[Trak Ratt]

https://www.meonsopoli.com/products/...35931634990367

[BillC]

We have slightly acidic well water, so I installed an acid neutralizer tank shortly after we moved in decades ago, which has done a great job of protecting the copper pipes downstream of it. However, I kept getting pinholes in the copper pipes from where the well comes into the house up to the tank -- I'd have to patch/replace pipes every six months to a year.

Since pipe repairs are a royal PITA, I decided that next time the pipes needed repairing, I'd just replace them all with PEX. That time came a month ago.

There are two general types of PEX -- PEX A and PEX B. PEX B is the type that gets crimped onto the fittings. PEX A is the type that gets stretched and then shrinks onto the fittings. I went with PEX A, since it has a higher flow rate and because you don't have to worry about getting the crimp tool into tight spaces.

They do make a manual PEX expander, but it's slow and a helluva hand/arm workout. I splurged and bought the Milwaukee M12 expander, and it works great! I bought the full kit, with batteries, charger and 3 mandrels for 1/2", 3/4" and 1" tubing. Expensive, but well worth it, especially considering how many connections I had to make and how much time it saved me.


Now that I've installed PEX, I don't want to do copper ever again. The PEX is so much simpler and easier. Here's the final installation:


Of course, now that I've replaced all that old copper pipe with tubing that won't/can't corrode, I'm not sure when I'll need the tool again. If anyone wants to use it, contact me privately and we'll work out the details.

[cmartin]

Nice job. Concerned about the unsupported connection leaving the pressure tank? Your setup puts mine to shame. I have a mix of cpvc and copper, moving to pex is always on my list. One of these days....