Brewery plumbing

[Craig Dhonau]

As most, I'm trying to save where I can. Does anyone have experience with PEX piping in their building? My first plumbing bid was pretty high, the next guy said he would bid it using PEX vs copper. I doubt I could use PEX exclusively, but it does have widespread use and is acceptable by the plumbing code. As it is, the combined electrical and plumbing costs are just a bit less than the cost of the whole building. No restaurant, taproom, or renovation. All new construction, metal building. Any experience/insight appreciated.

Thanks,
Craig.

[TGTimm]

All the water plumbing in our brewery is copper--and I installed most of it. If I were doing it again, I wouldn't think twice about using semi-rigid PEX for this. Savings on assembly time alone would be significant, and the materials cost is much lower--besides, you won't have tweakers with cordless Sawzalls breaking in to steal your copper.

Don't forget to use plenty of valves--be able to shut down any portion of your plumbing without shutting down the entire brewery. Cost may seem high at first, but the savings will accrue over time as things need to be fixed, added onto, or modified.

[3guysandabeerd]

plumbing

we use pex all over the place I did 90% of it my self but I also use the shark bite fitting there a little more costly but they work we also use it for air lines to run compressed air throw out the brewery best part is it run from 1in to 1/2 in diameters and they make fitting that connect all sizes together valves everything doesn't leak with stands heat I use water in at 185 f not a problem I go to a local plumbing whole seller where contractors go set up an account and I get a discount on everything they have i just drop off a case of beer every now and again and the boys are happy hope this helps you out
cheers
matt 3GB

[Craig Dhonau]

Tim, Matt,

Thanks for the reply. Curious to see how the next bid is with the PEX vs copper.

Craig.

[Natrat]

IME, PEX is less maintenance than copper. One of the things about pex is that the fittings are smaller diameter than the pipe, which means every fitting is a restriction. You can tell a good plumber from a bad one by the number of fittings he uses in the pex. If it looks incredibly neat with bazillions of brass elbows and rings, give that guy a miss. Pex bends around corners just fine, and if it's done that way, you eliminate a restriction, not to mention a fitting worth $3-5. Sharkbite or PhilMac fittings work great on pex, and have better flow than a comparable pex fitting. I suggest having some around to do quick modifications to your plumbing. Need a hose bib there? Cut the pex in two spots, shove in a sharkbite, and attach your hose bib. Some people have a hard time trusting something like that, but they are certified for underground use, and often (read, always) outlast copper, especially if there's a lot of vibration or chance of being hit.

I might add that using a similar product, PEX-AL-PEX with compression fittings, works great for compressed air and CO2.

Of course, if you need the plumbing to hold itself up, then copper is better :-)

[TGTimm]

Another advantage of PEX vs. copper: PEX isn't electrically conductive nor galvanically active. This can save lots of woe due to galvanic corrosion in boilers, pumps, etc.