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Pex off a well pressure tank?

BSartist | Posted in General Discussion on February 5, 2008 05:50am

My new house is plumbed with Pex throughout. Except the plumber comes out of my well pressure tank Tee valve with 3/4 inch copper riser up to the ceiling where it meets the 3/4 pex feeders for the rest of the house (he didn’t use a manifold – let’s not go there).

I don’t know if there was a reason for this or, as I suspect, a different plumber was brought in to hook up the supply and maybe he had a different preference. Or maybe he just wanted the stiffness of a copper riser so he didn’t have to put up plywood on the wall and fix the pex to it.

I am going to have to plumb in a filter system and will need to tap into this riser. So I want to just come right out of the Tee valve with Pex (using an FNPT to Pex adapter), then to the filter and then to the house thereby eliminating that 8ft copper run.

Does anyone know if it is inadvisable to come off the Tee with Pex?

Thanx

Bill

 

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Replies

  1. MSA1 | Feb 05, 2008 09:08pm | #1

    My plumber runs PEX everywhere. As far as I know it shouldnt be a problem.

  2. wallyo | Feb 05, 2008 09:13pm | #2

    I look at it this way, when to use romex and when to use conduit is the same as to when to use plex and when to use copper or steel. Sounds like your pipe is exposed in the living space, copper, once it is in the wall, ceiling, stud or joist bay plex. The same as it would be with wiring.

    Don't know if it is code as much as going an extra step for a little protection. In my area if it is exposed it is usually done in something rigid like on water heaters, water softeners, pumps, pressure tanks etc.

    Wallyo

    Edited 2/5/2008 1:17 pm ET by wallyo



    Edited 2/5/2008 1:18 pm ET by wallyo

    1. BSartist | Feb 05, 2008 09:43pm | #3

      That's an interesting point. Actually there is quite a bit of exposed Pex but it is up at the (unfinished) basement ceiling. The copper is from the ceiling down so you may have a point.  If I replace with Pex, I will have it running fairly low to the floor from the tank to the filter.

      But how less durable is pex vs. copper? I don't think I would want to be banging into or running over a copper run either.

       

      1. wallyo | Feb 05, 2008 10:35pm | #4

        Plex is fairly durable but not as much as metal, bear in mind that there is thinwall and heavy wall copper in a very exposed area I woud use heavy. Did a bath remodel and the electricans were changing the main pannel out to a sub pannel in the basement while the ceiling was open. He went to drill a hole in a joist two seconds later all three of us were showering never check the other side of the joist, the one that had the plex on it, wnet right through the middle of it was not a mere nick. If it were copper he would of felt a change in density, the plex felt like wood.Wallyo

    2. fingersandtoes | Feb 06, 2008 07:46am | #5

      It's in our code that all exposed pipe must be copper. Which is funny because the run from the wall to the hot water tank would be much better in pex here in earthquake land.

      1. wallyo | Feb 06, 2008 08:50am | #6

        True but from the wall to the tank don't you have a stainless braided or copper flex?

      2. BSartist | Feb 06, 2008 09:50am | #8

        I've got Pex literally everywhere else as I mentioned. I really mean everywhere. The exposed feeders in the basement ceiling as well as to the water heater, the boiler, the sillcocks, garage slopsink (with drain valves) and of course through the walls to the fixtures.  Everywhere.

        Except that one 8 ft riser which terminates in a copper to pex joint at the ceiling joist. (oops sorry, I guess that's really a floor joist for the floor above :-)  )

         

         

        1. wallyo | Feb 06, 2008 07:10pm | #9

          Could it be that it was plumbed by two different people or at different times? The regular plumber did the house stubing it out to where the tank is. The well company did the well pump and tank and the copper was there preference?WALLYO

          1. BSartist | Feb 06, 2008 07:19pm | #10

            I do believe it was different plumbers as I alluded to in the start of the thread. That is one of my leading theories but I wanted to make sure there wasn't a better reason.

             

          2. wallyo | Feb 06, 2008 08:02pm | #12

            The only other reason I can think of are the ones I and others have stated. Missed the different plumber theory.Heres an idea are you under any building code? if so make a call to the county city plumbing inspector most are more then happy to help out a home owner even with an "I am thinking about doing this ______________" question. That way you could see if it is a local code rule of some type.
            Never caught what is it from the pump to the tank? I was watching Ask This Old House this past weekend. They put in a water softener, the main came in at the mid side of the house. They broke the main dug a trench down the side, turned right , went straight, turned left went straight, turned up, turned into the garage, went down the side of the garage wall, turned again, turned up to the softener then out and back again to the main. Two runs of pipe on this, buried in a trench all done in what looked size wise to be 1" copper pipe. Must of been $400 in copper pipe alone! Did not catch where the house was just thought that much copper is weird to be buried.Wallyo

            Edited 2/6/2008 12:05 pm ET by wallyo

          3. BSartist | Feb 06, 2008 09:14pm | #13

            It's 1 inch poly coming in from the well. Here are two photos of what we're dealing with:

            http://launch5.com/welltank.jpg

            http://launch5.com/wellvalve.jpg

            (these are old pix. Wires are hooked up now).

            Copper ends just out of the top of the frame.

          4. User avater
            BillHartmann | Feb 06, 2008 10:04pm | #15

            I am glad to see that they installed a pressure guage.I hear too many stories of people with pump/well questions and they don't have a guage and thus don't have any idea of what their problem is or how to figure out what the problem is.But on the right side of that multi port brass fitting what is that by the t-shaped fitting with what appears to be push button below the guage tape?That is weird the way that the copper pipe just runs up in the middle of nowhere. Would not want to do that PEX. Don't really think that it is a good idea for copper eithr.No small for pole dancing.But don't see any problme with going to a wall and then up the wall with PEX..
            .
            A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

          5. BSartist | Feb 06, 2008 10:51pm | #16

            I think that's a pressure relief valve or something. I believe it's a standard well tank tee fitting.

            yes I would plan to run the pex out of that tee fitting down at the floor and then over to the wall and then into the filter complex. Probably up the wall a couple feet where the sediment filter will be mounted and then into the iron/sulphur dioxide removal filter.

          6. wallyo | Feb 18, 2008 08:51am | #17

            BSartistMIssed your reply on the 6th no big deal just something I noticed. On that poly coming in to the tank you might want to throw on a second clamp a $1.66 is cheap insurance. Around here plumbers usually double clamp poly pipe on city water or well water.I think the copper was done just so that ball shut off valve was setting on something more solid that can take a bit of torque if it needed turning off. A main valve does not get much use and can be pretty stiff if it has not been turned off in five years.Wallyo

          7. BSartist | Feb 18, 2008 06:39pm | #18

            Thanx. I think I will add that clamp. I'm always up for some extra protection. I need to cut that anyhow and add an air infiltrator for my filter system.

            I do get to use that valve. I shut the water and well pump off whenever I leave the house for the week.

             

          8. splintergroupie | Feb 19, 2008 12:35am | #19

            When i put the clamps on, i warm the end of the hose first with a paint remover gun to make it easier to deform slightly under the clamp pressure for an even better seal that won't loosen later.

  3. splintergroupie | Feb 06, 2008 08:54am | #7

    The 1/2" PEX i plumbed with is good for 100 psi at 180 degress. Your pressure switch probably shuts off around 55 psi.

    Outside of a malfunction of your pressure switch, in which case your problems are much bigger that the PEX splitting, PEX off your tank is fine. You might consider that the pressure right off the tank is not significantly greater than anywhere else in your system; the psi is virtually the same throughout the system.



    Edited 2/6/2008 12:57 am by splintergroupie

    1. User avater
      BillHartmann | Feb 06, 2008 07:58pm | #11

      "Outside of a malfunction of your pressure switch, in which case your problems are much bigger that the PEX splitting,"The centriical pumps used for well pumps pressure flow curves are such as they would never build up too much pressure.The only prossible place that might happen is you got a deep well pump designed for 1000 ft well and installed it in a 50 ft well. (those are generic numbers have not check on the exact ones)..
      .
      A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

      1. splintergroupie | Feb 06, 2008 10:03pm | #14

        Just after i moved into this neighborhood, one of my far-neighbors got dismembered (died) when his pressure tank blew and he was in the pit with it. At that time, i was changing my set-up from a wellhouse to a pitless adaptor and wondering if having a PT in the house was such a grand idea. Could have been his tank was faulty, too. 

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