pex tubing for mainline

[blurr95]

Hey all. I was wondering about using PEX tubing for a mainline this year. I am going to put up a 3/4" main with a sureflow pump. I have a good size roll of Wirsbo PEX tubing left over from building our house and wondered if it would work.

Thanks Jason

[wiam]

Any pex I have seen is not a standard pipe size. So it would be difficult to find connectors for lateral tubing.

[WESTMAPLES]

yes pex works great...3 of my 5 runs are pex tubing ( plumber friend had lots of leftovers when i started out ) works great. you can buy plastic fitting that work with it at home depot ( same manufacturer that the maple dealers sell just different sizing ) . to get a prefect fit i would warm with a pipe torch,slide clamps on, then fitting, tighten before it cools. still do the same process when repairing them but i made mainline fitting tool out of a old car bumper tripod screw jack, 2- medium visegrips, some scrap steel and 30 mins with bandsaw and little mig welder. works great also made a saddle drilling tool from a old saddle drilling bit someone gave me, saddles work great on pex too.

[blurr95]

yes pex works great...3 of my 5 runs are pex tubing ( plumber friend had lots of leftovers when i started out ) works great. you can buy plastic fitting that work with it at home depot ( same manufacturer that the maple dealers sell just different sizing ) . to get a prefect fit i would warm with a pipe torch,slide clamps on, then fitting, tighten before it cools. still do the same process when repairing them but i made mainline fitting tool out of a old car bumper tripod screw jack, 2- medium visegrips, some scrap steel and 30 mins with bandsaw and little mig welder. works great also made a saddle drilling tool from a old saddle drilling bit someone gave me, saddles work great on pex too.

What saddles should I use. Are the ones from Maple guys ok to use. Last year I bought all my tubing and fittings from them, didn't realize they were the ones running this website until a couple months ago. I was looking at the Lapierre super saddle manifold.

Thanks Jason

[Chicopee Sap Shack]

The maple guys ones that are the hose clamp ones would be your best bet because the OD of pex might be different


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[OldManMaple]

Pex tubing may not hold up to uv rays.

From the Plastic Pipe Institute:
The second digit of the PEX material designation code is used to indicate
the level of UV resistance for the PEX material when tested in accordance with ASTM F2657. o A digit “1” indicates the PEX tubing has been tested and meets the
F876 requirement for minimum UV resistance of 1 month. o A digit “2” indicates the PEX tubing has been tested and meets the
F876 requirement for minimum UV resistance of 3 months. o A digit “3” indicates the PEX tubing has been tested and meets the
F876 requirement for minimum UV resistance of 6 months. o A digit “0” indicates it does not meet any minimum UV resistance
requirement or it has not been tested.

From SharkBite.com Q&A
"Q: Can I use PEX pipe outside?

A: PEX pipe is not approved for outdoor applications and is not approved for continuous UV exposure. PEX pipe should not be stored in direct sunlight."

Just saying

[WESTMAPLES]

i think the saddles i have are CDL... i bought a 5 gal bucket full of new and used from a guy that was taking his father inlaws that passed away tubing system . pex will do fine with the UV no need to panic.. most black poly tubing doesn`t have a UV rating on it, and it stays up for 10 years all year round.... i looked at it like atleast pex is a light color so the sun doesn`t warm it to much in the winter ( you want the sap to stay somewhat cool on its way to the tank)