Need help finding 1" AquaPEX

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Chris B

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Hi everyone,

I would like to hook up my well pressure tank to my new ProPEX copper pex manifold with 1" AquaPEX instead of 1" copper. The issue is I only need about 20' or so of the tubing and all I can find are 100' coils, this would leave me with 80' of 1" tubing for which I have no use for. I have not been successful in finding any supply houses or plumbers in my area that carry or use Aquapex, if anyone has any suggestions or if you are a plumber in the Bethel, CT area that uses AqauPEX please let me know.

The reason I would like to use the AquaPEX rather than copper is that the location of the well pressure tank in relation to the ProPEX manifold is such that it would require a number of fittings and odd angles for which the AquaPEX would easily conform to.
 

Chris B

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I would but I haven't been able to find a plumber that actually has Uponor AquaPEX in my area :-(
 
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Rmelo99

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Does it have to be Uponor AquaPex? I'm in CT the plumbing houses by me do stock 20' sticks but none of that brand, I've found WATTS and some "local distributor brands". I bought coils through pexsupply.com I think Lowes by us carry Zurn Sticks
 

Chris B

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I intially was going to do that run in 1" copper... the problem I ran into was that the angle of the pressure tank outlet is not parallel with the wall I need to run the piping along, therefore I would have to create some mickey mouse set of fittings or run a stainless steel corrugated water connector from the pressure tank outlet to the copper tubing. The pipe also has to make another 90 degree turn before reaching the PEX manifold. I figured the PEX would make a much cleaner connection and would also have less flow restriction as there would not be as many fittings or elbows.

I would prefer to stick with the AquaPEX as that is what I have now... also from doing hours and hours of reading about the various types of PEX tubing and the different connection methods, I concluded that there were less issues with installations that were done with the AquaPEX and the Uponor Wirsbo Expander system (assuming the connection was made properly) than those that used crimp rings or metal bands.

Worst comes to worst I will figure out how to do it in copper, I was just hoping there might be someone out there who might have some left over AquaPEX they might want to sell or install for me... never hurts to ask!
 

NHmaster3015

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You can anneal copper by heating it untill it turns bright red and then let it cool down. That will give you enough flex to straighten out your run and not have to use a bunch of fittings.
 

Andrew P.

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I think Chris B is correct about AquaPEX. I, too, have been researching PEX systems and calling plumbers about doing a repiping job entirely in PEX. So far, without exception, they try to steer me to copper or CPVC. They usually say that they won't do PEX installations due to lawsuits over failures of fittings. Digging a little deeper, I discovered the problem has been caused by QPEX brass fittings from Zurn. Peeling the onion even more, we find that these fittings are made by a division of Eljer, with whom Zurn merged in 1997. Eljer, in turn, acquired the bankrupt U.S. Brass, which had made the plastic Qest fittings used in the infamous polybutylene (PB) piping systems used in RVs, mobile homes and many regular houses in the 1970s and early 1980s, until pipes and fittings started bursting right and left due to inferior PB resins supplied by Shell Chemical Co. If you examine QPEX fittings, they look suspiciously like Qest fittings, and once you understand the corporate lineage, the reason for the resemblance is clear. Moreover, Zurn PEX fittings use a crimped zinc-plated steel ring to hold the PEX tubing on the fitting, much like the old U.S. Brass Qest fittings that secured PB tubing. The failures come in some cases from a design defect in the brass T's and elbows, wherein a crack or pinhole develops, or from the zinc coating on the crimp ring deteriorating, followed soon thereafter by a corrosion failure of the steel ring. In a class action lawsuit filed in Minnesota against Zurn in mid-2007, it is alleged that some of their brass fittings failed in as little as two months after installation. Now, Wirsbo AquaPEX doesn't use crimp rings at all. The connections are made with an expander tool that simultaneously stretches the end of the tube and a PEX reinforcement ring slipped over the tube; within 30 seconds after the tool is removed and the tube is slipped onto the end of the fitting, it has shrunk so tight that one can't remove it. Within an hour it is permanent and watertight. There is no metal ring to corrode and fail. As long as one sticks with genuine Wirsbo PEX tubing and brass or plastic fittings, one shouldn't have any problems. I have a DIY AquaPEX installation in my house that is about 10 years old now, and it has shown no problems whatsoever. Based on what I now know, I, too, would insist on staying with AquaPEX.
 
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