Any suggestions for a Pex crimper tool .

[brokenknee]

I would tell the building dept that i check every connection with a pass/fail gauge and they are welcome to come and check for themselves. I have never had a connection not pass the gauge test and have never had a leak.I would love to see the decrimper tool. I have always used a rotozip and ground through the copper band.Ken

I have one, more trouble than their worth. About half the time I ended up distorting the fitting making it useless.

 

[jake98]

View attachment 196118

I have one, more trouble than their worth. About half the time I ended up distorting the fitting making it useless.

Mine works fine. More than paid for itself and haven't wrecked a fitting yet..
Probably only used it a couple doz. times tho.

 

[crazyal]

I just got one of the Aquapex/Wirsbo/Unpor PEX expanders.

No crimping, put a plastic ring over the end of the PEX, expand and insert the fitting.

These have been around longer then the metal crimps or the sharkbites, and all 3 of the professional plumbers I know use them.

The tool is about $180 on Amazon, and I like it because there is consistency between what is already installed and any new work I do.

A second reason to like it is that the local building department requires that you show calibration certificates for the crimper if you use crimps on PEX. The expander does not require a calibration certificate.

A lot of the plumbers around here use the Wirsbo clamp rings and crimper because it doesn't need to be certified.

You simply squeeze the side vs, compress a ring. Since my step brother has the crimper I could borrow at anytime I went with these and had no problems.

 

[Jay4200]

Hi,
I am looking to buy a Pex crimper tool for a small plumbing job.
Did anyone ever purchase one on line and have experience with them , have any suggestions on what type or what brand to buy.

I will never use pex unless forced. I always hard-pipe with copper. I have witnessed many professionals do pex installations using a myrad of different fittings and tools, and I have NEVER seen a complete installation that was leak free. It's junk.

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

Sharkbites have not worked perfectly for us but it probably is user error.

User error? Just stuff it in - what error.

I'd never be caught dead using sharkbites either...

JayC

 

[SpringHollow]

I have never had a pex crimped fitting leak and only one sharkbite leak because i did not fully insert it (it was fine once i pushed it all of the way in) - normally I make a mark where it should go to in order to prevent this error.

I do not like using cpvc but pex is great. It survives freezing MUCH better than copper. I have always used copper for my domestic plumbing but I would consider pex if i was building new. My pex installations have always been for wood boilers, outside water lines etc.

The brass sharkbites are great for a location where you need to be able to rotate it after installation - it rotates but does not leak. They are also nice for locations where you will likely need to take something apart at a later date.

Ken

 

[dstig1]

Pex says 'non oxygen blocking' right on it. I tried to air-test a job once and it drove me nutz untill I realized what they meant.. :confused2:

That's not what it means. Common polymers are permeable to oxygen and other gasses. This is not the same as a leak. Pressurized air will not leak out due to permeation in a time scale that is within anything you will be willing to measure before the time you retire. If you put 10-20 psi in a PEX line to check for leaks and it drops, you have a leak. That does not mean it is permeating through the PEX. The only purpose of that designation is for use in hydronic systems that do not use bronze or SS pumps and fittings throughout. The system will gain oxygen from permeation over time and this will corrode regular steel fittings. There are PEX versions that are made with an oxygen barrier layer, or even a foil layer that are safe to use in hydronic systems that are susceptible to corrosion.

I will never use pex unless forced. I always hard-pipe with copper. I have witnessed many professionals do pex installations using a myrad of different fittings and tools, and I have NEVER seen a complete installation that was leak free. It's junk.

JayC

Sorry , man - Classic old school plumber thinking. PEX is far easier & faster to install leak-free than copper and it has several advantages but only a couple disadvantages compared to copper (everything has it's plusses and minuses). I have witnessed many non-professionals complete whole-house or addition PEX plumbing projects, and never one leak. I have also seen professional installations of PEX as if it were copper with a billion elbows and such, and just shake my head at that, as those folks clearly didn't "get" how to use it. Installing PEX is closer to pulling wire than running copper piping. Hard to get a leak when your only fittings are at the manifold in the basement and the fixture, with a continuous tube between them.

Learning PEX is not hard. As time marches onward, plumbers that rigidly stick with copper will be at such a significant disadvantage vs those using PEX that they will either adapt/change or go out of business. MY MIL used a plumber that thought PEX was Satan about 7 years back. He folded up shop a couple years ago. There will always be a need for copper, but PEX blows it out of the water in most situations, IMHO, of course. All puns fully intended

 

[jake98]

That's not what it means. Common polymers are permeable to oxygen and other gasses. This is not the same as a leak. Pressurized air will not leak out due to permeation in a time scale that is within anything you will be willing to measure before the time you retire.

Well, I don't know, the test went from 20lbs to 8 overnight, twice, but it didn't leak water. It was about 150' of 3/4 for a heat loop. It's been there for 2 yrs. now, still no leaks. Could'a been a fluke I suppose. I checked the schrader valve too.

 

[SpringHollow]

If it got much colder during the test, you can see a drop of few pounds. The pressure drop you saw was not due to diffusion of gases through the pipe IMHO.

Ken

 

[dstig1]

Air and water have very different viscosities, too. Could be temp, could be a very tiny leak that just doesn't show up with water. Compressed air is very hot - if you ran a compressor right up to pressure and then pressurized the system, it could have been with even hotter air than ambient. When it cooled down overnight, that would have big impact. Dunno for sure. The oxygen diffusion issue is parts per million issue (ppm) not percent, and nothing you would notice overnight, and certanily not for this test.