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Pex b fittings

dfvellone | Posted in General Questions on

I’m plumbing my house with pex b and have to settle on fitting type.

My water is low ph to the point where brass is not an option, so it’s either plastic fittings or ss. 

I’m using 1/2 pex and a home-run system with manifold at my source. 

I’m leaning towards ss fittings because of corrosion resistance, strength, and less flow restriction. If I understand correctly, plastic fittings, though cheaper, restrict flow the greatest amount. But at first look I don’t see as wide availability for ss fittings.

My preference is for highest quality and performance, particularly regarding the ph. Am I on the best track considering ss, or is the flow restriction and lesser strength of plastic fittings not really an issue?

Thanks, Daniel

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Replies

  1. Expert Member
    Akos | | #1

    There is a lot of plastic pex fittings out there, as much as I don't trust it, it seems to hold up fine. Most of the plastic pex I see is pex A though.

    Acidic water will corrode everything in your house not just your fittings, I think a better solution is to install a neutralizer. A PH alarm downstream is a good backup just in case.

    Stainless fittings for 1" or less are pretty common, not cheap but not that much either.

  2. jamesboris | | #2

    It's really easy to install a pH neutralizer. You just send the water through a regular filtration sump full of calcite. When the calcite disappears, you replace it. Upgrades would be a clear sump, to allow you to see when the calcite needs refilling, and potentially a flow reducer (just a ~$30 fitting, nothing fancy) if you need more dwell time.

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