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| Tips: When installing new waterlines, here are some tips for making the job easier. |
A) Purchase pex waterline in 20’ sticks or lay out rolls several days ahead of time. Straight sticks are a lot easier to feed through the belly than rolls of pex that won’t lay straight.
B) Help feed long lines of pex through the belly by occasionally cutting an 8” slit in the belly and using your hand to help feed it along. Patch the belly once the line has reached its destination and has been tested for leaks.
C) Run both the hot and cold lines together. Tape them together at the ends.
D) Before feeding the hot and cold lines into the belly, label the cold line by wrapping a piece of black electrical tape on it every 5 feet or so.
E) Never use a crimp ring that isn’t quite round.
F) Check the calibration of a crimping tool before each project. Check by crimping a ring on a scrap piece of waterline and checking with the GO/NO-GO gauge.
G) When installing a copper to pex adapter, solder the adapter to the copper before crimping on the pex.
H) Properly support the pipe on long open runs with fasteners every couple feet. Automatic fasteners make the job a cinch as they work somewhat like a staple gun.
I) Do not expose pex pipe to UV light (sun) for more than 24 months.
J) When running new lines, leave some slack for any future adjustments.
K) But any polybutylene waterline left in your home in most cases will function properly if the plastic fittings are removed and the pipe is kept straight. Polybutylene with sharp bends in time will crack and leak.
Installing New Waterlines
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