hot water supply lines

[that-guy]

I have an electric hot water heater I picked up for almost nothing, works great. the one in my house is practically new, so I want to put it in the garage. what are my options for supply lines to a deep sink?

the one in my house is copper pipe, where they "sweat" the joints with solder. what else is out there? I assume PVC on hot water lines is a no no, but that's why I'm asking the question

TIA

 

[ratdoggy]

My house uses a copper stub (12") or so and then PEX

 

[Chaz]

Pex. Easy and fast.

 

[that-guy]

can anyone supply me with a simple list, with pros and cons? ie: price, easability, longevity, etc...

 

[ratdoggy]

PEX.....
Quick
Cheap
Used in Europe for years
Color coded hot/cold
Can take a freeze without bursting (have no real world info on that)

 

[JC23]

Frankenstein said it best..."Fire baaad."

Go with PEX.

 

[Rj555]

One more vote for PEX. When the pressure tank at my folk's place was replaced used PEX.

 

[that-guy]

I am considering redoing the lines in my house at some point at well, and the PEX is very intriguing after looking into this further...I notice there is mostly 1/2" and 3/4". which would be best suited for my home? I have a single bathroom, with shower/tub, toilet, and his/her sinks, standard kitchen sink, no dishwasher, 1 outside tap, and a deep sink in the basement

 

[UpstateNY]

Copper, it's the All-American solution. Unlike them liberal, socialist, euro-centric PEX solutions. Don't be a commie, be a man, use copper pipe.

 

[Bondo]

be a man, use copper pipe.

Ayuh,.... Use yer head, use Pex,....

Work Smartah, not Hardah,....

 

[larry4406]

If garage is connected to house, tap of existing water lines.

I personally like cpvc such as Flowguard Gold. That's what the company I work for puts in all of our houses. Very easy to connect to copper via proper fitting.

 

[that-guy]

If garage is connected to house, tap of existing water lines.

I personally like cpvc such as Flowguard Gold. That's what the company I work for puts in all of our houses. Very easy to connect to copper via proper fitting.

garage is separate from the house

what I'm thinking, is that if I am going to be using something modern on one, then I might as well upgrade the other, as I am in the process of redoing my bathroom and kitchen anyways

 

[gnpenning]

Then inside of pex is a smaller diameter than copper. I used 3/4 pex thru my house. I don't like to wait forever to fill a bucket or sink.

 

[Kaizen]

garage is separate from the house

what I'm thinking, is that if I am going to be using something modern on one, then I might as well upgrade the other, as I am in the process of redoing my bathroom and kitchen anyways

I believe the first couple feet from a water heater have to be copper......maybe that's just on a gas one? anyway I changed to pex as I've done work on my house. hd has the tool for like 40 bucks. if you want to get fancy you can do the different colors for hot and cold. cuts with a razor knife.
the things like shutoffs are not cheap but you save time and labor if you were paying for it. 1/2 inch is for all supply lines. 3/4....which I put in some of my house that had 2 bathrooms actually reduced my pressure. I've seen it where each device has a home run back to a manifold and running it like copper where it tees off of one line. I did a kitchen island and washing machine room. was in a crawlspace. made up something like 20 connections and every one was perfect. cuts with a razor knife.
I did have a pipe freeze and decided to run 15 feet of boiler water through pex 3/4 inch and never again. no matter how many hangers it hung like a wet noodle.

 

[dutchgray]

Copper, it's the All-American solution. Unlike them liberal, socialist, euro-centric PEX solutions. Don't be a commie, be a man, use copper pipe.

We only use PEX over here cos its cheaper. Most of the plumbers I know use copper on their own places which tells me all I need to know, we only use PEX for underfloor, runs in ducting and where we cant notch joists.
Copper is the best pipe for water.

 

[nadogail]

Whenever I change out a water heater in one of my rentals, I use the Shark Byte flexible lines I buy at Home Depot. I have 7 years of success with the Shark Bytes.

I will not get into an argument about which is better, PEX or Copper, some of my houses are coming up on 14 years old and the PEX they were built with is working fine. Where ever the piping is exposed, the builder has connected copper stub outs.

 

[finn]

PEX.

End of discussion.

 

[tcianci]

Then inside of pex is a smaller diameter than copper. I used 3/4 pex thru my house. I don't like to wait forever to fill a bucket or sink.

The joke is on you. While you're correct in noting that since the outside diameters of the copper and pex are the same, thus a smaller ID on a 1/2 inch pex line than a 1/2 inch copper line. You won't find any faucet or shower head that will flow anywhere near the amount of water that you can get through 1/2inch pex. Not only that but take a look at the supply line diameter to a typical faucet. 1/2 inch pex will flow all the water you will ever need in a residential situation. The only residential exception is tub fillers for Jacuzzis and such. Those valves are designed to be installed to 3/4 inch supply lines.

 

[csp]

Not only that but take a look at the supply line diameter to a typical faucet. 1/2 inch pex will flow all the water you will ever need in a residential situation.

You're probably right, it most likely doesn't matter in most homes, but it depends on how long the run of 1/2" is.

 

[Zeke]

Pex is fine if you're doing a house or even a room addition. Where is shines is long runs that would be a hassle soldering up pipe all along the way where you can pull a whole run of Pex off the reel, connect it and be done.

However, if you're remodeling a bathroom and the runs are less than 10 feet and you have lots of options (read connections) Pex tends to get expensive using a lot of fittings.

YMMV.

 

[reader2580]

Often, PEX is run from a manifold to each fixture. If you have a sink, a toilet, and a tub or shower you'll have five lines going from the manifold to the bathroom fixtures. This eliminates most of the fittings and PEX pipe is pretty cheap. If you do have a problem with a fixture there is often a valve at the manifold to turn it off.

The downside of a manifold is you can't get nearly instant hot water at the sink after running the tub or shower like most bathrooms.

 

[djjsr]

....... what else is out there? I assume PVC on hot water lines is a no no, but that's why I'm asking the question

CPVC is for hot or cold water.

 

[Gary in NY]

Another vote for pex. It is so much easier and faster than copper. I have been using it for several years and never had a problem.

 

[gnpenning]

The joke is on you. While you're correct in noting that since the outside diameters of the copper and pex are the same, thus a smaller ID on a 1/2 inch pex line than a 1/2 inch copper line. You won't find any faucet or shower head that will flow anywhere near the amount of water that you can get through 1/2inch pex. Not only that but take a look at the supply line diameter to a typical faucet. 1/2 inch pex will flow all the water you will ever need in a residential situation. The only residential exception is tub fillers for Jacuzzis and such. Those valves are designed to be installed to 3/4 inch supply lines.

I guess you missed the part that I don't have to wait. Thanks for agreeing with me that 3/4 works better and will fill faster. I have had 1/2 on the same well. There is a difference. Length of runs and direction changes all change flow for the negative. And yes the valves and pathways in faucets affect flow. I understand flow restriction's and the choke point in faucets and shower heads. Don't use them. And understand why they are required in certain parts of the country.

 

[dreamingmuscle]

You're probably right, it most likely doesn't matter in most homes, but it depends on how long the run of 1/2" is.

It also depends heavily on how many fittings are used to make a turn. I don't know about water but one 90 elbow is equal to 5 foot of pipe for natural gas.

Pex flexes, so a run that might use 5 or 6 90's with pvc or copper, can be done with a few gentle sweeps with pex.

I do prefer wirsbo fittings over pex fittings. They have larger openings and the crimp fittings are made of the same material as the pipe. So there is no worries about corrosion like there is with pex's metal crimps.

Glen