Plumbing Question....water main is leaking

[scramble this]

So my water main to the house is leaking, and im getting it replaced this Saturday. My question is I have different people telling me different things about which kind of pipe to use. The old pipe is galvanized. One guy says copper is the only way to go because it will last the longest although it is the most expensive. Another guy says use the PEX type stuff cause its cheaper stronger and will last longer. So which is it? any input is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Jinx]

I replaced mine last year. We used the blue flexible stuff, I am assuming PEX???. Anyways, it worked great. We were able to pull it from the inside of the house and go around a mature tree that I would have lost going copper...

 

[Cascadia]

I would do pex. All of the houses we are building these days are pex. Usually the only metal that is used now is where the pex would come out of a finished wall there is copper clamped on the end. It's cheaper too.

 

[Raleigh]

Most if not all of the newer houses have PEX mains, I owned a house with it.

Best part is how flexible it is, a friend of mine did it this way and they used a machine that vibrated it into place, they didn't dig up his yard.
That saved a ton of labor cost.

 

[hoosier]

PEX fo soh. I will be running it in my entire house once I build it

 

[rholbrook]

PEX tastes funny or so I have been told.

I have a neighbor who insists on coming over to my house to fill a water jug for her refrigerator. She doesnt understand why my water tastes better. I don't have any filters, the only difference is I have copper in my home and they have PEX. I think she uses it as an excuse to get away from her husband and children.

My only suggestion is to go with a larger pipe what ever you decide to use.

 

[Shawn]

My whole house is done in PEX including the main. Good stuff, no funny taste.

 

[scramble this]

Sweet, the one plumber said the PEX stuff rots out fast, anybody know if thats true?

 

[Cascadia]

Never seen a piece of pex rot out. I have however, seen a lot of cast and copper rotted out.

 

[Raleigh]

It is plastic, it's not biodegradable, therefor it will not rot.

 

[I Lean]

PEX will also be quieter than copper when the water is running through it. I have copper in my house, and I actually replaced about 20' of the main line coming through the house with PEX, just so it wouldn't transmit the sound of the sprinkler system when it was running. It was pretty loud in a couple of the rooms, and now you can barely hear it.

 

[chadschoon]

I do plumbing for a living. Do pex. There is nothing wrong with it and I foresee pex outlasting copper. Much easier to un roll. The only problem with using a pex water main is the possibility of using a pack joint adapter inside the house. They in my opinion are pretty sketchy and can blow off if not put on properly. If your plumber can crimp the fitting in the house with a crimp ring you are better off (which if it's 1" or smaller an he runs the right pex he should be able too)

 

[Jesser04]

I was working on a job and we used one they called it a hole hog. It was neat we dug a hole at the meter and at the foundation and fired it up and it torpedoed all the way across the yard.

This is what we used.

http://www.alliedcp.com/products/hogs.asp

 

[rambrush]

Like posted Pex is the way to fly copper freezes and breaks pex will expand when froze and not break.

 

[toyota crawlin]

Use the blue brute pipe its like Pex but stronger and mand to be under ground..