PEX manifold systems
drrossw
| Posted in General Questions on
Is there any reason to use a manifold system on the cold supply side besides the convenience of maintenance on fixtures?
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Replies
There's no energy efficiency reason, but there is one other reason, which is that you avoid the effect that turning on one fixture changes the flow rate in another fixture--the classic version of that being that flushing a toilet changes the temperature in a shower. That's less of a concern than it used to be, because modern shower valves are much less susceptible to that problem.
Ross,
Many plumbers don't like home-run systems with a manifold because they require so much tubing.
One touted virtue of these systems is that water pressure remains stable to all fixtures when several are used at the same time.
I think that it's fair to say that there are pluses and minuses to both approaches -- the home-run approach and the trunk-and-branch approach.