PEX tubing

[geckopsu]

Has anybody ever successfully used PEX tubing for plumbing? I'm moving my sump and refugium to the basement soon and like the benefits of PEX - ease of installation, quiet and no hard 45 or 90 degree bends to restrict flow.
Whatcha think? :notsure:

 

[renogaw]

i sell pex for a living. Only drawbacks is most of the fittings required for transition are in brass. which means copper. which means NONO

 

[geckopsu]

Only brass huh? Nuts! I guess it's back to the drawing board with PVC.

 

[renogaw]

depending on the pex brand, you may be able to get away with barb fittings, but from what i know selling it:
Uponor (Wirsbo) requires expansion tool and has plastic fittings, but no transition fittings in plastic. Only male and copper fittings in brass
Stadler/Viega, others: have an insert fitting, but require copper or other metal rings to keep the fitting in place.
The nice thing about vinyl tubing is it stretches, and can accept a barb fitting bigger than the tubing ID, and there are plastic barb x male and female transition fittings.

 

[geckopsu]

My LFS never mentioned vinyl tubing as an option for plumbing. :notsure: Could I use vinyl tubing that instead of stiff PVC pipes to go from 1st floor to basement and back? Would it last, can it withstand the pressure? What would the drawbacks be?
I'd much rather install vinyl than PVC if its possible.

 

[renogaw]

well, pex tubing isnt for plumbing, its for water distribution. so say going from your pump to your tank it would be fine, but i wouldn't think of using it for draining from your tank to your filtration. PVC would be best.

 

[geckopsu]

What's the downside of using vinyl tubing as the way to get the water to the filtration in the basement?

 

[renogaw]

the biggest downsides would be algae growth and the possibility of kinking.