Pex tube and the sun

[mx842]

I finally have gotten to the point where I have started to lay out my pex tubing for my in floor heat system and the way it looks now it may be awhile before I can scrape up the money to buy the concrete to cover it up.

I was wondering how long the insulation boards and pex tube can stay exposed to the sun before it starts to go bad?

 

[DRL]

Pex does not stand UV. I would not put it down till you ready for concrete.

DRL

 

[Kays Supply]

Nibco brand has the longest exposure time. However, they have shortened the time they had used in the past. Basically the shorter the better. For plumbing, you can sleeve it to make the exposure time much longer. That won't work for heat.

 

[Raspy]

Since you are already putting the tube in, you'll have to commit to getting it covered soon. A couple weeks won't hurt much, but a few days would be better.

I don't know what brand you are using, but less exposure is better and the manufacturer's have recommendations on their sites.

Also, where the tube exits the slab and connects to the manifold, you must wrap it with foil or build a closed box or something over it if left outside during construction.

Some of this might be a bit more than needed, but it's way better than having it degrade. I left some outside during construction and a while later it would just break instead of bend.

 

[mx842]

I called and e-mailed the people I bought my tube and supplies from and they have the worst customer service. They were Jonny on the spot when I was ordering hundreds of dollars worth of stuff but half of the stuff they had on their site was out of stock. Of-course you didn't find out about some parts until you made the order. I wanted a 10 loop manifold and they did show it was out of stock so I ordered a 9 loop. I wanted a couple free loops in case I wanted to add on to my shop at a later date.

I ordered all my stuff and two days later they e-mailed me and said the 9 loop manifolds were out of stock too. I called them to find out when they may come in and the lady on the phone didn't have a clue. I almost canceled the order but while I had her on the phone I got on the site to go over the parts to see just what they did have. I had to have 8 loops but they didn't have those either then at the bottom of the page I spotted this neat looking connector that was for connecting two manifolds together for when you want to expand your system.

That gave me the idea of just buying two smaller ones and adding them together. I know, that cost more money but by this point I had spent so much time messing with it I just wanted to get on with my life. I ended up getting a 5 loop and a 4 loop because they didn't have but one of each of those and ordered two of the manifold connectors.

A couple days later the parts came in and I opened the boxes to check the parts and that's when I found out that the connectors were on back order. I called them back and after 3 days of playing phone tag I finally got the lady back on the phone and she tells me that they were not only on back order the people that make them are either no longer making them or are out of business. I asked what do they have as an alternative and she said they didn't have anything. I almost lost it.....I said you mean I've just bought over $1700.00 worth of stuff from you people and after I get the stuff you tell me that the part that hooks these two manifolds together is out of stock! What the heck do I do now. She said, oh well....I guess you can talk to the tech department. After about 3 days and 20 calls or so I finally got someone that supposed to be in the tech department and when I told him what I wanted the **** fool asked me why I bought two manifolds to begin with and also added in We never do that when installing a system...........After a few seconds my brain came back on line and I hung up the phone.

I know, long story but after I had put down about 4 loops I was thinking about what I had read about pvc pipe getting brittle when left out in the sun I wondered what the sun would do to my pex tube. I called these people again to ask about UV and the pex tube they had sold me and the lady again said she didn't have a clue about UV rays and the effect it had on their pex tube and told me to hold on and I'll connect you with the tech department. I said, Oh you mean the stock boy back in the warehouse? and after a short pause the phone went dead.LOL

Anyway I went out and wrote down the only thing that was written on the box the pex was in and googled the word EVOH and it took me to the company that made it and after a half hour of searching they claim you can leave it exposed for up to 60 days before the warranty is no good any more. Not that I plan on leaving it in the open that long but it's good to know. I'll probably have to cover it up with the 6 mil black poly stuff I put down under my insulation until I can get the money together to finish the floor.

I wonder if it would hurt to leave that black plastic over the tube when I pour or should I take it off?

 

[Raspy]

Take the black plastic off before the pour because you want intimate tube contact with the concrete, all the way around the tube, if possible.

The black plastic will help with the UV, but don't wait too long.

I wish people could get ahold of the right folks in the first place instead of fly-by-night opportunists that don't know their ***** from a hole in the ground. I've been in the radiant heating business for over thirty years and a lot of what I do is dispel myths and solve problems like yours.

It seems like on-line customer relations is a problem with a lot of stores.

 

[mx842]

Take the black plastic off before the pour because you want intimate tube contact with the concrete, all the way around the tube, if possible.

The black plastic will help with the UV, but don't wait too long.

I wish people could get ahold of the right folks in the first place instead of fly-by-night opportunists that don't know their ***** from a hole in the ground. I've been in the radiant heating business for over thirty years and a lot of what I do is dispel myths and solve problems like yours.

It seems like on-line customer relations is a problem with a lot of stores.

I figured I would remove it before I poured anyway. I figured I could always use it later and replace the stuff that has been under my house for 20 years. It has gotten pretty ratty from me crawling around on it doing inspections and working under their over the years. I hate to see a hundred dollar roll of poly go to waste.

Yeah it seems everybody just wants to sell, sell, sell and forget you once they have your money. I found another site that shows them so I might go there and get the connectors. I have been everywhere in town looking for something that looks like them. They must be 1" pipe because that is what the test connector fitting is that I bought from them. But all of the other fittings that connect in these threads are shorter and they have o-rings on the outside edge. The manifolds came from pex universe and they look like many other SS manifolds that are sold at other places.

 

[Raspy]

It sounds like you have the straight thread manifolds. They look like 1" pipe but are not tapered and use the gaskets or O rings as you mentioned. Zurn and Rehau both use this method, but rehau might be better. If your manifolds have a female thread you can use pipe nipples to connect them together, even though the thread is not tapered. I'll tell you how if you're interested.

Some manifold end connectors go to 1" thread, they look like a pipe coupling, but have straight thread on one side and pipe thread on the other. In that case you can put one on each end of the two manis you want to connect and then use a brass nipple in between. A bit crude, but it works.

Sorry about the runaround.

 

[mx842]

It sounds like you have the straight thread manifolds. They look like 1" pipe but are not tapered and use the gaskets or O rings as you mentioned. Zurn and Rehau both use this method, but rehau might be better. If your manifolds have a female thread you can use pipe nipples to connect them together, even though the thread is not tapered. I'll tell you how if you're interested.

Some manifold end connectors go to 1" thread, they look like a pipe coupling, but have straight thread on one side and pipe thread on the other. In that case you can put one on each end of the two manis you want to connect and then use a brass nipple in between. A bit crude, but it works.

Sorry about the runaround.

Yep! That's what I have. I've been to every supply house around here and no one has anything like this around these parts. I had almost decided to use brass 1" male pipe to 1" pex nipple on them and connect them with 1" pex tube and hope it doesn't leak somewhere to where I have to take it all back apart and redo it. But if you have another way by all means share it, I'm all ears.

I had to take a couple days off my project because I have to fix my wife's AC on her car, she will be needing it soon so I can't put it off any longer. I have to put brakes on the front end too. Hopefully I get this done and back to work tomorrow if everything goes okay. So, I still have a little time to pick up something else that may work better if you have something better in mind.

 

[Lazy]

Hi Folks
I am thinking about installing pex in the concrete floor of a 30x50 foot garage, I used pex in a house we built 3 years ago and really like how easy it was to work with. we used the Uponor Wirsbo brand tubing. I need to find the best way to lay out the tubing and feeding it without using up a lot of wall or floor space. our plan is to use solar heated water and or an outside wood furnace to heat the water. If someone would have pictures we sure would like to see them. should we use 5/16 or 1/2 inch tubing? How many zones should I use or can I just use 1 large zone area? also how much tubing do I need to use? the tubing is about 600 dollars per 1000 foot free shipping from pexsupply.

Charlie