pex universe

[gogolf0401]

Hi guys, need to buy my pex today because I need to have it by next weekend so I can install it before concrete comes the following week.

Pexuniverse.com has the best price. They sell Everhot brand pex-al-pex. From searching it sounds like Everhot pex is really Rifeng. Can anyone confirm this?
I'm worried that this Everhot stuff is not as good as the other brands.

Supplyhouse.com sells Rifeng which is just a little more than the Everhot stuff.

Anyone had any experience with Everhot? Also, if you know who has the fastest shipping to MN that would be great! Thanks

 

[gogolf0401]

I ended up going with Blue Ridge Company. They sell RHT which is pretty decent I guess. They also talked me out of going with AL-PEX. Said that it is harder to find fittings and install them. Says it does lay where you put it but also needs to be straightened out before you rout it. Said I might as well save the money and go with the normal stuff. Love their service! I sent them my layout and within an hour I had everything I needed purchased along with a free pex layout drawing! Very helpful people and fast turn around! Oh, they also threw in a 5% discount since I purchased a bunch of stuff together.

 

[dfiler2]

I would stay away from pex-al-pex, get an oxygen barrier pex that uses mylar on the outside rather than aluminum on the inside. Pex-al-pex may be a little easier to work with but has had many problems and lots of law suits. The major problem is attributed to electrolysis eating away the aluminum. Standard oxygen barrier pex has been around and used in slabs since the 60's.

 

[gogolf0401]

Huh, that's interesting. Does this happen only to AL-pex where the aluminum is on the inside of the tube exposed to the gycol/water?

The stuff I have been looking at has the aluminum sandwiched in-between the pex plastic.

 

[dfiler2]

The material I'm talking about was sandwiched in between two layers of pex and marketed as Kitec, here is more info, http://www.kitecsettlement.com/faq.cfm

I would assume you could have a problem with electrolysis either way. The other concern I've had with the product is the fact that you have two different materials with different expansion and contraction properties, although I've never heard of anyone having a problem with that it just makes me uncomfortable. When you put pipe in concrete you only get one chance.