mercuryplastics makes the PEX Braided and I called the guy over the production and he said that people just could not understand what a PEX hose was (for a washing machine) and that they were not available in the big box stores. Since they were the manufacturer they could not help me with the 6ea - 4 ft lengths I needed and he offered no referrals but said he would get back with me with stores that carry them. I have heard nothing back from him. I decided to make up the needed lines from 1/2 PEX line and have been looking at this fitting and that fitting. Sure would be nice to have the hoses that were PEX with the standard washing machine screw fittings.
The main advantage of the PEX braided hoses is they just do not burst since they have sealed fitting ends. They are actually molded in not crimped.
Currently I am using Braided PVC (eastland) altho PVC is non toxic I would prefer (for peace of mind) PEX for drinking water.
All in all making up PEX hose is a piece of cake and with the newer push in stackable fittings, well they just make sense for my intended purpose which is to tap the fountain to fill bottles before the water enters our whole house copper lines.
My understanding is that once the chlorine is removed from the system care must be taken as not to contaminate the water (shorter more direct runs to the bottle might be advisable, also any line after UV cleaning, 'to the bottle' that is made to disconnect for cleaning would be a good idea).
Actually we have the system inplace to filter the water for our 1 year old tankless water heater. We have been drinking bottled water. We have decided to use this system to treat our water for drinking as a way to reduce dependency on OIL since last year 77 million gallons or (BARRELS unsure) of oil were used to make bottles for water.
So the whole house system we have is actually for the tankless water heater (to keep the small heat exchangers particle free). We are upgrading the filtering system with a high end 20" x 4.25" carbon filter, a pleated sediment filter into a small uv sanitizer (22 watts, just burns less juice) tapped with a TEE to a down valve to a cool coil hose to fill bottles as needed also straight through the TEE to the tankless for whole house hot water needs.
Actually the PEX push in fittings are ideal since I have installed a watts pressure reducing valve on the inlet and a spring loaded check valve on the outlet. This way I always know the regulated psi as in the past I have noted spikes in psi as high as 110. I know alot of folk would enjoy that kinda flow but it is best regulated to avoid blowing off a fitting, which should hold but maybe does not. I have had a hose burst in the past and it is not a pretty thing. I monitor and inspect all fittings looking for drips and general appearance.
All together total system upgrade should be around $400.00 That certainly is well worth the price for the peace of mind knowing your drinking water is clean enough to drink!
Last edited by coolclearwater; 07-11-2008 at 09:57 PM.
Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.
-William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Henry VI, part II
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