Pex Plumbing in San Jose

What is PEX?

An Uponor plumbing system features Engel-method crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) tubing. This is a flexible plastic tubing product that has been used for more than 35 years in radiant floor heating, plumbing and fire safety systems.

PEX is classified into three categories: • PEX-a (Engel or peroxide method) • PEX-b (Silane method) • PEX-c (Electron beam or radiation method)

The PEX tubing industry considers Engel-method PEX-a tubing superior because the crosslinking is done during the manufacturing process when polyethylene is in its amorphic state (above the crystalline melting point). Because of this, the degree of crosslinking reaches around 85%, resulting in a more uniform product with no weak links in the molecular chain.

The properties in PEX-a tubing make it the most flexible PEX on the market, allowing for the tightest bend radius available — as little as 3½” for ½” tubing. Its flexibility also greatly reduces the instance of kinked tubing. However, because of the thermal memory of PEX-a, if a kink does occur, a simple shot from a heat gun returns the tubing to its original shape.

Advantages of PEX:

• Adaptable and easy-to-use plumbing system
• Can be used with hot and cold water
• Can also be used with metal and PVC piping
• PEX has fewer fittings, making it faster to install and with less of a chance to leak
• PEX is more burst-resistant due to its flexibility to expand and contract
• It has a shutoff valve at each supply line, making it more convenient for you when you have to get repairs done
• PEX can have a pressure balanced system
• Since it is flexible, the pipes can be bent around most corners and usually won’t need a coupling or fitting

Our years of experience shows that PEX is obviously superior, and easy to install. Copper will break, and then there are all the elbows that must be installed. Every spring, with copper, I have breaks from the cold winters. The polyethylene pipe (PEX) will give a little, so it’s not as likely to break as copper. And PEX is faster and easier to install and it is easier to drain the system since each line is independent to the incoming source of water. You can turn off each segment. Copper runs all together and is a lot harder to install since you have to know how to solder, and not everyone knows how. With PEX, the only thing you have to do is buy the expensive crimper, which pays off after having to have the copper fixed every spring because of breakage. PEX is more for do-it-yourselfers and it isn’t hard to splice, plus it is cheaper to install.

We hope this gives those non-plumbing homeowners or business owners a basic knowledge and understanding of the difference between PEX piping and copper piping.

For Pex Plumbing in Bay Area (San Jose, Mountain View, Gilroy, Milpitas , Southbay) area please give us a call today.

Pex Tubing: