PEX

As a Mechanical Hub ProStaff member and CEO and of Thompson Family Plumbing & Rooter Inc.,  I am always searching for the best people to add to my crew and cutting-edge products to add to my inventory to save time, money and make our customers happy.

We are a family owned and operated business in California that specializes in new construction and residential service work such as drain cleaning, backflow certification, video sewer inspection services, and many more plumbing services. Since 2006, our plumbers have been delivering trusted plumbing residential and commercial services with dedication and the highest quality workmanship.

https://youtu.be/nbu5ATVOeFg

We were recently hired to do a complete re-pipe installation on a beautiful 100-year old home in Lake Arrowhead, California, and knowing that I was going to need a cost-effective, flexible and dependable piping solution, I looked at several options and chose SharkBite EvoPEX pipe and fittings.

During the process of re-piping this house, we found that the SharkBite EvoPEX system provided many benefits. As a two-man job, it was quick and easy to use, which allowed me to save labor costs. Additionally, you don’t need extra tools or glue to secure the fittings to the pipe. Because the EvoPEX system has a fool-proof green indicator ring, you know exactly when you have proper insertion depth to create a watertight and permanently engaged connection to the pipe. It is a godsend and you don’t have any guesswork. As one of the guys on the job said, “green is in for the win.”

https://youtu.be/3aIcgfcQbvY

During the installation, we only encountered one issue and that was mainly due to the location of the space which we were installing pipe. The space was tight and pushing the fitting together overhead, well, took a little extra time and some body contorting. In the end, I liked knowing that there was no way the fittings were coming apart, and at one point, I grabbed the pipe to keep me from falling off a ladder. Not that I recommend that as a test to see if the fittings stay connected, but they did.

As far as using SharkBite on the future, I have another project on the books next month that will be using the EvoPEX System. This project is a new installation and I cannot wait to use the product in a more open area as I’m sure the time savings will be extensive for the team.

Would I recommend the SharkBite EvoPEX system? Yes, in fact, I’ve had discussions with a few local plumbers asking about the system and our thoughts, since it’s so easy to use with little training.

As with any product I use for the first time, I have suggestions for things that can make EvoPEX even better and maybe should the product have an upgrade, these will be addressed. I wish this project would have had an opportunity to incorporate one of their manifold systems, as I can see the advantages of this product in multiple option sizes and angle variations. Each product has their pros and cons to each application or use, and I feel that this product is good and I will be doing more with it to get a better feel with further testing and installations in the field.

ProStaff Member Bio:

John Thompson is owner, Thompson Family Plumbing and Rooter, INC. of a leading service and repair plumbing company in Hesperia, CA. John and his wife, Devynn’s, focus is to provide superior customer service and maintain top notch plumbing skill. He is continuously pushing the boundaries in his trade and is passionate to encourage his peers to succeed with him. His company has received many worthy acknowledgements and awards from State Senators and Assemblymen for their strong presence and community involvement. Thompson Family Plumbing is constantly working to advance and support their staff and valued customers to maintain their mantra of “Always go the extra mile.”

This Tiny House on wheels may be small, but it is big on features. At a cozy 150 square feet, the home is nothing short of luxurious, with high-tech building systems combined with high-end appliances and furnishings. Designed in collaboration with 30 architects, engineers, and materials specialists, this safe and sustainable home has helped educate and inspire over 50,000 people who have toured it since 2015.

The homeowner, Tracey Powell, also happens to be its designer and builder. She and her brother, Trever Powell, wanted to ensure her home was safe, sustainable, durable, functional and technological. When it came to choosing a plumbing system to meet all of her needs, she first did her research, and then called Uponor.

Like many homes in this growing community, Powell’s tiny house is on wheels, and code-compliant for frequent transport. “We were worried that most plumbing connections wouldn’t hold up to vibration and movement during transport,” said Powell. “So thank goodness we found ProPEX® expansion fittings, which are highly leak-resistant and get stronger over time.”

Sustainability was an extremely important aspect of the project, especially when choosing a plumbing system.

“I wanted the quality of my drinking water to be high,” explained Powell. The fact that the ProPEX® expansion fittings don’t need adhesives and glues like other fittings was very important to me. I don’t want chemicals seeping into my water.”

Every inch counts in a tiny home, so Powell was pleased with the flexibility of the ½” Uponor AquaPEX® tubing. The bend-radius made it easy to install quick turns with each change in direction, without having to stop and cut a fitting. Building a tiny house comes with challenges, but Uponor helped tackle these challenges with a little creativity.

“We wanted to prevent the PEX tubing from touching the spray foam insulation, but needed it located as close to the interior conditioned space as possible and in a very narrow wall cavity,” said Powell. “Even though ProPEX resists freezing and condensation, we took extra precautions and used Uponor’s Ecoflex® insulation to protect the PEX tubing—it’s worked out great.”

Because the tiny house includes numerous high-end technologies, there are many plumbing fixtures with metal fittings. Powell was impressed with how easy and seamless it was to connect the ProPEX expansion fittings with the wide-array of metal fittings.

In the future, Powell plans to consult other homeowners in designing their very own tiny houses and wants to help navigate them through best products, practices and processes—and she says an Uponor AquaPEX plumbing system is definitely on her list.

“The Uponor plumbing system is the easiest and most efficient piping for any tiny house,” she said.

Project Highlights:

• 150-square-foot tiny home
• Uponor AquaPEX plumbing system
• Distributor: The Granite Group
• Engineer: RW Sullivan

Project Data:

• ½” Uponor AquaPEX
• ProPEX Fittings

The tiny-house craze is huge. Now Viega has a hand in it, too – contributing to a tiny-house competition in California. The team from University of California, Berkeley utilized different Viega products and finished second in the competition, pulling in some other awards as well.

The team made good use of the Viega PureFlow system, installing PureFlow PEX in red and blue for hot and cold potable water, and also purple for reclaimed water, as well as polymer PureFlow Press Fittings. The PEX in ½” and ¾” was utilized on the project, and the team was also able to use a ManaBloc in the mechanical room.

Laney Siegner was one of the project managers and led the design of the water and wastewater systems.

“The goal was to make it a proof of concept of how little water you can use within a residence and still be comfortable,” Siegner said.

The PureFlow PEX products played a big role in the whole water system, with lots of tubing used not only for hot and cold water output, but to move the greywater through the recycling system.

The idea impressed the judges of the competition, too, since Berkeley’s team won the award for water conservation, as well as for overall sustainability.

Read more here

The DEWALT 20V MAX* 1″ PEX Expander (DCE400) can expand 3/8” to 1” PEX-A Tubing. A popular alternative to copper pipe, PEX-A (Polyethylene Cross Fiber Pipe) is commonly used in commercial and residential installation of pipework for potable drinking water, radiant heating, and residential fire sprinklers. Five interchangeable PEX expander heads in 3/8”, 1/2”, 5/8” 3/4”, and 1” are available. The tool rotates each of these heads evenly to ensure consistent expansion around the diameter of the pipe. The 20V MAX* 1” PEX Expander features a dual-sided, heavy-duty hang hook and belt hook that can be mounted on either side of the tool. A bright LED light helps to illuminate the work area. In addition, the long trigger can be actuated at any point, making it easy to use in a variety of orientations between joists or under sinks.

The lightweight 20V MAX* XR® Brushless Drain Snake (DCD200) provides a cordless, powered solution for cleaning clogged drains. This allows service plumbers to get in and out quickly without the hassle of cords or tedious manual options. The 20V MAX* XR® Brushless Drain Snake comes with a 5/16” x 25’ cable that is coated with black oxide to help prevent corrosion and a steel inner core for rigidity to feed the snake down the drain. Compatible with replacement cables from a variety of leading manufacturers, the versatile 20V MAX* XR® Brushless Drain Snake accepts 1/4” and 5/16” cables up to 50 ft. long and 3/8”cables up to 35 ft. long with an assortment of different ends for various applications (sold separately).

20V MAX* 1” PEX Expander

-DCE400D2: MSRP $459 – Kitted with (2) DCB203 Batteries, Charger, 3 PEX Expansion Heads (1/2”, 3/4”, 1”), and PEX Expander Grease

-DCE400B: MSRP $299, Bare tool comes with 3 PEX Expansion Heads (1/2”, 3/4”, 1”), and PEX Expander Grease (no battery or charger included)

-Attachments (sold separately)

• DCE40038: 3/8” PEX Expander Head
• DCE40012: 1/2” PEX Expander Head
• DCE40058: 5/8” PEX Expander Head
• DCE40034: 3/4” PEX Expander Head
• DCE4001: 1” PEX Expander Head
• DCE400GR: PEX Expander Grease