Is PEX piping as good as copper for plumbing?

Question

I am getting estimates on having my kitchen replumbed. One company uses copper and the other uses PEX. The one that uses PEX came in at about $500 cheaper. Is PEX as good as copper? Why? Or why not? Thanks!

Answer 1

i tried to answer but answes police didnt like your question. pex is a better product in all ways. water flows through it better,cheaper, better,less time to install,lasts forever, ect....#1 product in my book

Answer 2

I spent some time in front of the computer for some good information about PEX or copper, and I found this article here very useful: http://www.miconstruguia.com/en/how-to-install-pex/. Hope this works for you too.

Answer 3

Is PEX as god as copper is the question. For residential plumbing of domestic water- it is close enough.

Make sure that the company uses good qulaity copper stubouts and copper hold-tights.

There is a small pressure drop when considering the same sized copper against PEX. The PEX has a drop due to the stub out reducing the pipe size.

Generally though, you will probably NEVER know the difference.

The Copper industries though offer a 100 year warranty on copper pipinp. Be sure to check that out as well if you are on the fence.

BUT IN THE END- if money is the object, I would have no prob going with PEX as long as they do not shortcut the transitions to Copper I spoke of above.

As far as some of the people PEX lasts longer. I think that is bogus. There is no REAL way to know how long PEX will last since it has not been out on the market but for 20 years or so. Additionaly WE KNOW it does not last if exposed to sunlight and other elements.

We KNOW COPPER CAN last 100 years because we have actual in place eveidence of it.

The OLD GALVANIZED piping did not last but do not confuse that with copper.

Answer 4

PEX is much cheaper than copper right now and works great. The fittings are much more expensive than copper but you use only a small fraction of what you would in copper. Copper has a 50 yr warranty, most PEX companies offer a 10 to 25 year warranty ( I checked ) Both types of manufacturers will tell you that their pipe will last up to 100 years if installed properly.
I've installed both copper and PEX in new to 100+ old homes.

The main thing with copper, if you are connecting to existing galvanized pipes, use dielectric fittings to make the connections between the two metals otherwise they will react with each other and cause the joint to fail within a short period of time.

The main thing with PEX is to make sure each pipe run has an expansion loop. PEX can expand or contract up to 7-1/2" per 50 feet of length, which is "the main" cause for joint failure as the joints will pull apart if expansion is not allowed for.

Answer 5

PEX is good...It's the next generation of Qest which was notorious for fitting failures (like my first house). Given the price of copper in the past year (over double what it was last year) the difference in cost of the total job should be much more significant.

The advantage of PEX is that there's no flame and no potential fire damage of the surrounding area. However, if it's a professional doing the job, that's a minimal risk. Given that PEX was developed to solve the flaws in Qest, I'd be inclined to do it.

Answer 6

its better, it lasts longer, we just had our home re-plumbed with pex and researched it alot. im surprised pex didnt come in even cheaper than $500 cheaper, because it is much much much easier to install. good luck

Answer 7

Its probably better. It bends & you don't have to solder it. Copper has at least doubled in the last year.

Answer 8

I still LOVE copper, but then again I'm OLD.