PEX & Kinks

[5030]

I might add that I never have tap water or any treated water in mine. Only Cryotec PEX solution. Heats and cools my shop.

 

[deserteagle71]

And pex last a long time. It doesn’t go around failing all the time like some people seem to believe.

Exactly! Most of the housing around here is plumbed with pex, has been for nearly 30 years and I don't hear of anyone complaining about leaks.

 

[dstig1]

I would take properly installed PEX over copper for most work any day. The ability to pull runs without joints and the inert-ness of PEX make it far better than copper. Sometimes you need the durability of a hard metal pipe, especially when exposed in areas where damage can occur. In those cases, copper makes more sense. And for reference, I sweated copper for all my air lines in my shop, so I am not anti copper at all. It is just that PEX is actually a better material for water supply, in most cases.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Properly installed PEX is ok for RVs and mobile homes that don’t have a long life expectancy anyway. I would never use it in a permanent home. Copper is more expensive but will last much longer (70+ years) if installed properly.

I just pulled about half the copper out of my house. It took me about a day working by myself. Copper would have taken considerably longer. The line to the cold water on the kitchen sink now has no elbows. With the copper there was six 90 degree elbows.

The next water project is going to be to run a 3/4" line the the hot water tank and to a manifold on the outlet side. Then most of the copper lines in the house will have been replaced. Yea!!

Also I've never experienced a leak with pex. I can't say the same for copper.

 

[bcp]

No one should have kinky pex.

Bruce

 

[Chewwy]

. . . I've never experienced a leak with pex. I can't say the same for copper.

I have experienced one leak in in copper tubing in over 70 years. That leak was in a rental house that was not adequately insulated with an outside temp of 10 deg F.

 

[ponytug]

No one should have kinky pex.

Bruce

And the award for wittiest most succinct post goes to...

 

[5030]

And for reference, I sweated copper for all my air lines in my shop, so I am not anti copper at all.

I would NEVER use sweated copper for air lines in any shop where the static pressure exceeds 130 psi (which mine does), sweated copper lines are a grenade waiting to explode and the shrapnel from any failure if you are in the 'bleed zone' can kill or cause you great pain and discomfort.

My entire shop, both the front bay as well as the back bay is all run in black iron pipe with convenient drops and terminates in a WOG valve to drain off any accumulated condensation.

My static air line pressure is set at 140 psi though I could run 175 psi but I don't. The higher the static pressure is, the more drop out condensation is produced in the air lines and water in air tools is a big no. I actually have a an IR air dryer on one compressor as well as the built in air dryer on my screw compressor and I still religiously drain the drops when I use them. I use a lot of compressed air when I'm plasma cutting parts on my CNC plasma table and to that end, my plasma cutter also has a 'Motorgard' cannister filter post inlet on the plasma cutter. You NEVER want to have any condensate in the air stream in ANY plasma cutter as it will quickly destroy the consumables in the plasma torch (consumables aren't cheap) and will degrade the cut as well as destroy the air valving in a plasma cutting unit.

When it comes to shop air, it's always delivered CFM and not static pressure and I have CFM in spades. With both the screw compressor running as well as my 7.5 horse Quincy on line, I have over 40 CFM free air delivery at 140 psi. No air operated tool, impact or otherwise requires any more line pressure than 140 psi to operate at maximum delivered power, in fact I can get maximum delivered power from any air tool at 100 psi but I also run high flow fittings and connects on all my air tools and I always lubricate them prior to use with IR air tool oil. With any air tool, it's all about delivered CFM and using conventional fittings versus high flow fittings will impede that air flow.

Been doing this a long time now, over 20 years or so.

 

[5030]

I might add that when I ran my air system, I purchased all my black iron pipe in mill lengths (20 feet) and threaded everything myself. I own a Ridge Tool pipe threading unit so cutting NPT threads was easy and I purchased all my fittings from a local industrial supplier. All my main runs are in 1.5" black iron and the drops are 1". You can rent a pipe threader at just about any tool rental outlet.

 

[5030]

One thing to always keep in mind as well and that is, the higher the static pressure ANY compressor is set at, the less time said compressor will last. The reason is, the higher the delivered pressure is, the more heat any compressor will produce and the higher the delivered pressure is, the faster the reed valves in the compressor head will carbon up and require maintenance or valve replacement. Of course that don't apply to a screw compressor as a screw don't have reed valves but all conventional reciprocating compressors do. How they work. I only use my Quincy reciprocating compressor when I require maximum air delivery when running the plasma table for extended periods as plasma cutting always requires lots of air delivery at the required pressure and it has to be clean, condensate free are as well. I actually have 4 air compressors all plumbed into the air system but 2 of them are only used for their receivers to maintain constant air flow. The more air storage available, the less the compressors cycle and the less they cycle, the longer they last between servicing.

Was in an industrial shop the other day and took a gander at their delivery system which was in, of all things, plastic pipe and I thought to myself, that is a bomb waiting to go off. Plastic solvent weld pipe especially is prone to getting brittle and failing with the presence of heated air (compressors do raise the temperature of the delivered air, it's part of the mechanics of air compression). Why I run condensate refrigerated dryers on my air system as close to the compressors as possible. I recommend the IR dryers, 100% turn key with automatic condensate drains and my compressors also have automatic condensate drains as well.