Which PEX system do you like?

[MN4x4]

I am going to be running water lines in the shop and want to use PEX tubing. I see that there are several different brands, and it looks like almost all of them have their own manifold and require their own special tool for the couplings.

Which PEX brand do you use/recommend, and which tool?

 

[burleymike]

I like Vanguard/Viega because they have not had any problems with fittings failing, they use standard fittings and crimp rings, and the price decent.

I think the newer system by Uponor that expands the pex is very good but the tools and fittings are expensive.

Zurn, Kitec, and Uponor have all been sued over fitting failure. The Uponor fittings that have failed were are the brass crimp fittings with a stainless steel clamp.

 

[Norcal]

Use copper, there has not been a recall on it like there has been w/ plastics. I would like to see rat eat through copper, it would be one tough MoFo, never have been given a adequate answer about rodents & PEX.

 

[truckman5000]

im a plumber, and use pex and copper all the time.
Copper is best, if supported rite, insulated ect. Wich most pumbers dont do.
Pex is fine, the problem with the other brands being sued is from.
People using the wrong crim rings with a different brand of pex.
Poor installation., wich covers everything else...
Obviously "pex" expands and contracts, so if you "butcher it" in like said above you'll have problems.
Uponor is good but there problem is, like said above..expantion and contraction. With heat you have this. Uponor have plastic and brass fittings. People use plastic fittings of heat pipe/ they crack.
The other brands youse brass fittings/very thin. And although "i" havent had a problem with them, i thingk they would over time(just how copper corrosion over time from ground watter)
So "i" use "pex" but the uponor/ wirsbo stuff; and with the bras fittings youll never go wrong. The brass fitings compared to the others is 2x the thickness.
Any ? ask and i could let you barrow a tool kit from me obviously if you pay shipping and a deposit, because there expensive,

 

[truckman5000]

Oh i ment to mention, the "pex" rings if not stainless rust and fail. Due to condensation.
I like the viega pipe, but the fittings are supper thin and the barbed part of the fiting isnt as much as the uponor/ wirsbo..
Ive put in all types and still do, there all ok, im just saing "i" like the uponor better.

 

[cowboyjosh]

I build houses, sub out the plumbing; our plumbers have used almost every brand of PEX mentioned above; not yet have we had a failure. Personally I prefer copper, but in Colorado we have had numerous cases in various water jurisdictions in the past couple years with pinhole leaks, especially if the house has a water recirculation system; in one case the house was 7 months old and there were 11 pin holes in copper pipes throughout the house.

 

[MFortie]

I replumbed my house a couple years ago with Uponor PEX (originally had Qest ).

Easy to work with (IMHO) and haven't had a single problem since. The only drawback was the expansion tool was not cheap, but since I like tools anyway...

 

[MN4x4]

Since Uponor is a Minnesota company anyway I will check out their stuff.

 

[bryna]

I have used Uponor (Wirsbo) PEX on several of my home and in my new shop exclusively. There are less expensive systems out there but since I have had such good luck I use Uponor and their fittings. Not to mention its a fairly local Minnesota company!

 

[Cryptic1911]

We did our whole addition with Viega, and it installs so easily.. I really like their stainless crimp rings.. they slide onto the end of the pex line, and they have a stopper, so you can't put it on too far. When you crimp it, it comes out looking like the fitting on the end of a hydraulic hose

 

[Dark Horse]

Minn location is the US Headquarters. The company is global originally in in Finland.

 

[Jack90210]

Good friend of mine just had to replace all the copper in his house with PEX, I'm not sure what brand. He had pinhole leaks everywhere.

I did my previous garage/studio with PEX, and choose it over copper all over again in a heartbeat.