I renovated the clubhouse a few years ago. I ran out of time to do the plumbing myself so I hired it out. They talked me into putting in pex instead of copper. Big mistake. To my knowledge I cant repair a thing without the tools (expensive) they use to put it in. Now I have to replace a hot water heater. The plumbing coming out of the heater hooks into this pex crap. I have to call a plumber to swap out a stinking hot water heater? Last year I had a small leak at one of the connections. Instead of getting a copper coupling and fixing it myself in about 10 minutes I had to call this guy back. Thinking about ripping the crap out and redoing it with copper. Anyone know of a way that you can work with this stuff yourself?
NY, I feel your pain. I've had some big leaks in my basement over the past year and luckily they have been in spots I can fix. The copper and pvc stuff is easy to work with but the stuff you have sounds tough. Good luck.
Pex can be easy. I just re plumbed 3 of our Cabins in pex. If you Get the cinch clamp tool (about $50) & rings its a snap. The only other tool you need is a tubing cutter (about $20) if you don't already have one. One of our cabins is done in 1/2" pex and when the furnace crapped out last winter, the whole cabin froze. It stayed that way for 3 months. In the spring, not a single leak. You can easily get these supplies for less than what it would cost you to replace it with copper, and then you have more tools!
I have it in my cabin and don't worry about it too much. The Plumber that did it said if I ever had a freeze in there the pex would hold up better.
What this guy said. I used shark bites on my bathroom and they are so fast and easy. They also give you more ability to adjust since you can turn after the fitting is applied. Just rough the end of the tube up a bit, clean, then apply your fitting.
Sharkbite fittings are pricey, but for repair work they seem to be worth it. My dad has the cutter, clamp, and plenty of rings, so we use just traditional PEX and PEX fittings. I'm assuming you need to remove a pex crimp ring? They make a removal tool for that, but you can also use a hack saw carefully:D
A lot of plumbers are pretty good about loaning you the tools on the weekends. I would call the guy who installed it and tell him your situation, chances are he will borrow it to you.
Ok let me re route this thread. The big issue with the tank is the calcium deposit at the bottom. We have the worlds worst water out there. I took the elements off and they were.... well..... not pretty. Then I took the drain out of the bottom and fished as much crap out as I could. I got a good amount out of the heater, but there is still some residue (some bigger chunks). I think the junk was almost or at the bottom element when I started. Now I think I got it down to next to nothing but what's dangling around the very bottom that I can't get out. The tank itself isnt' bad at all. No rust, worked fine until the element got buried. Should I take my chances and pop a couple more new elements in there and see what happens? How will that residue left in the tank effect things? I figure it's a heck of a lot better than it was, thinking about taking a chance and seeing what happens. Or should I just dump a new one in?
NY, I heard "pex" was made specifically for the local county government. The costs are extremely high in order to abuse our tax dollars and it's maintenance costs are out of this world. I just bet someone ( or 5 to 23 guys) in the county government would swing by and help you out free of charge (minus about $297, 543 of payroll expenses).
Ditto that - I love PEX... Way easier then sweating a copper joint and cleaner then PVC. The Shark Bite stuff at HD is great. That and copper is getting stupid expensive, a 5' length of 3/4 is $20.00 at HD here.
They make elements called "sandhog elements" that seems like it will be a better option for you...do a quick Google search and I'm sure you'll find info about them...I don't have time right now but I will in a while... also a way to clean out your tank: Drain your water heater, which might be a biatch because the drain might be plugged, or become plugged so it may take a while. Don't shut off your water..keep it on and it will swirl and stir the sentiment hopefully making it easier. Pull the drain valve, and get a shop vac. connect copper (or something like it) to the shop vac and through the drain valve opening you can use it so suck out some of the sentiment that's in the bottom of the tank. Good luck.
Kyle thanks for that tip. That's a great idea. I took the drain out and got a lot of the sediment out but still some in there that I can't get. I'll rig something up to my shop vac to get the rest.
