Pex Pipes Vs Copper Pipes

Plumbing pipes are made from wide vanity of materials. They are made from galvanized steel, copper and lately PEX (cross-linked polyethylene). The pipes made of galvanized steel have almost become obsolete. They are mostly found in older homes that were constructed in 1960s and before. Their use has been limited as they have high chances of corroding which wreaks havoc on their durability. Presently pipes made of copper or PEX are usually used for plumbing. Let’s know which is better-

• The first advantage of PEX over copper is that that they are cheaper. If you buy an equal length of PEX pipe and copper pipe, the former would cost almost one third of the latter. Although installing PEX pipes requires a special tool that offsets the cost, when you invest for a high level plumbing you will save by using PEX pipes.

• It takes lesser time to install PEX pipes. If you are using them for your home plumbing system, installing them is as easy as running garden hose to each fixture. You do not need coupling features to install PEX pipes. Even when they are used in a conventional main line and branch system they offer easier installation compared to copper pies.

• PEX pipes are best for areas that have acidic water supply. Copper pipes will start corroding if they come into contact with the acid in water. PEX pipes will remain unaffected.

• The PEX pipes are manufactured by extrusion. Extrusion is a process of manufacturing objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile. To this a material is pushed through a die of the desired cross-section. As a result PEX pipes can be shipped and stored on spools. Whereas metallic pipes or rigid plastic ones have to be cut to smaller lengths for shipping and storage. This reduces the shipping cost of PEX pies. They have a lesser weight as a result handling cost is less. This reduces their overall cost.

• You require lesser fittings to install pipes. These pipes can turn 90 degree corners without elbow fittings.

• They do not need soldering. Consequently, installing them eliminates the chances of health hazards that can be caused by lead-based solder and acid fluxes. You also do not need torches to make connections in PEX pipes.

• PEX do not burst easily as a result of freezing. They also do not transfer heat as readily as copper.

• Water flows more quietly through PEX tubes. You would not hear "water hammer" noise that is often heard in case of copper pipe systems.

But as the saying goes all that shines is not gold. PEX pipes have a host of disadvantages as well. Their safety in terms of carrying clean drinking water is questioned. We will come to that in a latter discussion.