Oliver and all,
I wonder if you aren't right in that the PEX has been reformulated?
My wife sold her parents home last October and since then I've been
driving by photographing the new home that's being built in its place. At
one point before the slab floor had been poured, that central manifold was
evident within the heart of the first floor plan with its red lines leading
every which way on the first and second floors.
This suggests to me that it's now OK to use the stuff in new
construction, remodeling and our Airstreams, etc.
Although not under constant pressure, the installation I did in our
Caravel has been there for several years with no sign of cold flow creep or
leaking of any sort. In my book, it's waaay cool stuff to work with and
use.
Glyn Judson
1969 Caravel #508
Santa Monica, CA
> Eddie,
>
> PEX was used in the late 70's and early 80's in Southern California.
> Unfortunately, there was a serious problem with it and the builders and
> Shell Chemical (which made the PEX plumbing components) were sued - and
> lost, big time. The PEX water lines had to be replaced with copper.
>
> The problem, then, was that the fittings did not stay connected under the
> continuous pressure of the city water supply. The PEX tubing exhibited "cold
> flow" and slowly (until the end) slipped off the fittings causing major
> water damage.
>
> I do not know how well this problem has been solved - either by
> reformulating the tubing, or redesigning the fittings and the attachment
> scheme, or both.
>
> If I remember correctly, the PEX plastic was potentially an excellent
> material for potable water lines, as it was chemically inert to the water
> and trace chemicals, and did not leech toxic chemicals into the water
> passing through it.
>
> Oliver Filippi