Plumbing woes

[Ernest Ekberg]

I have had persistent problems with my coach plumbing. The copper lines
have been patched so many times, and all the clamps have been
tightened so many times- that it was time to replumb.
I should have put up with the leaks.
I used Pex tubing and fittings. The new Pex is a joy to work with. What
was my nightmare was routing the new in the cramped spaces where the
old was. And the closest supply house is 25 miles away. The copper
lines and fittings have been removed and thankfully after only 3 trips
to the supply house, I now have at least curbside plumbing that doesn't
leak!!!
Ernie-83PT40 in Montana- watching football now

[Larry holland]

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ernest Ekberg"
wrote:
>
> I have had persistent problems with my coach plumbing. The copper
lines
> have been patched so many times, and all the clamps have been
> tightened so many times- that it was time to replumb.
> I should have put up with the leaks.
> I used Pex tubing and fittings. The new Pex is a joy to work with.
What
> was my nightmare was routing the new in the cramped spaces where the
> old was. And the closest supply house is 25 miles away. The copper
> lines and fittings have been removed and thankfully after only 3
trips
> to the supply house, I now have at least curbside plumbing that
doesn't
> leak!!!
> Ernie-83PT40 in Montana- watching football now

Ernie, What kind of material is "PEX" tubing made from? Are the
fittings compression type, glue, or something else like an "O" ring
seal? What sizes does it come in, and what are the pressure ratings,
working and static. I have been in the piping trade for more years
than I want to remember and "PEX" is a new one on me. Sounds
interesting, although copper is great for most installations it can be
a bear to work with in the confined spaces we have in our "Birds".
Larry Holland
82FC35SB 3208T
Canandaigua, N.Y.
>

[birdshill123]

Pex tubing is uded in most new RV's. It is plastic and can be used for
both hot and cold. The tubing has a memory. In the Rv factories they
have a special mandrel that stretches the tubing and then it is slipped
onto the fittings and a plastic crimp sleeve is installed. The tubing
is always trying to return to it"s original size and thus you get a
good seal. For those of us without the fancy tools there are a number
of ways that Pex can be utilized. Some home supply stores will rent the
crimper. Or you can get special compression fittings for the Pex.
Ernie: Which method and brand did you use?

Bruce
1988 FC35

[Stephen Birtles]

pex is cross linked polyethelen tubing comes 3/8,1/2,3/4,1 inch are
most used consumer sizes variety of fittings some are user friendly
some are not usually clapmed witha crimper and ring works great and
even better for raidiant heating in homes
http://www.ppfahome.org/pex/faqpex.html
stephen 77fc35 with pex no copper



--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Larry holland"
wrote:
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ernest Ekberg"
> wrote:
> >
> > I have had persistent problems with my coach plumbing. The copper
> lines
> > have been patched so many times, and all the clamps have been
> > tightened so many times- that it was time to replumb.
> > I should have put up with the leaks.
> > I used Pex tubing and fittings. The new Pex is a joy to work with.
> What
> > was my nightmare was routing the new in the cramped spaces where the
> > old was. And the closest supply house is 25 miles away. The copper
> > lines and fittings have been removed and thankfully after only 3
> trips
> > to the supply house, I now have at least curbside plumbing that
> doesn't
> > leak!!!
> > Ernie-83PT40 in Montana- watching football now
>
> Ernie, What kind of material is "PEX" tubing made from? Are the
> fittings compression type, glue, or something else like an "O" ring
> seal? What sizes does it come in, and what are the pressure ratings,
> working and static. I have been in the piping trade for more years
> than I want to remember and "PEX" is a new one on me. Sounds
> interesting, although copper is great for most installations it can be
> a bear to work with in the confined spaces we have in our "Birds".
> Larry Holland
> 82FC35SB 3208T
> Canandaigua, N.Y.
> >
>

[erniecarpet@...]

I used the 1/2 inch ratchet crimper my son had. He said it cost 150 bucks-
glad he had it or I would have put up with the leaks.

Ernie Ekberg
83 PT40
Livingston, Montana



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[erniecarpet@...]

here in Montana, lots of the high end homes have radiant heat with pex and
copper.
It must be really expensive to have it installed.

Ernie Ekberg
83 PT40
Livingston, Montana-pex- no leaks



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[krminyl@...]

My neighbor who lives across the street from our Mammoth Lakes house is the
plumber that did that episode of This Old House and the radiant heating using
PEX tubing. He loves the stuff, and can't understand why anybody wouldn't
use it. He's working on the contract for heating the new runway at Mammoth
Lakes Airport, using PEX plumbing and radiant heat. Pretty neat
stuff....pretty neat how all that radiant heating stuff works both inside and
outside. If
you get a chance to see that episode of Bob Vila's This Old House, it's worth
the watch.

Kevin McKeown
Yorba Linda, CA (Also Mammoth Lakes, I guess)
1986 38' PT


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Pete Masterson]

PEX is "Cross-linked polyethylene". I first heard of it a few years
ago on the PBS show "This Old House" where it was used for radiant
hot water heating systems. Subsequently TOH used PEX for retrofitting
plumbing and other difficult plumbing situations where the
flexibility was a real advantage. I suspect that the relatively
limited applications for PEX (on This Old House) has something to do
with the cost vs. other materials. However, as copper has really gone
up in price recently, I'm sure PEX will see more use in the future.
See <http://www.ppfahome.org/pex/faqpex.html> for details about the
product.

Pete Masterson
aeonix1@...
'95 Bluebird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
El Sobrante, CA




On Oct 1, 2006, at 6:09 PM, Larry holland wrote:

>
>
> Ernie, What kind of material is "PEX" tubing made from? Are the
> fittings compression type, glue, or something else like an "O" ring
> seal? What sizes does it come in, and what are the pressure ratings,
> working and static. I have been in the piping trade for more years
> than I want to remember and "PEX" is a new one on me. Sounds
> interesting, although copper is great for most installations it can be
> a bear to work with in the confined spaces we have in our "Birds".
> Larry Holland
> 82FC35SB 3208T
> Canandaigua, N.Y.
>>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[The Squires]

Ernie,

Was this crimpier the kind that expanded the end of the PEX tubing and then
the other side forced on a sleeve over the tubing and connector? I assume
that you used 1/2" PEX, correct?

Jimmy
-----Original Message-----
From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of erniecarpet@...
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 7:24 AM
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Plumbing woes


I used the 1/2 inch ratchet crimper my son had. He said it cost 150 bucks-
glad he had it or I would have put up with the leaks.

Ernie Ekberg
83 PT40
Livingston, Montana

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bruce Morris]

Pete, I used PEX when I replumbed the Bear's Den. I did research and the
characteristics I liked were that it was easier to replumb because of the
flexibility, it took fewer fittings and it is pretty much impervious to
bursting. It handles both hot and cold water. The crimp fittings are also
supposed to handle the leaking problems.

Secondarily, the size is standard plumbing size rather than the copper used in
my Bird. And since it is inside you don't have to worry about ultraviolet or
sun damage. It is easy to alter or repair if you want to in the future.

I found lots of pluses with no real minuses.

Bruce Morris (919)872-7635 Raleigh, NC
Webmaster - WOO (http://www.wanderlodge.us)
1983 WL FC35RB

FMCA: 7142s Ham Radio: KI4ME
Vietnam Vet - 1966-67 'Doc' (Navy Corpsman) 3rd MarDiv

----- Original Message -----
From: Pete Masterson
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 12:35 PM
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Plumbing woes


PEX is "Cross-linked polyethylene". I first heard of it a few years
ago on the PBS show "This Old House" where it was used for radiant
hot water heating systems. Subsequently TOH used PEX for retrofitting
plumbing and other difficult plumbing situations where the
flexibility was a real advantage. I suspect that the relatively
limited applications for PEX (on This Old House) has something to do
with the cost vs. other materials. However, as copper has really gone
up in price recently, I'm sure PEX will see more use in the future.
See <http://www.ppfahome.org/pex/faqpex.html> for details about the
product.

Pete Masterson
aeonix1@...
'95 Bluebird Wanderlodge WBDA 42'
El Sobrante, CA

On Oct 1, 2006, at 6:09 PM, Larry holland wrote:

>
>
> Ernie, What kind of material is "PEX" tubing made from? Are the
> fittings compression type, glue, or something else like an "O" ring
> seal? What sizes does it come in, and what are the pressure ratings,
> working and static. I have been in the piping trade for more years
> than I want to remember and "PEX" is a new one on me. Sounds
> interesting, although copper is great for most installations it can be
> a bear to work with in the confined spaces we have in our "Birds".
> Larry Holland
> 82FC35SB 3208T
> Canandaigua, N.Y.
>>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]