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Just bought 14 year old 3,200 sq ft,(3-Bed,3-Bath) house & may have to work on the PEX plumbing issues. I have read a lot about class action law suits, relating to (PEX-A Pipe fracturing, especially right behind the plastic rings) & (PEX-B dezinktification failures with brass connections causing lots of water disasters over the last 20 yrs.

My problems is I can’t seem to locate information about the systems that have the newest (PEX A&B plastic tbg recipes) & better (metal/plastic) fittings technology, that should be produced to replace all the older PEX tbg & fitting issues.

There is a vast amount of failures on many message boards, with home owners telling their war stories battling water damage in ceilings, walls, floors & basements costing thousands of dollars, with leaks through their houses.

Question: How would you find out Where you can get the PEX materials that have less issues with (chlorine / chloramine ammonia) & dezinktification ) problems. There are way too many bad message board stories of PEX systems failing over the last 20 yrs, when originally the systems we suppose to be manufactured with expectations of lasting 25 to 50 years.

FreeMan
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Oily Tex
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    Almost every house is plumbed with pex these days. Most failures are due to improper installation. – basement_diy Jan 24 '23 at 01:41
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    Brand recommendations are offtopic here, I'm afraid. – keshlam Jan 24 '23 at 05:04
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    It sounds like you've done a lot of research. I'd suggest it would be worthwhile contacting the manufacturers and ask them about the specifics of the products they are _currently_ producing. If the specs they provide on current products meet _your_ standards of acceptability (based on your knowledge through research), then go with it! It doesn't really matter who makes it, right? – FreeMan Jan 24 '23 at 16:06
  • FreeMan, yes your suggestion would probably be the best & only way to proceed. I just figured by calling their online support, I might possibly get a biased reply. Thank you for you help. – Oily Tex Jan 24 '23 at 17:05
  • Food for thought: For years now, water companies have been swapping their water meters out with new ones, containing check valves, creating closed systems, and raising water pressure in the mains to satisfy demands. I wonder how many of the homeowners affected have installed pressure reducers and expansion tanks? Uponor pex is rated: 180F at 100psi, 73F at 160psi, & 120F at 130psi (1/2 to 2" white pipe only). My water heater is set at 125F and water main = 120psi) so if I didn't have a pressure reducer installed & I had white Uponor pex (only) I could easily exceed the rating!! I wonder???? – SOHR Jan 24 '23 at 18:30
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    "Yes, Uponor AquaPEX piping and ProPEX fittings are covered by a 25-year transferable limited warranty. For complete details, visit our warranties page." – SOHR Jan 24 '23 at 18:31
  • https://www.uponor.com/en-us/customer-support/faq#:~:text=Is%20the%20Uponor – SOHR Jan 24 '23 at 18:32
  • Looks like they stand behind their product but if the installation exceeds the rating then like any other company they are not liable. So the house must not have too high of pressure, the water heater must have an expansion tank, and it doesn't seem the best idea to use their white pex on the hot water line incase those 2 failed, to insure that would not be the case. Fittings are often not installed correctly so those leaks are on the installer. – SOHR Jan 24 '23 at 18:36
  • FYI I understand the chlorine issue. – SOHR Jan 24 '23 at 18:43
  • There are now stainless steel fittings – SOHR Jan 25 '23 at 02:42
  • Are you maybe confusing pex with polybutylene pipe? – Matthew Jan 25 '23 at 04:39

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It sounds like you've done a lot of research.

I'd suggest it would be worthwhile contacting the manufacturers and ask them about the specifics of the products they are currently producing. If the specs they provide on current products meet your standards of acceptability (based on your knowledge through research), then go with it!

While you might get a biased "we just want to sell stuff" answer if you ask something like "have you fixed the problems I've seen reported about ____", you're likely to get specifics if you ask "does your pipe have this and that in it?" Those questions should get you yes/no answers and you can then base your decision on those yes/no answers. If you feel you're being fed a line of "we just wanna sell pipe", well, that's a pretty good indication that this is a manufacturer you can't trust, and you should move on to the next one.

It doesn't really matter who makes the pipe, right? You just care that they've resolved the issues you've found.

FreeMan
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    FreeMan, yes, I get your point. Ask questions with specific directives, like 1; improvement with Chlorine tubing issues) & 2; Dezinktification improvement to stop corrosion in the brass fitting. Thank you so much for your help ! ! ! – Oily Tex Jan 26 '23 at 03:53
  • Glad that helped, @OilyTex. Having taken the [tour], please use the proper way of saying thanks. I'm not looking for the magic interwebz points, it just helps others to know that there's a solution here. – FreeMan Jan 26 '23 at 12:40
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    Took the tour, gutter done FreeMan. – Oily Tex Jan 27 '23 at 00:23
  • Thanks, sir! Again, don't really care about magic internet points, I've already redeemed some for all the unicorns & rainbows I could want, this just keeps the wheels greased and the system working. Hope you find the info you're after! – FreeMan Jan 27 '23 at 12:36