One of my projects ...

B

Benson

Well-known member
I found this photo on a visit to the Towe Museum in Montana.

It explains my latest project of replacing the copper hot water heat pipes under a house ... darned things started breaking after 50 years! Lost 2-3 thousand gallons a month under the concrete slab.

I wonder how long the PEX orange plastic pipes will last?

Decided to move all the pipes up and out of the concrete slab with copper.

Anyway the joke might fit some of your projects! :confused:
 

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You said it there!!!!!!! I have a nice original 1930 Town Sedan that I swore that I was going to just make safe and drive. Well, going through the brakes, I decided to paint the backing plates. After I did that it looked bad to have the nice new shinny backing plates against the greasy and rusty front and rear axles. So then I tore down the front and rear axles and redid them. You can guess what happened next. The body was off and I redid the whole chassis. I left the body and interior alone but redid the fenders. I hope I don't open another can of worms or Pandora's Box and go after the body and interior.
 
Sorry to hear about the water pipes. When we had our house built in 2007 had the newer plastic pipes put in which have a 50 year warranty. In 50 years will not be around to know if they last that long. But Scottish enough to try. Those new pipes are amazing as they can withstand freezing without bursting. Unbelievable the strength as they put a piece of it between two 4 wheel drive pickups on the trailer hitches and both trucks could not break the pipe or the connection.
 
.. darned things started breaking after 50 years! Lost 2-3 thousand gallons a month under the concrete slab. I :[/QUOTE said:
Wow, in Calif, that much water lost would break the bank!
Click to expand...
 
Hmmm.... I wonder how the PEX tubing would work for air lines in my shop? (Just twisting this post a little bit into the Model A shop category. :) Seriously, has anybody checked out the pressure capacity or effect of heat on the burst strength of the tubing?
 
Wow, sorry about the pipes. If you lived in Southbridge Ma. that water and sewer bill would be so staggering that you'd have to sell your Model A.
 
PEX pipes should last over 50 years in concrete. I've even heard over 100!
Too soft for air lines, I would imagine. Whatever you do, DO NOT use PVC tubing for
air systems. Some will say they've been using it with no problems. Many injuries
have occurred with those systems.
 
Sorry about this non Model A Post. I did mention the Towe Museum in Montana which had Model As displayed.

Something that may help folks planning to use PEX in their garage floor heating ...

While investaging the use of PEX in my project I found that there are two types of PEX. At first someone told me that PEX for hotwater systems was orange colored. Guess that is not always true from statement below.

Quote
Source for this info:

http://www.pexuniverse.com/content/pex-tubing-types-oxygen-barrier-vs-non-barrier
"PEX tubing types - Oxygen Barrier vs. Non-Barrier

One of the most common questions you face when starting on a plumbing or radiant heating project is whether to choose PEX tubing with oxygen barrier or non-barrier.

The main difference between the two types is the external polymer coating of the oxygen barrier PEX tubing, which makes the tubing prone to oxygen diffusion. Oxygen barrier PEX is used in radiant or hydronic heating applications only, where cast iron or other ferrous components are present in the system. Since contact of oxygen molecules in the water with ferrous parts in the system results in rust, oxygen barrier helps to prevent ferrous components from corrosion.
Oxygen barrier is also called EVOH (Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol), which is simply the abbreviation for the polymer.
DIN 4726 is the standard that can commonly be found imprinted of the oxygen barrier PEX tubing and shows that the oxygen diffusion barrier requirements are met.


Non-barrier PEX tubing, or simply PEX plumbing tubing is used for plumbing applications. Since there's always a supply of fresh water from a water heater or a water main, oxygen molecules will always be present in the system, so there's no need for the oxygen barrier.


If you already have the tubing but don't know which one you have, bring it to the light and take a closer look. If the tubing has a shiny surface - it's PEX with oxygen barrier; if the surface is matte - it's non-barrier PEX. Most manufacturers also have the type of PEX imprinted on the pipe. Don't get confused with colors, as they do not indicate the type of tubing, they are used for color coding purposes only."


Unquote


I found PEX at Home Depot and Lowes in White, Red and Blue colors ... All three said that they are NON- Oxygen BARRIER type PEX.
 
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Barry B./ Ma. said:
Wow, sorry about the pipes. If you lived in Southbridge Ma. that water and sewer bill would be so staggering that you'd have to sell your Model A.
Click to expand...

I was lucky that the water loss was not much greater than it was.

This proves the fact that two bad things can sometimes be a good thing!

At the same time that the pipe broke in the concrete, the 50 year old water "Makeup Regulator" that maintains 15 lbs water pressure in the boiler and adds more water if any leaks out, failed in the CLOSED position.

Otherwise maybe the house would have slid down the mountain side on the mudslide created by all that water!
 
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I used it in my barn for heat in the floor and air wad water. been working great for 3 years. air pressure runs 110 psi
 
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