Setec Astronomy -- Sorry to hear about your plumbing issue... And on a weekend..
I have read about a lot of pex lines with fittings that eventually cut the pex line because the type of plastic they were/are using is of course always wanting to return to its -original- shape. So, it keeps pushing against the fitting and over years, apparently, the plastic will cut and start leaking..
Evidence of this is in my current neighborhood.. The oldest houses were built in 2004 and ALL of them, thousands, were all Pex lines..
Many of my neighbors have had failures; the worst were when they were gone for a few weeks, and for example the bathroom lines started leaking in the ceiling, and eventually, soaked the drywall enough that it fell through to the floor and the rest of water just kept leaking until they came home 4 weeks later..
Some of my neighbors had small leaks showing at for example, the exhaust fan in the laundry room, and it has always been a Pex line where it is connected to a fitting..
I have been lucky so far.. And hope I will be able to deal with it if/when it happens to me... I think if I had known beforehand these houses were all Pex, I would have not bought one here...
Seen a few houses, 3 brand new, all with copper plumbing. Some were older with copper... None of them, none of my neighbors around me, no one ever had copper soldered pipes break..
Yes, everyone likes Pex because it is so much faster to install, it is cheaper I imagine, and perhaps it is even available in larger diameter, etc...
If they ever solve or have already solved the issue with plastics that want to retain their original shape no matter what, then perhaps it might be a good alternative...
I just don`t have the decades of time left on the clock to have to deal with another mess like we all did when we were young and fearless in our 20`s, remember???
Good luck with your research and project !
Dan F
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