Pex and 90 degree turns

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fikey13

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As I am about to embark on a building/plumbing project, I have been investigating the pros and cons of copper, cpvc and pex. I am totally sold on the pex, except for the fact that i can't get a great answer as to turning 90 degrees in perpendicular 3 1/2" walls. It appears that trying to "bend" the pipe, doesn't work so well. Some have recommended cutting and using elbows which seems to defeat some of the advantages of pex. What is the solution?
 
PEX makes 90 degree elbow sleeves (as shown below) as well as copper 90 degree stub outs and your typical 90 degree fittings. I try to avoid any cuts buried in a wall and would prefer the sleeve.

FH07FEB_PLUPEX_06.JPG
 
I did know that, but that doesn't answer the question: "will that 90 degree sleeve allow you to turn into a 3 1/2" wall perpendicular to the one you are running in"? If you rotated that sleeve 90 degrees out towards us (looking at the picture), would it still be inside the wall?
 
OK, I got ya. No, I don't believe that would work, even if your wall was opened up. You would use the 90 degree stub out or the 90 degree union for that.
 
The more I ask, the more I get confused. A contractor friend of mine just sent me a link to a forum where a plumber said that you can. So it is 2 votes no, 1 vote yes. Really should be an easy question to answer if someone has tried. ????
 
To answer correctly, I need to know if you are replacing existing plumbing or if this is new construction. Do you have drywall to contend with?
 
A late vote for "no". I always use a copper 90 degree pex stub out to come out of the wall in your situation. Makes the turn nicely and gives you a solid pipe to put on a compression supply valve or sweat on a male adaptor and use a 1/2" FPT supply valve like I always do. 1/2" pex can be turned in about a 7" radius without the sleeve and slightly tighter with the sleeve. I use the sleeves like in the picture but only like in the picture. Do not worry about the additional joint in the wall. Use your go/no go gauge and every joint will be good.
 
They make 90 deg turnouts in copper with pex adapters already installed on them. Use a souix chief rough in strap and one of these copper turn outs you will be fine. Copper turn outs with rough in strap will allow for a neater job and is a better for trim out.
 
The 90 degree bend minimum for 1/2" PEX is 7" radius. So no to turning entirely inside the standard wall space.
 
Just askin..... since heat can restore accidentally crimped PEX, can heat be used to increase the bend radius of PEX to make a tighter turn allowing tubing fixed
to floor joists make th turn up into a 4 inch wall?
 
I just worked at my nieces house....had to remove vanity and toilet.....the copper was bent around a 4" cast iron stack then around 2 2 by 4s nailed together I bent the pex around the cast iron stack and crimped a 90 to feed the toilet I pre fabbed it before I in stalled it....there was no way to make those angles with copper
 
As I am about to embark on a building/plumbing project, I have been investigating the pros and cons of copper, cpvc and pex. I am totally sold on the pex, except for the fact that i can't get a great answer as to turning 90 degrees in perpendicular 3 1/2" walls. It appears that trying to "bend" the pipe, doesn't work so well. Some have recommended cutting and using elbows which seems to defeat some of the advantages of pex. What is the solution?
The minimum radius allowed/recommended is based on the type of PEX you're using. The minimum could be as low as 3.75"(1/2" Type A's) but many go up to about 6"(for 1/2").
You really should be looking at an installation guide for your specific PEX. It will not only guide you on min. radius but also other installation requirements.
 

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