How do PEX and Copper compare? What is the life expectancy...

Thanks!

Copper is great for most applications, but the quality seems to have gone slightly downhill; I would use L copper if I had my choice. Pex is great for all applications; it still needs to be installed correctly, and needs to be sized properly. Pex fittings are a smaller inside diameter, which means that they will restrict the flow some, and in some cases can cause performance problems if too many fixtures are on an undersized line. If you have water that is acidic or alkaline, Pex and poly fittings are a much better choice as they don't corrode. If you have a water softener, Pex isn't subject to electrolysis like copper can be in the presence of a highly ionized liquid. The downside to Pex is that every Tom, Dick, and Harry thinks that they can install it because they can get the tool, and it is quick, with no danger of burning down a house, but unless the installer knows what they are doing, you can get serious water damage when the fittings start leaking in 6 months down the road.

Pex is susceptible to sunlight, so it can't be left exposed to direct or indirect sunlight.

also, i'm guessing that the price difference in the cost of a job (labor and materials) is about 500%...

One more thing that the Plumber does not have to deal with is the use of copper for an electrical ground for your Electricity for your home. Your Electrician will have to drive a copper rod down into the ground about 10 ft to create a ground for your home. Be careful with electricity, it can bite you in the your know where.

Thanks for all the great information! For the little I do... I think I'll stick with copper. But do I really need to be concerned about using Type M? All the guys at the big box depots tell me it fine!



Edited 1 times.

I use M all the time in CA.

type "L" is code in MA..

Go with the type L. Homedepot used to buy copper from Mexico, they maybe still do. But I purchased type M a few years ago to repipe my home and as I went to cut the first measured piece of tubing I noticed pin holes in this brand new pipe from HD. I was livid as I was about to install a sprinkler system in my attic. Good thing I caught it but bottom line, not knowing the chemistry of your water, I would favor type L.

BTW the reason I had to repipe my copper to my attic is that it was rolled under the slab like millions of homes are here in CA. My wife told me one day when we were in our Master Bedroom, "I hear water running somewhere". I went to my lavatory in the Master Bath, removed a throw rug she had on the floor and when I put my hand on the floor it was warm. I immediately went out to the garage and shut off the cold to the Water heater. She yelled out, "You fixed it". Yea, I fixed it alright...

USE 'L'

used to actually be code minimum

'M' (thinner wall) was only used for heating (no 'chronic' exposure to new oxygen)

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

I decided to go with copper because of chemical leaching issues with pex. I saw an academic study that reported wide variations among manufacturers in the amount of harmful chemicals produced by pex. However, most sources say that these leached chemicals go to tolerably low levels after the pipes have been used a few months.

Not having any info on which pex manufacturers do a better job, I decided to play it safe and go with copper. The overall cost difference was not so much that is seemed worth taking the risk. I may be paranoid, but I didn't want to have doubts every time I saw my kids take a drink of water.