You don't want to know the long saga of why, but I bought 2 spools of PEX to replumb my house more than a year ago and am just now getting around to it. So I'm reading through the information from Vanguard about their product and they say it should be stored out of both direct AND INDIRECT sunlight. I remember reading the direct sunlight part when I purchased, so I put one spool in my basement that does get indirect light in the little windows. The other spool has been almost completely covered with cardboard upstairs.

I wrote Vanguard today to ask about the potential problem of having had the tubing there for so long in indirect window light. The guy told me not to use the tubing at all. Ok - ouch, I can live with buying some new, I thought.

BUT . . . wait the plumbing has to get installed IN that very same basement AND in the crawlspace that gets a little indirect light in the vents. He suggested insulating the tubing to eliminate even indirect sunlight from hitting the PEX, but I know I've seen uninsulated PEX around town in crawlspaces and in at least one basement.

Do I really have to put insulation around all the tubing in the basement? I'm sure the manufacturer knows their own product, but is that common with PEX when it's installed in areas that ONLY get indirect sunlight. Does the indirect light still contain the harmful UV?

Concerned and a bit confused.

Concerned?


You should be. And you heard it straight from the mfg. without second hand knowledge from anyone but from the top.

All because somebody wants to save a dime by avoiding copper due to price and work. pfffffffft!


This thread should be a sticky so others unaware of this "fast and easy" product comes with a slew of unknowns.

Oh but it's cheaper and easier than copper. Riiiiiiight.


Find me a piece of copper that was damaged by sunlight. It doesn't exist. Find me a product that has numerous limitations and follows a trail of disappointing lawsuits and it leads to PEX (plastic piping and fittings).



That's the very reason why I choose to break bands on a new skid of plastic piping used for DWV applications and taking the pipe from down inside the pile......rather than the top. It specifically states that it must be protected from sunlight. Some of those skids are exposed to UV rays for weeks like 20 footers or 1.25" piping. The piping is more ridgid the longer it sits and bakes in the sun It's the first stuff to snap under stress in a wall. Find broken PVC piping all the time......could of sat on the racks of the truck for weeks before it was installed.



Edited 3 times.

fostapex..read hear please

[images.google.com]

do what the mfg. said . if you dont and there is a problem they will not own up to any warrenty since you didnt follow their instructions.

as for the places you have seen pex exposed in they are on a wing and a prayer. and their plumber is the one that put them there by not installing according to the mfg. instructions

- - - - - - -

PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

fostapex is aluminum shielded. i have to use a "prep" tool to peel the aluminum off. like peeling an orange.

[www.stadlerviega.com]

it fits into the battery drill and takes less than a second to prep the tubing end.
the best part of fostapex is, if you bend it, it stays put. no wrestling. the aluminum gives it its oxygen barrier and greatly reduces the expansion/contraction.
IIIIIIIIIIIII love it.

Theres no sunlight in the walls around hear.

So it sounds like any plumbers worth their salt should always be either wrapping PEX or somehow hiding it from any diffuse light at all.

I guess I was just surprised to hear this about installation of the stuff, having read several posts over the year on this forum, but not hearing anyone talk about what they normally cover their PEX with.

As one suggested, the manufacturer knows better than anyone. I wasn't trying to skirt what they told me, but rather trying to see what plumbers in the field actually say. Those of us in photography, like me, run into the issue all the time of a manufacturer saying officially not to ever use a non-manufacturer flash, for instance, on their cameras as "damage may result." But pros have done it since the beginning of time with no adverse consequences.

As one who didn't know anything about PEX 2 years ago, then grew to love its benefits once I researched it, I'm now feeling like the its aversion to ANY light reaching it is a major drawback. It must be a pain for all you guys to have to wrap or otherwise cover up all installations in crawlspaces or basements that have any inlet of light.

I recently had pex tubing installed with my new boiler. The tubing came in a completely closed carboard box.

Once installed we went to our local home center and bought foam insulation tubes. They come in 4 or 5 different diameters with a slit that you open with your finger.
It's peace of mind knowing that you're following the manufacturer's recommendations by keeping it out of direct or indirect sunlight and at the same time you're insulating your pipes. The cost of covering just one foot of pipe is worth the savings in the long run.
Pex is easy to work with, install, and is quite strong.

Another thing to make sure of, the pex we used for our boiler is not for potable water. Make sure if you are using it for this that you have the correct type.

The pipe is damaged by UV, by having it inside a buiding with only windows letting sun in it shouldn't be a big deal.....Reps give you the worst case because they assume you gave them the best case (ie it sat in a snow bank for winter in the sun for spring and summer and the fall.

It is only a "pain" for the plumbers using PEX.

Wirsbo has a UV Inhibitor for just this reason and is pexA not pexC like vangard.My estimate is a good 80% to 85% of Plumbers have switched over to Pex now.I even made some reuseable drinking straws with some 3/8" Pex risers...I'll tell the kids to keep them away from the sunny D.

Rehau has a UV barrier as well.
As far as people thinking that licensed plumbers are using pex as a cheap and easy way out they are ignorantly wrong. In my area of Texas copper has been failing more and more over the past several years due to mineral content of the water and copper quality going downhill.
Properly installed quality pex requires very expensive tools per each manufacturer and the brass fittings to connect the pipe are 5 to 10 times the cost of copper fittings.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Manifold distribution systems are an irresponsible waste of material, water and time.
Learn to properly size your piping."

"Anything can be done. It won't be cheap but it can be done."

To be honest, I can't give you an exact answer to your question. I also have PEX pipes installed in my basement and when I recently did repairs there, we had a small incident with the builders. I bought new Windows from [ecochoicewindows.ca] and hired professionals to install these Windows. I did not warn them that I had these pipes installed, they also did not notice them at first. When they were almost done with the replacement, one of them noticed that there were PEX pipes that were not protected from sunlight. They told me about what might have happened and in the end I just insulated them so that they did not get sunlight. Even though they have been in indirect contact with sunlight for a relatively long time, they still work properly. I don't know, maybe I was just lucky...