Which do you use more and why?

I had to replace the plumbing in my mobile home 15 years ago. The plumber wanted $5,000. He showed me how to work Pex A. I bought a manual expander tool and needed pipes and fittings at a cost of $500. I did the job by myself in 14 hours. When I turned the water on, I had zero leaks. I highly recommend Pex A.

Pex B is what I use when doing renovations. I used to do all renovations in copper; time consuming, but tried and true. It took many years of renovations to go to Pex B. initially using Pex B, I was concerned with it service lifetime. For what it's worth, never had a problem with any Pex B I've installed over the course of my 23 years as a contractor.

I am remodeling my home that was a flip house 12 years ago. The copper lines under the house were a mess. A friend told me about PEX and the differences. He said that PEX "A" was more expensive and the hand tool to put it together was difficult to use. After finding a Dewalt tool that matched my existing battery line up, I was sold on PEX "A". I have replaced the water lines in my my home with all PEX "A" now and have never had to re-do a fitting and had no leaks. I LOVE this stuff, and will not be going back to copper. Thank you so much for the great information. I hope folks watch this before making a rushed decision.

I repiped my whole house two months ago with pex b. The material was available at the home depot and the ryobi ring tool was only about $120. My flow is better then before because I upsized the pipes and designed it more effectively.

I misspelled Apex Legends and accidently searched PEX it was a good decision

Since I will be saving almost $7,000 or more by doing my own Uponor upgrade, I decided to treat myself and buy a battery powered expansion tool.

I'm not into plumbing but these videos are interesting to watch

If you upsize the hot water lines when using PEX B, you will also increase the amount of time it takes for hot water to reach the fixture - both annoying for the person in the home and less energy efficient. A 3/4" line holds 2.25 times as much water as a 1/2" line, so it will more than double the time it takes for water from the shower/faucet to get warm. Upsizing the lines, if not necessary, could be a very bad move. There are guides covering run distance, vertical height, and number of fittings to maintain pressure levels. The guides should be followed and upsizing done only if necessary after analyzing the system.

Great video. Solid explanations of how and why they are different. When I was a young upstart in construction in the early 80's I watched the other trades go thru the same amount of changes in materials and methods as I was going thru as a carpenter. Once we all made it past the CPVC phase and into pex it seemed that all the plumbers that were already inclined to cut corners on a job for speed and money were the most likely to choose pex B or crimp pex as what they built and stocked their company around. The higher end guys went with pex A or expansion pex. When I built my own home years later i purchased all the stuff for pex A and still use it on my own stuff to this day. Not to say that pex B now is the same and has not been improved but rare was pex a system 30 years ago that leaked where as the pex B houses were hard to get thru the winter during construction without a leak. Someone spoke about what home depot sells and What home depot sells is availability without having to know the secret handshake and code talk of a lumberyard or plumbing supply house. You can walk up to all of it, pick it up and turn it over and decide on your own if you can make it work. You dont need to suffer thru condescending counter intelligence trying to make you look or sound stupid. Pick it up, buy it, install it and learn for yourself if it works or not. Doesn't mean its a good product, just means they sell it and usually have more of it if you need and you can get it without ever speaking a word to anyone at the store. In short, Pex A is my jam and I'll stick with it but full disclaimer, I own a few pex b tools as well because they are cheap and sometimes you have to match stuff on a job.

Invested in the M12 expansion tool for a small job years ago and finally used Uponor to rough in three houses over the past couple months. It’s definitely going to take over.

This is great information to me as I know a fair amount of plumbing but I'm not a professional, I retired from construction and now work at Lowe's. I get questions every day about PEX and I try to give the customer the very best information I can. Thanks for the video.

I replumbed our entire stilt home in 2004 after Hurricane Charley badly damaged it. Being a stilt home, I was able to replumb from underneath the living space.I used Vanguard pex B runs off of a manifold in the garage to EVERY valve in the house. I could, for instance, shut off the water to the guest room cold sink valve if it needed to be replaced, without having to shut water off to the whole house. That installation It worked fine, though I did have a few problems crimping fittings in tight spaces. Because we had over sixty pounds of pressure from the city water, I never noticed any lack of pressure at any tap. When we moved to the current home in 2013, I did a major remodel which included pulling down the entire drywall ceiling to put in new ducts and insulation. I used that access to the entire attic space and the top plates of the stud walls to replumb with pex again, only this time I used Uponor pex. I even had an Uponor guy come out and answer questions I had. The $400 bucks I spent on the Milwaukee Pro Pex expansion tool kit was well worth it. The joints went together quickly and securely. We're on well water here, so our pressure, between the pump kicking on, can go down to about 30 psi, but with the joints not being reduced in diameter like with pex B, our pressure is fine at every fixture. And, one thing you didn't mention. When I tore out the old copper pipe from 1979 when the house was built, nearly half the inside diameter was blocked with mineral deposits. Pex, as you know, is extraordinary slick. Nothing will build up inside it like on copper and, even to a slight extent, pvc.

I’m an electrician, but I love learning new things from people who know what good work is and take the time to teach others. This man and others like him are national treasures.

Hi Roger, thanks for the videos. You're really good at explaining this stuff, your video style and pacing is also really great and easy to follow

I’m just a homeowner but do a lot of my own work and I bought the uponor pex expander tool and love the expander/pex A system. It looks professional and the simplicity and durability of the expansion system is great. The tool was expensive but compared to shark bite fittings (I know, I know.. lol) at $10+ each vs a couple bucks for the expansion fittings, after just a few jobs you’ve broken even. It really is an awesome system.

In 1989 I was lucky enough to go on holiday to florida and stayed with my aunt and uncle,, florida is flat but believe me they didn't have pressure issues in fact even at sixteen year's old the shower nearly knocked me to the floor,, sounds like water companies have lowered the pressure as they have here because on the road I live it's serviced in lead here in the UK and they've told us that they can't put the pressure up anymore because it will blow the lead,, I've gone off topic as usual,, love the USA tho,, hope you get your cities back under control,, to much right to much left of any fitting will cause a future problem,, it's so true in politics as well, be blessed master plumber ❤️👍

I did a bunch of homework about 5 years ago (took about 6 mo's) to learn about all the updated residential plumbing line/supplies and came to the same conclusion as you that PEX A has the best characteristics and I would say better than copper in some ways as well. I've done a lot of remodeling on kitchens and bathrooms, so for me, I lean heavily toward PEX A even though I have the tools and know-how for all of them. When I did learn what looked like the best choice, I bought the Milwaukee expansion tool and have no regrets. In haste, before I got done with my learning session, I bought a PEX B crimper also made by Milwaukee and have only used it a couple times...oh well, live and learn.

Pex A all the way it's more easy to work with Less fittings Very rare The connections leak. Specially here in California with water restrictions pex B is hardly used in new construction. I have seen more issues with pex B leaks,kinks,and low water flow. You 100% right Roger great video!

Hi Roger, Thank you for posting. I've never used either. Not sure what the plumbing cost in NYC requires for new construction. I'm pretty much a dinasour with all new plumbing technology. When I heard about shark bite and pro press fittings I was pretty amazed. On the commercial side of plumbing and if your working on pipe size over 2" I think most plumber will be using copper. All good stuff all around. Keep that watet flowing where it needs to go. Stay safe stay clean.!!

I’m a pex A guy. I feel the connections are more reliable. Also the wall thickness of the fittings is thicker. I do wish the big box stores in my area would stock pex A. They all stock the pex B. It just would make it more convenient.

Prefer PEX A as easier to work with, like the Milwaukee m12 ProPEX tool for making the connections, don’t have to worry as much about the flow restrictions when using PEX A, & just really like it; especially on jobs when have a lot of “turns/bends”.....PEX A just so much easier to work with👍🏻 Cheers✌🏼

I do think it is worth to mention, that while shrink-fit "quick and easy" joints are available here in Finland (the home of the Uponor system), it is common practice to use PEX-A with copper-style compression fittings with an insert, such as what is used with soft copper pipe. This is completely up to code here, as long as all connections are exposed or failure (leak) can be easily detected and repairs carried out. And the same code applies to copper pipe. For some reason, I have never seen this kind of combination used overseas. Furthermore, the reduced inside diametre of the pipe is usually not an issue, unless using something like 3/8" pipe, as sizes 1/2" and 1" are commonly used using this method. (and if you were wondering, PEX-B is not commonly seen at all)

I got Polybutylene pipe in my mobile home and gradually upgrading to PEX B. I prefer the compression rings all over the crimping rings. PEX A is more ideal for a contractor than a homeowner, just because the tools are expensive.

I refurbished a older home with all new plumbing using PEX a while ago. I laid it out so it had NO fittings or valves inside the house. Each fixture had its own line going to a manifold outside the house where each line had its own valve. This eliminated crawling under cabinets to turn the water off and on. Also it seems like the valve inside the houses always need replacing each time you tried to fix something. Totally eliminated that problem from ever occurring. It also eliminates leaks inside the wall.

Ive had my milwaukee uponor tool for 3 years now and I use it almost every day. Super awesome tool to have

I took a certification class at the hall and am a Uponor Installer. Love it. My intention to build a new home keeps getting postponed, Covid19, etc. but when I build I will be using Uponor!

Really informative and helpful. Recently inherited heating and plumbing business in PA and looking to updating systems we use.

I love your videos! I am not a plumber. I am a DYI guy (over 50 years). I managed large senior assisted living and independent living complexes and learned a lot about plumbing when it failed. I found out that plumbing normally failed after 5PM on a Friday (when my maintenance man was gone for the weekend and before Monday when we had expert help again) I am an expert on using 50 gallon trash cans to catch leaks in leaking pipes; replacing expensive matteresses, and begging for emergency plumbing repairs. When someone recommends "Shark Bite" I know that my backside is where the bite is going to happen. Thanks for sharing!

We use a lot of pex b however we don’t use any 90s with the exception of getting to the sinks or toilets etc. We’ll do our best to have the pipe undistrubed by fittings. If you try to make the pex “pretty” by 90ing every bend the pressure is insanely reduced !

Thanks for explaining the difference between Pex A and B. I used B when I was redoing some of the plumbing in a house I used to own. I'm having a new one built now, and will definitely be talking to my plumber about Pex A.

Great information thanks Roger!!!! Great video

I agree Roger with all your points about A. I love it. I have cut a ring off (carefully) and heated the joint to pull the fitting out (with a heat gun..no flame). Heated it more till it turned clear..let cool again to room temp and re expanded it. Made the connection again and it's still going strong in my basement. Only thing you left out was that UV light degrades it but.... cover it near sunlight and it's fine. On long runs along joists I run it inside PVC (one size up) to act as a conduit and UV shield. Works great. PVC is cheap.. Uponor Pex rocks.

I re-plummed a small lake house 2 different times. The first was after the CPVC froze and burst, the second was after the flexible copper was stolen. I went back with Pex A to solve both issues.

There are some PEX B pipes that can be expanded for F1960 fittings. SiouxChief power pex is a good example that can use expansion and compression fitting. Apollo has some as well, have to check the labeling on theirs though. The SiouxChief is ASTM F2023 rated 5306 meaning 24 hour recirc level 5 chlorine resistance, and 6 months uv exposure

Great informative video! Actually had fun learning and watching because of the great enthusiasm.

I moved my shutoff to the inside of my house from under a crawlspace and paid a plumber to plumb it in live, because my exterior shutoff (community well) didn't work at the time. I "had the materials" available for him (the system main was installed with 1" SCH40), but he used his own Pex B. Not only did we have flow restrictions with the fittings, he reduced it to 3/4" Pex. Add insult to injury, he plumbed it backwards even though I had my lines labeled, and said "It's hard to go behind someone else's work." I paid him and fixed it myself.

8:44 This isn't really an issue anymore. Modern copper crimpers have a safety hash mark indentation which shows when the ring has been crimped. So visual inspection is easy (Like Pex-A). Great, thoughtful video. Thanks.

Great vid. My mind is spinning as I need to repipe my home and Pex A vs. Pex B is confusing. One plumber even wants to do CPVC. I see that Pex-A may have some issues after years with chlorine in municipal water more than Pex B? Then the hot water degradation of both is a concern as I run my hot water at 140F.

Well done. Very well explained. Thanks for all of the info!

Dude you’re videos are good. Thanks for putting out quality content actually worth watching.

Thanks for the information. I just replaced frost-damaged copper with PEX B. I wish I had oversized it - it's an off-grid owner-built home, with gravity feed water system. The flow is now very weak, as you mentioned.

I like the pex a for all the reasons you listed and on top of that, you can use pex b fittings with pex a piping.

Thank you for this video , my wife and i recently bought a home that has the polybetaine piping a will eventually need to be replumbed. When we talk to a plumbing company ,we will as a consumer will have an understanding of our options.

Thanks, just what I wanted to know. I'm a do it yourself home owner. Just moved across country, built a new house for me and my wife (that also does it all) in SC. I did copper when I was in Ca. but this new house has pex. Just built a huge barn that I need to plumb. My wife is doing the drains and I am learning pex since the house has pex. From the well I was going with 1" and thinking about 3/4" for the horse wash rack, washer and tankless heater. And you told me what I was looking for. Pex A is the answer.

redid my moms plumbing with pex B, very fast and easy. I would say the one benefit of pex b is that the tools to do it are cheaper than pex-a, so it may be more viable for a DIY person. the crimper was like 15 or 20 bucks!

After watching this, I'm using Pex A for a lot of reasons but mainly because on a big job, as you said, you can't assemble it and forget to make the connection since it'll be obvious. Thanks for your time to share your knowledge.

Awesome presentation, thank you

@3:21 You know, now that I'm getting older I have reduced flow too. Love this video BTW. I am getting ready to replace/replumb all my PolyB in my house. I'm not a plumber. I'm stuck on Uponor AquaPex.

Well I prefer Pex A now. Starting a new build soon and your vid sold me on the A. I've never used pex before, but been around it for years as a mechanical insulator and have seen the benefits in both material and labor costs. Thanks for sharing your time and expertise, much appreciated.

I switched my house and two neighbors to pex b because it was what they had at the big box store. I have never used pex a. The pex b worked great it improved the flow to distant show

We use Rehau PE-Xa expansion fittings here in Germany. we use also PE-Xa, b, c or PE-RT for floor heating systems.

super videos and explanations ..... been remodeling some basements in a commercial space with many separate bathrooms and the plumbers used pex B. I didn't finish the ceilings and left everything exposed. GOOD THING! Pex B started to leak slightly. I don't know why ... the trouble areas were replaced with PEX A and then I finished the ceilings. ZERO problems.

Who is the electrician version of Rodger?

you said you could bury this in concrete. Could I bury it in the ground running from my pump to where it enters the house? I live on the central Florida East coast.

Great video, I used pen B. This is the first I’ve heard of per A. Thanks for the information.

Best part of both is they can be "fished" like wiring. That said here in the Northeast we don't see that much of the Upinor Pex A mostly Pex B in my area, and of course copper as well. Also you can put in a manifold that acts much like a circuit breaker panel for water.

How do you feel about the other type of crimp rings? I’ve switched to them solely because of the smaller tool and it seems like you never accidentally have those rings cocked and crooked the way that the copper rings will

I've not used PEX-A before, though I replumbed my house with PEX-B. Haven't really noticed a pressure issue; just be mindful of the number of fixtures tied to a specific pipe size.

Nice video, I own a campground and marina and when I bought it 18 years ago cpvc was everywhere and quite problematic , when asking a plumbing supplier I'd used for years as to what to do he pointed me to NIBCO brand pex (pex b) because of it's UV resistance and underground capability, 18 years later we have had virtually no failures in approximately 6000 ft with 20% exposed to full UV , I'm in the midwest so we get both hot and cold weather, we do winterize by blowing compressed air thru the system but its not full proof and the pex takes freeze/expansion quite well, after a tour of the NIBCO facility we learned they used the product for the plant air lines as well so we've been doing the same, 16 years of 175 psi and not a single failure, sadly what led me to your video is NIBCO having left the tubing market and I'm searching for a pex product that will give us UV and below grade capability for that eventual day that I need to overhaul our system

Not a plumber by trade but with the advice of friends who are and videos like yours i did my own new house. I did a year of research before starting and went with PEXa with a hand built copper manifold system. Used PEXa oxygen barrier for my in slab and under floor Radiant Heating. The two biggest reasons for PEXa would be the lack of flow restrictions and usability (bends, kink repair, etc)

As a plumber it’s awesome seeing these videos, I like both pex a and b and both are great and easy to work with, definitely pros and cons, but the same goes for copper and pvc.

Thanks for the video and clear and simple explanation. Almost definitely going to be going with PEX A when I redo my house and install a manifold system in a year or 2.

Thanks for the clarification on the different types of PEX. I am definitely using type A

Totally agree with your conclusion. I'm watching this video because my plumber uses PEX B and I have had doubts about it for years, particularly about the restriction in flow. He's got 45 years more experience in plumbing than I do, so I want to be respectful, but I think he puts way too many fittings in my houses where a bend would suffice.

I brought up the reduction in PEX b in a plumber's Facebook group you can tell a lot about their integrity from guys that say wgaf. I also pointed out that the water heaters from the big box stores have 3/4 nipples with 3/8 ID heat traps trying to explain to the customer why they have a reduction in flow through their water heater I tell them stick with the supply house brands like Bradford White and again I get raked over the coals by all these Facebook plumbers for caring about the flow.

Definitely recommend an experienced plumber. That said, this stuff is *nearly* idiot proof. I re-piped my entire house (removed 100% old galvanized) with PEX A when the hardest plumbing job I had done prior was replacing a toilet wax seal. Also, for anyone who decides to DIY, screw the manual expansion tool. Spend the extra coin, save yourself time, and get the battery operated one. The auto rotate feature alone makes it worth it.

Fantastic video. Very professional and educational. Best type of fitting if I ever run into an issue of existing PEX B in use and swap over to the PEX A now that I purchased a Milwaukee PRO PEX tool.

I’m not a plumber. I’m what plumbers hate. A licensed Water Utility employee. I absolutely love PEX-A. In the utility we only use 1” American made copper- so I love some copper. I remodeled my house a year ago. I used 1” PEX-A from meter to inside house. Took it to a manifold, I installed a Rinnai RL75eN tankless water Heater ( I live in Central Arkansas) taking a calculated risk on that one. (Fingers crossed) The PEX-A was so quick and easy. I was sold. It was very time efficient.

I've used both A and B and I prefer A for the reasons you stated plus when you're using PEX B in those tight spots it can be difficult to get your crimping tool in proper position and at the end of the day an overhead crimp in a tight spot is not an enjoyable experience.

Pex ”A” is the shiznic!!! I use the the DeWalt expansion tool as it has a 20 amp battery.

I just replaced all of my supply lines with pex-a . Uponor is a great product. I loved your video. I agree with you.

the best explanation that I have EVER heard

An awesome thing you can do with Pex when you have the space is use PEX Bend Supports brackets which require no cutting of the pipe or fittings. Really slick way to make sure the pipe won’t rattle around with water hammer and no need for a fitting.

Come on Rodger, You know the PEX A system installed correctly is the sweetest residential system out there! That's coming from a copper guy!

Around 2015, I had a little plumbing to do. At the time, no supply houses or Lowes or Home Depot in the area(Columbia SC) carried any Pex A. So, I went with Pex B. 7 years later, not 1 leak or failure. While I do like a few features of Pex A, better flow, and you know a fitting is per say crimped if it is on and that you can fix a kink is great, but the fact that the fitting are 2x more expensive is a con for Pex A. By the way, recently, Lowes, Home Depot and the local supply houses have started carrying Pex A. Now for my take on the better flow of Pex A, I use low flow showerheads and faucets, so I don't have a flow issue with Pex B, Amazing how much money is saved on a monthly basis with a low flow showerhead, although most low flow showerheads suck, Niagara make some that are amazing. I have seen people with showerheads flowing 10 GPM, they were running out of hot water in 10 minutes with an 80 gallon tank, and they had to wait about 45 minutes between showers. They had an extremely high water and electric bill. I know many people would say, just install an on-demand water heater! Nope, switched to a 1.5 GPM head, now all 3 can take a shower back to back without waiting, and the water/sewer/electric bill dropped tremendously! Just think, each day, 3 were taking a shower, that was 240 gallons of hot water, with the new head, now 3 showers use 45 gallons!

Thank you so much for uploading this video!!! I'm replacing the poly b in my house and have been trying to decide which pex or copper. I'm going with the pex a!!!

Video should have just been labeled "Use PEX-A"

As a person working in mobile homes this is hella helpful. Polybutylene was the work of the devil.

Thanks for the video. It was interesting to learn about the two main types of pex. In this video and an older one, you said Pex A has a higher burst pressure, and is better for freeze worries. But searching for details, most sites say B has a higher burst point than A. Both should be sufficiently high, since one said that the spec they had to exceed was the ~470psi you mentioned, then stating that Pex A's burst pressure was about double that. Do you have any specs on this? Likewise, do you have any specs on the pressure drop of B connectors vs A, in practice? It could be so trivial that it doesn't matter, or any curved corners (over 90° copper ones you are replacing) might cancel out with the slight pressure drop of a few smaller fittings. In theory the bigger ID of the fittings with Pex A sounds like an advantage, but it depends on if in practice it really matters.

Best explanation that I have heard yet. Thanks

Great video! Thank you! Does anyone know about the organic chemical leaching effects of Pex-A vs Pex-B? I seem to recall this being a concern with Pex-A.

I am a fan of Pex A. Love the full flow fittings and the expansion assembly. Only down side is the cost.

The plumbers just replaced our supply line from poly-b to PEX-A. The plumber was in the crawl space and I couldn’t figure out what the drill sound was. The Upanor tool. Very cool. It was also amazing how deep they had to dig down into the driveway. They worked so hard I bought them lunch and gave them a tip. By their reaction it seemed like this was the first tip they got

Very educational thank you Roger.

I've been using pex b... honestly I want to start using pex A so i can buy new tools 😂🤣😂. Can't wait to use pex A, to me seems a lot simpler and faster than pex b. Pex a, expand and put together.

I'm a regular homeowner and had to repipe my entire house. We're on extremely hard well water and the copper in the slab developed pin hole leaks. I used PEX A and routed all the lines through the attic following uponor logic method. I insulated all the lines as well and used pipe straps to secure it. Was very easy to do and saved me about $20k

I work at Home Depot and no one at the store really knows that difference in PEX....! Now I know everything about it...! Thanks. Al Sautner.

Just cutting my teeth in residential plumbing after 5 years of pool equipment/pvc plumbing. This stuff excites me.

I install crimp pex using a manifold system in utility room (zero fittings from manifold to fixture). 1” service line. Home owners are amazed with volume they get at each fixture. I’ve been licensed plumber for 20+ years

I still prefer copper. But the PEX is probably also good in places prone to earthquakes because of it's flexibility. It might be less likely to break while the ground is shaking.

I'm in the process of ridding my house of poorly run CPVC. Using PEX A. The only downside side is having to wait for ordered parts to show up. You can make do with what Home Depot has on the shelf (Tampa FL) but I'd rather have the specific fittings and colored pipe I want. (Red for hot, blue for cold). I still use copper or iron for some places. (Showers and exterior bibs last foot or two.) I bought the dewalt battery tool. It was worth every penny. It takes of all of five minutes to learn how to use it. Loving it so far. Not a single leak after a year.

Excellent video tutorial I definitely would use Pex A Uponor.

Really like these videos, but the music seems kind of distracting.

Great video. I have a question for any expert out there that wants to respond. And thank you in advance. I have a 2 story house with all copper plumbing using city water (no well). Last week my water pressure suddenly dropped to half of what it was throughout the house. Another strange thing that happened several weeks ago was the outside spigot closest to the water heater and the main line stopped working except for one time when I had to wait 10 minutes for it to flow and it hasn't worked since (shut off valve is open and the other spigot works fine). I don't know if there is a connection but does anyone have any ideas of what could be going on? Thanks.

Came here to learn about pex-a. I'm a carpenter that does remodels and I'm Leary of stretching the pipe so i wanted a professional opinion. I have only used pex-b and i have had one flow restriction problem but that was my fault for using only 1/2" directly from the water heater. I did as i was told by my boss at the time.

Helpful information.

What are your thoughts on the Zurn expansion PEX? They say that their Pex b pipe expands with the same tool as Uponor pex a

Damn. It took me a while to realize I watched the same clips over and over again of you expanding the pex a and slipping it on the pipe and also putting the ring and 90 on the pex b. I'm now 6:32 into the video and I think I've seen each clip 10 times or more... lmao

good explanation, are fittings different between a and b? Thanks