There was a long post a while back discussing the pros and cons of various types and brands of PEX. Our RV is plumbed in PEX and I have used Sharkbite fittings on past repairs to avoid making an investment in PEX tools.

Last week I needed to replace the low-point drains in the RV, and that calls for a pair of 1/2" 1/4 turn ball valves. The Sharkbite version was $23 EACH while the insert valves were $9 each. So now I own a PEX-B crimper. I installed 4 of the crimp rings and no leaks so far. For $10 more than the two Sharkbite valves, I got two insert valves, the crimper, a 10-pack of quick rings and some misc. spare fittings to carry in the RV.

How does PEX-B with crimp rings and insert fittings stack up in residential use? Would you use it in-wall? Reason for asking is that I have a major bath remodel coming up that will move all the fixtures and require a fair amount of re-piping. I did a complete re-pipe on our last house with 100% soldered copper, but this is so fast, cheap, and easy it's hard to ignore. The question is, is PEX-B with crimp rings reliable enough?

Photo of the tool I bought: [1drv.ms]

those are not crimp rings.. they are side pinch clamps. i have seen 2 of them fail over time.
i would not use them in or out of walls.

I have also seen the pinch clamps fail more often that copper crimp rings

Thanks guys!



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