Copper verses Pex?

[brewmaster15]

I have to remove and replace most of the copper pipes in my house. Most are 50 years old and with my acidic well water they are paper thin now and prone to leaking. I have used pex in a few spots and its okay. I don't really trust plastic pipes but its hard to argue with the cost. If I use copper instead it will be many times more expensive. New copper pipes will probably outlast me here especially if I use the thicker more expensive ones than "m"

I am a bit concerned with chemicals leaching from the plastic pex and I know copper has its downsides. I can work with either one fine and have all the tools for either.

So the question for you guys is which do you prefer.. copper or Pex and why?

Al

[LGelb]

i would go with the copper, I know it is more work to install but it has a great track record. Pex is easy to install, but i have reservations about chemical leaching from plastics. I try not to use any plastics to store food or water.

[Charlyc11]

I have to remove and replace most of the copper pipes in my house. Most are 50 years old and with my acidic well water they are paper thin now and prone to leaking. I have used pex in a few spots and its okay. I don't really trust plastic pipes but its hard to argue with the cost. If I use copper instead it will be many times more expensive. New copper pipes will probably outlast me here especially if I use the thicker more expensive ones than "m"

I am a bit concerned with chemicals leaching from the plastic pex and I know copper has its downsides. I can work with either one fine and have all the tools for either.

So the question for you guys is which do you prefer.. copper or Pex and why?

Al

My house here in MD it's all CPVC and it's easy to work with and it does not leach out and it's human approved. Pex also no leaching but the stuff is great to use on open walls pain on old construction in my opinion plus fittings are more expensive. On contrary copper does leach out plus being more expensive. Also Pex is polypropylene and it's chemical and PH resistant we use polypropylene in my industry for plating tanks and water holding tanks due to it's resistance to leaching.


I also have well water and 5.5 PH or less incoming

[brewmaster15]

Chuck I think theres a fair amount of research that points to plastic pipes being a potential health issue..

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...safety-issues/


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7915131/

Al

[Charlyc11]

I am more familiar with CPVC witch is the higher temperature version of PVC but not the same. For drinking water and hot water pipes that is what I use. I think it's safer than copper. I looked up PEX and it is polyethylene not polypropylene but is still certified to NSF/ANS.

https://www.nsf.org/knowledge-librar...20fact%20sheet.

I been drinking from CPVC between home and work for the last 40 years I am not dead yet. PEX is I guess fairly new in the game but remember they use to tell us lead pipes were OK.
With a well water any metals corrode badly.

[jeep]

I'm redoing mine all in 3/4" copper. Every generation of plastic piping that has been certified and approved for residential and commercial applications has eventually faced class action lawsuits for leaks and bursting. As a former contractor, I've seen way too many houses damaged by plastic piping... But at over $3 a foot these days for copper, I certainly see the appeal of PEX...

[Vanman]

We built a house a few years ago. My contractor wanted to use copper but I put a stop to that real quick because we have very soft acidic water. He was from the next county over where the water is much different. His next suggestion was PEX. I went with CPVC for everything, hot and cold. My reasoning was Pex was still the new kid on the block and I knew CPVC would last a long time and be easy to repair if needed.

[brewmaster15]

Its so hard to decide.. I have ruled out the cpvc though... theres just too many reports and lawsuits when I searched it... it gets brittle and prone to bursting . From what I have seen pex is more durable and flexible. I have only used Pex so far on my bathroom lines.

Went to home depot today.. I can buy a 100 foot roll of pex for $35 copper pipes.. 3/4 " type m. $33 10ft
And type L $45 per 10ft.


Copper is expensive and what I know best. My well is pH 5.6 in the pipes.. even with that the pipes here have lasted 40-50 years. The plastic alternatives are rated 50 years.

I love the price of pex and I really like the ease of installation but I can't seem to shake my bias against plastic pipes.. The more I read up on the options I keep circling back to copper. I guess you could say its better to stay with the devil you know then the devil you don't.

What ever I decide to do its got to be my next project here. After doing a repair this morning I am positive of that.

[Vanman]

If the options are Pex and copper, I would go with PEX. Just my $.02. If you go with PEX make sure you know the difference in PEX A and Pex B.

[Vanman]

I will be plumbing for a water aging tank and a utility sink in my basement for use with the fish tanks somewhat soon. I am very strongly considering using PEX even though the rest of the house is CPVC. The main reason for going to PEX is the ease of installation. I have not compared the cost of CPVC and PEX. My gut feeling it that it will be very close.

[Charlyc11]

Even though I have CPVC for all these years without any problems if I had to re do I would go with pex. A little more expensive than CPVC but easy to work with. There is lawsuits for everything.

[brewmaster15]

Im curious. Guys.... have you ever worked with copper pipes? Im wondering if your preferences for plastic pipes is because thats where your experience is .. at the same time I'm wondering if my leaning towards copper are because its what I have worked with here in my home the last 20 years .

[Charlyc11]

Im curious. Guys.... have you ever worked with copper pipes? Im wondering if your preferences for plastic pipes is because thats where your experience is .. at the same time I'm wondering if my leaning towards copper are because its what I have worked with here in my home the last 20 years .

Yes I worked with copper also in my jobs and my other 2 homes. I am not a plumber but I was able to install myself a boiler and all the baseboard upgrade.

[Vanman]

I have never done copper plumbing. I am sure that I could with no problems. It is just that where I have lived since I was ten years old has had soft acidic water so we never used copper. I am sure that my water is more aggressive than yours. Copper here has a lifespan measured in years, not decades. There was a nursing home built in town a couple miles from where I live about thirty years ago. It was built by contractors that were not familiar with the local soft acidic water. They plumbed it with copper. It lasted less than five years before it had to be replaced. Since you have acidic water copper might not be your best choice.

We all have to decide what is best in our own situation. Sometimes the decision is not easy. I sometimes suffer from paralysis by analysis.

[jeep]

All older homes in my area were built with galvanized pipes. I'm sure we all know what happens to those over the years. I've replumbed probably 20 homes with copper over 25 years and no one has reported any issues. Several of those homes were originally constructed with first generation flex pipes, similar to PEX, that had burst and done thousands in damage. I'm not saying PEX will wear down like the others, but seeing the damage that was done may have made me partial to copper. But, our water isn't acidic either...