# Plastic PEX fittings good or bad?



## Shouldz14

I've done plenty of work with PEX pipe over the past couple of years. I am now getting into renovating homes and some have to be fully gutted. My question is from simple a cost savings/quality stand point are the plastic fittings just as good as the brass ones? I will be purchasing these in large quantities so small savings like this adds up, and the fact the even at HD or lowes they are half the price of the brass make appealing to use. I just don't want to use them and the person who purchases the home have a problem shortly after purchase. If they are just as good then I'll most likely use them. But if anyone has had experience with them and the quality just isn't there then the savings won't be worth it.


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## pappagor

i use them a lot of the time and have had good luck with them


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## philcav7

HD & Lowes are the most expensive places in my area. If you do volume, you should get better pricing at a supplier...better quality as well. There's some good online options as well. I used to waste a lot of my time trying to find the best deal, but soon realized it was a waste of time. If the fittings are $0.20 more and I used 100 of them on a job, it's only a $20 difference in material cost. Sometimes there's better ways to increase profits. 

Except the $90 toilets I used in bank jobs, I won't enter the plumbing aisle of HD. 

I used plastic fittings with Uphonor, but no longer have the expander. All other fittings I get brass in bulk.


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## Golden view

you can tow a truck with propex ep (engineered plastic) fittings stringing together a bunch of pieces of pex.

Or so claims my plumber...


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## Quality_PTG

I've heard the grey pex pipe isn't any good. Any truth to that?


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## CarpenterSFO

Get out of HD and Lowes and over to a decent plumbing supplier. I am using and plan to use the Uponor propex fittings and aquapex pipe as much as possible going forward, using the Milwaukee expansion tool. Still some use for copper.


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## Golden view

Quality_PTG said:


> I've heard the grey pex pipe isn't any good. Any truth to that?


Yes. Use only Uponor or Rehau pex.


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## m1911

I wouldn't trust the plastic fittings from homedepot, they'll probably get brittle and crack.


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## TimNJ

When I think of plastic pex fittings I think of RV construction.


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## CO762

The grey in RVs I don't think is pex as it cannot withstand freezing.
So the sharkbite at home depot is junk?


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## illbuildit.dd

The price difference between my local building supply and a plumbing supply i now use...
2.99/.79

Cant remember the part but that's it. Crazy


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## CO762

Our local place sells pex clamps individually, which was good because I was one short....so I bought 20. They are overpriced on everything--but that's to be expected as the city is a half an hour away, so we pay for convenience.


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## jayweitekamp

CarpenterSFO said:


> Get out of HD and Lowes and over to a decent plumbing supplier. I am using and plan to use the Uponor propex fittings and aquapex pipe as much as possible going forward, using the Milwaukee expansion tool. Still some use for copper.


Bob... Does SF allow you to use PEX? I was under the assumption that they only allowed copper.. Thanks


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## CarpenterSFO

jayweitekamp said:


> Bob... Does SF allow you to use PEX? I was under the assumption that they only allowed copper.. Thanks


It used to be that way, but PEX has been legal for a few years now in SF. I have been told that all the new big construction is 100% Uponor/Propex.

I know of 2 big houses that were plumbed by subs from outside of the city, prior to the change. All PEX, all had to be cut out and re-done.


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## jayweitekamp

CarpenterSFO said:


> It used to be that way, but PEX has been legal for a few years now in SF. I have been told that all the new big construction is 100% Uponor/Propex.
> 
> I know of 2 big houses that were plumbed by subs from outside of the city, prior to the change. All PEX, all had to be cut out and re-done.



Good to know I guess I should of asked the inspector on the last job. I'm just so used to copper pipes and cast iron for DWV.


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## Jbb

Quality_PTG said:


> I've heard the grey pex pipe isn't any good. Any truth to that?


This is correct. There was a huge lawsuit some time ago. If you see it, replace it because it will leak. It’s called polypropylene.


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## Kingcarpenter1

6 year old thread & the poly was nothing like today’s pex.

Mike


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## mike d.

I like the plastic because they dont corrode like the brass ones do. Especially if there's hard water


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## Pounder

I've always been concerned about the plastic fittings, they seem cheap to me.


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne

Jbb said:


> This is correct. There was a huge lawsuit some time ago. If you see it, replace it because it will leak. It’s called polypropylene.


Nope. It was called PB (polybutylene).

Hasn’t been a Code Approved interior piping for decades.

Polyethylene is the black plastic used for water service piping. It’s never been approved for interior use, but it’s used extensively in underground water service and well riser piping.

And neither has anything to do with PEX.


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## VinylHanger

I hate polyethylene if it's what I have from the well to the house. Random pinhole leaks, then it gets bigger.

This year hopefully we will just repipe the house and it will go away.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne

VinylHanger said:


> I hate polyethylene if it's what I have from the well to the house. Random pinhole leaks, then it gets bigger.
> 
> This year hopefully we will just repipe the house and it will go away.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


Replace with PVC?


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## VinylHanger

Probably. Can you bury pex?

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne

It’s not rated for direct burial


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## jim85541

VinylHanger said:


> Probably. Can you bury pex?
> 
> Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


 I have run larger PVC, one inch or bigger, then run PEX thru it. Buys it some crush resistance and from the ground moving. We have clay soil that moves a lot. It the PEX was to go bad you can just pull it out and fish another in the PVC. Plus you won't cut the PEX with a shovel.


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