Recommended Pex brand for in floor??

[Nitrobomb]

Since I only have one shot at putting the tubing in and looking for an economic solution, what brand Pex have you guys used? I see eBay has some attractively priced coils but wanted to see if the cost is a direct reflection of the quality?? They have Vevor and Pexflow , anyone used them? And issues after years in the concrete?? Thanks !!

 

[bobbyjean]

i would check supplyhouse.com/pex universe

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Uponor is the brand found 'round here,....

Make sure ya get the oxygen barrier tubin', not the domestic water version,...

Never had any problems with it,...

 

[yeldogt]

Any of the major brand O2 barrier PEX should be fine .. it's cheap enough to do correctly. Get a major brand .. it's a long term investment.

 

[Oldbear]

Any of the major brand O2 barrier PEX should be fine .. it's cheap enough to do correctly. Get a major brand .. it's a long term investment.

And very expensive to do it incorrectly... Things you bury in concrete are there for a long time or hard to get to... in the words of Douglas Adams:

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."

 

[engineer2]

Be aware there is a class action lawsuit going on for NIBCO and CPI brand Dura PEX.

 

[Nitrobomb]

Has anyone used Vevor or PexFlow? It has a lot of good reviews on Amazon... I looked on pexuniverse, they sell EverHot and supplyhouse uses Bluefin.... never hear of either before. And I haven’t seen anyone selling Uponor in 1/2” oxygen barrier ?

 

[Dzlpete]

Farmtek supply has Tekcoil with O2 barrier. Pricing is good, and I have about 10,000 feet of it buried in concrete. Been doing its job for 10 years no issues.
Do NOT use the foil bubble insulation under.
Get some 2" blue or pink XPS foam under it.

 

[Bottlecapdigger]

Beware, when I did mine, they sold me stuff that can from C...a. I took it back and got the Made in Canada stuff, same price. They tried to slip the cheaper stuff through. BCD

 

[Gearhead777c]

I used Everhot from Pexuniverse along with their stainless manifolds. I bought the Al-Pex which has the aluminum oxy barrier. Seemed like good stuff that holds its shape well. I laid down 3500' of it with no problems. I thought having the barrier in the middle of the pex would be better if it got nicked while pouring the floor. My brother used it in his 4000sqft house for both levels and has had good luck so far.

 

[Lonnies Performance]

I would use Rehau with o2 barrier. Not cheap, but always cheaper than jack hammering up your floor.

Contemplated all the cheaper versions but in the end I went with what I knew was good quality instead of taking the risk.

 

[yeldogt]

The last project I used a lot of the AL PEX from MrPEX .. it's a major brand (can't remember name) ... I did a lot of Warmboard on that project and it was a recommended tubing. My new project I'm using Viega PEX for the buried Hydronic and the hot/cold potable water ... I'm also doing Warmboard ...they now sell a branded tubing ... looks just like the Mr. PEX (orange/red)

The Viega is black ... I used a lot of the Wirsbo in the past .. never a problem ... now known as Uponor.

 

[johnnyradiant]

Amortized over the life of the project the difference between a known and little known brand is often insignificant. People reviewing on Amazon generally do not have long term experience with a product. At least not the long term experience I would want for pex buried in a slab. Oxygen barrier is a necessity. Uponor has multiple sizes as helioPEX, and as Wirsbo hePEX. I would check with local plumbing wholesalers and see what they sell, what their price is to you and if they will sell to you at their trade price. A readily available tried and true, relied upon product, might even be competitive with Amazon pricing. If it is not even close to price I'd be concerned about the difference in quality.

 

[rlitman]

If you want to be picky about your PEX, I suggest you find PEX-A, and don't worry so much about the brand.

 

[Randy in Maine]

Ayuh,.... Uponor is the brand found 'round here,....

Make sure ya get the oxygen barrier tubin', not the domestic water version,...

Never had any problems with it,...

That is the brand I used also. I went through about 2300 feet of 1/2" (2x1000' and 1 300' rolls) for my new shop and the existing house. My heating guy did all of the connections with the real Milwaukee tool. I have never had an issue.