Hi there: I was looking at a few videos, etc and I just cant help but wonder why Pex usage seems to be so low?
Are there any problems that are not obvious, or is it just a licence issue?
Run the PEX tubing: PEX needs to be supported a minimum of every 32 inches when running horizontally. If running vertically, it should be supported every 4 to 6 feet.
The truth is, as with any piping, PEX is still vulnerable to freezing if the temperature drops low enough. But thanks to its flexible material, the plastic expands under the pressure of the freeze, significantly reducing the chance of bursting. That means your house is unlikely to flood due to a burst PEX pipe.
PEX piping has a maximum bend radius, which can lead to stress on the pipe caused by improper installation. In addition, extreme bends and kinks place a very high local stress on the wall of the pipe, making it more susceptible to oxidative degradation.
PEX crimp equipment is a lot more affordable than the expansion kits. However, despite the pricing and form shortcomings, most plumbers prefer to work with expansion because installation is more efficient. There are fewer leaks, and it also seems to be more durable against extreme colds and frozen pipes, etc.
It's a very new tool and to work really well you need to use Code Contracts as well. It also catches a lot of issues like possible integer overflows that a lot of developers think they can just ignore. Pex is amazing and will take off eventually but it has a learning curve so it's going to take some time to percolate through the .Net ecosystem.
I've used it on a few new development projects and it has saved me two major bugs (not caught by normal unit tests) that would have taken at least a week to track down and fix normally plus a few smaller issues so I'm a big proponent of Pex. That said it takes a lot of work to get it producing good results on an existing code base of any size so how cost effective it is will need to be determined on a project by project basis.
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