like of PEX is about 75 years. So I don't think you have anything to worry about.


----------



## amaonline (Jan 1, 2011)

I have pex in my home and have for over 10 years. It is excellent so far, easy to extend or expand for additions or simply changing fixture location. The beauty of pex is that fewer fittings are needed(i.e. long runs). They did not have manifold systems out at the time mine was installed or I probably would have gone that route.


----------



## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Charlie and Howard:

Thanks for the comments. I'm using BOW Superpex and _I think_ it is warrantied 25 years, although I can't find the info at the moment. Of course, the caveat in all of the manufacturer's spiel is that PEX is sensitive to sunlight. It's going to be interesting down the road.


----------



## reikimaster (Sep 29, 2005)

How much of your plumbing is exposed to sunlight?


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

allthunbs said:


> Hi Charlie and Howard:
> 
> Thanks for the comments. I'm using BOW Superpex and _I think_ it is warrantied 25 years, although I can't find the info at the moment. Of course, the caveat in all of the manufacturer's spiel is that PEX is sensitive to sunlight. It's going to be interesting down the road.


The pipe won't be your problem. It'll be the brass or copper fittings. They are still prone to corrosion. I still have polybutylene pipe in my house that is 30 years old. I had a fitting fail recently and am thinking about redoing my piping now. By the way, deposits won't stick to polybutyl and I suspect they won't to pex either.


----------



## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

reikimaster said:


> How much of your plumbing is exposed to sunlight?


Hi Charlie:

In all of the documentation I've seen on PEX, there are warnings about limiting exposure to sunlight either in storage or in use. In my case, I'm putting the Manabloc in line with a north-facing window to provide visibility in the event of a power failure.

Because of the warnings, I'm planning to put it behind a door, like the electrical panel.

However, thanks for asking the question. It allowed me to revisit my decision and refresh my reasons.


----------



## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> The pipe won't be your problem. It'll be the brass or copper fittings. They are still prone to corrosion. I still have polybutylene pipe in my house that is 30 years old. I had a fitting fail recently and am thinking about redoing my piping now. By the way, deposits won't stick to polybutyl and I suspect they won't to pex either.


Hi Charles:

I haven't heard from you in a good bit. Thanks for the observations. 

Your comments lead me to another question. Do I use brass fittings to attach to faucets/toilets etc. or plastic ones to prevent mineral build-up? I like the robustness of the brass but your comments add weight to the plastic fittings. Our village wells have hard water.

I've not been able to find plumbing service plastic, only radiant heat (I think.) Are plastic fittings to code for potable water in a home?

Thanks again. We'll talk soon.


----------



## reikimaster (Sep 29, 2005)

Transition to copper or brass fittings to terminate the PEX run at a fixture. Typically, your terminations are exposed. Like the connection for a toilet, or the piping under a sink that could have things touching it, pushed into it, etc in the course of daily use. Using a metal termination also allows you to anchor securely to framing, etc.


----------



## amaonline (Jan 1, 2011)

My fittings are brass. My well produces extremely hard water and when I recently extended my system I did not find any discernable deposits in the removed fittings (I purposely checked). I prefer the brass rehau fittings(yes they are still available), just be careful not to mix metals i.e. copper , brass , galvanized as the contact between the them can cause corrosion if the electrical system is bonded to your plbg. system anywhere, possibly the well casing or production pipe.....Most of the plumbing codes address this issue.


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

allthunbs said:


> Hi Charles:
> 
> I haven't heard from you in a good bit. Thanks for the observations.
> 
> ...


When I plumbed my house I first tried plastic fittings but I had trouble with several of them leaking so I went back to brass and copper. Apparently I wasn't alone. I was dealing with a small store at the time and the owner told me that others had had problems also. I noticed that some retailers eventually stopped selling the plastic ones. I don't know if the ones for use with pex are better. Pex has been around for a while now and if there have been problems, somebody would know by now. They would allowed by code for domestic potable water systems. 
One poster said something about metal compatability. Brass has copper in it and is compatible. Copper and brass fittings are often used with steel on things like air compressor systems and I have never seen a problem with that. One other note. I bought my son, who is apprenticing as a fire sprinkler fitter, a pex crimper for Christmas. In the instructions it said only crimp once. Twice could cause joint failure. I have always been a "If one is good, two is better" kind of guy. Apparently that is not always the case.


----------



## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> When I plumbed my house I first tried plastic fittings but I had trouble with several of them leaking so I went back to brass and copper.


Excellent, one less experiment on my nickle.



> Apparently I wasn't alone. I was dealing with a small store at the time and the owner told me that others had had problems also. I noticed that some retailers eventually stopped selling the plastic ones. I don't know if the ones for use with pex are better. Pex has been around for a while now and if there have been problems, somebody would know by now. They would allowed by code for domestic potable water systems.


My concern is that I might crimp something and the plastic fitting collapse. The inside diameter also seems more restrictive than brass. I'm probably wrong about that but it seems so.



> One poster said something about metal compatability. Brass has copper in it and is compatible. Copper and brass fittings are often used with steel on things like air compressor systems and I have never seen a problem with that. One other note. I bought my son, who is apprenticing as a fire sprinkler fitter, a pex crimper for Christmas. In the instructions it said only crimp once. Twice could cause joint failure. I have always been a "If one is good, two is better" kind of guy. Apparently that is not always the case.


Yup, that's why they came out with this "go -- no go" gauge. I noticed that my crimping tool has an adjustment on it. It will be interesting to see how many crimps I have to do before "adjusting." I'm more concerned about having to remove a bad crimp. How does one do that?


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

allthunbs said:


> Excellent, one less experiment on my nickle.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


As I said it's been about 30 years but I think the biggest problem I had was getting the threaded ends to seal in the stops as this is the only place you have to convert. I even took the bands off and tried tightening and still couldn't get a seal. I can't remember if any leaked past the barbs on the pipe end. If you take a hacksaw with a fine blade, or (better) a blade in a hacksaw blade holder, you can very carefully cut through the bands. Sometimes you have to cut on an angle and follow the curve. You can feel as soon as you go through the band. I managed to do this without damaging the fittings and sometimes didn't even have to cut the end off the pipe. If you have a large pair of end-nipper pliers they might work if you can get a grip on the ring. I didn't have a pair when I was doing mine so I don't know if that will work.


----------



## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> As I said it's been about 30 years but I think the biggest problem I had was getting the threaded ends to seal in the stops as this is the only place you have to convert. I even took the bands off and tried tightening and still couldn't get a seal. I can't remember if any leaked past the barbs on the pipe end. If you take a hacksaw with a fine blade, or (better) a blade in a hacksaw blade holder, you can very carefully cut through the bands. Sometimes you have to cut on an angle and follow the curve. You can feel as soon as you go through the band. I managed to do this without damaging the fittings and sometimes didn't even have to cut the end off the pipe. If you have a large pair of end-nipper pliers they might work if you can get a grip on the ring. I didn't have a pair when I was doing mine so I don't know if that will work.


Thanks for the insight Charles. I'll file that for future use. Just putting the wet wall together right now. The manifold is scheduled for later this week or next.

Ron

P.S. hows the snow out there? We've got our second storm underway. About 6" in two hours. We're supposed to have some every day for the next week.


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

allthunbs said:


> Thanks for the insight Charles. I'll file that for future use. Just putting the wet wall together right now. The manifold is scheduled for later this week or next.
> 
> Ron
> 
> P.S. hows the snow out there? We've got our second storm underway. About 6" in two hours. We're supposed to have some every day for the next week.


We are a lot better off than you right now. We got a foot in one day about 2 weeks ago. Standing snow is about 2 feet now. It settled a bit in the last 2 days. It was +5 all night last night and today. Scheduled to go back down to -15 by Saturday which is about average. Hope you weather the storm okay, let me know how it turns out.


----------

