Pex class action suit

[chuck172]

There is a class action lawsuit involving pex that the members here should be aware of:

http://www.zurnclassaction.com/

personally, the more I hear about pex pipe and rubber liners, the happier I am I went with copper and steel.

 

[Der Fuirmeister]

Looks like a suit involving Zern crimp fittings and not PEX tubing. We used barbed fittings. From your comment it sounds like you've had (or heard of) other problems with PEX tubing. What problems have you had?

 

[chuck172]

I'm just old fashioned. I can't help but to resist new, fast innovations. I'm a retired steam-fitter so the I feel close to the piping industry. I hope there will be no problems for anyone.

 

[pybyr]

I have used the Wirsbo/ Uponor fittings and tools , not only in portions of my current system (much of which is actually steel and copper), but in re-plumbing my house. I became open to it (the Wirsbo PEX) only after an architect friend gave me a scrap of the stuff and I torture-tested it (heat cold, physical abuse....) and was astonished at what it would survive. Quality PEX- the "PEX-a"- and good fittings, are more robust in my experience than copper. Unfortunately, like in other fields,m the popularity of PEX caused some other companies to move in with corner-cutting products

 

[Der Fuirmeister]

I have used the Wirsbo/ Uponor fittings and tools , not only in portions of my current system (much of which is actually steel and copper), but in re-plumbing my house. I became open to it (the Wirsbo PEX) only after an architect friend gave me a scrap of the stuff and I torture-tested it (heat cold, physical abuse....) and was astonished at what it would survive. Quality PEX- the "PEX-a"- and good fittings, are more robust in my experience than copper. Unfortunately, like in other fields,m the popularity of PEX caused some other companies to move in with corner-cutting products

From the picture it looks like they made the fittings so thin they broke after being stressed.

Much of what we've been getting in the way of fittings has been overseas produced...........worthless. One large pump manufacturer put it this way. If we want one casting we order ten and throw away the 9 bad ones. Meaning the Chinese cast iron pump bowls have a 90% failure rate. And the Chinese parts are still cheaper in their minds.

I'm guessing Zern will find out how much more it costs to buy so cheap.

 

[pybyr]

From the picture it looks like they made the fittings so thin they broke after being stressed.

Much of what we've been getting in the way of fittings has been overseas produced...........worthless. One large pump manufacturer put it this way. If we want one casting we order ten and throw away the 9 bad ones. Meaning the Chinese cast iron pump bowls have a 90% failure rate. And the Chinese parts are still cheaper in their minds.

I'm guessing Zern will find out how much more it costs to buy so cheap.

See my other posts about the _fits_ I had over the Taco bronze valve circulator flanges (nade in China) that would not seal with fitting threads, despite teflon bearing pipe dope and tremendous tightening and then multiple re-tightenings.

If whoever made or sold them had been within 40 yards of me the other night, they'd have had indents matching the casting marks in some part of their anatomy as I hurled them at them.

Lacking such a deserving target, I torqued them into oblivion and let the boiler seal work its magic- but what a s_itty experience.

Crap is crap, no matter how cheap.

these experiences confirm why I rummaged in the back of the bins at my supplier for most of the other fittings that do bear the marks "USA" and that are dustier but visibly better made

 

[rvtgr8]

Pex is not the problem. Bad fittings are the the problem.

KITEC® HISTORY

Kitec® was manufactured by a Canadian thermoplastics company, Ipex, Inc, and in the U. S., by their subsidiary, Ipex USA LLC. It was first introduced into the U.S. market in 1995. According to the manufacturer Kitec® is "an engineered composite pipe made from flexible aluminum tubing -permanently bonded between layers of durable polyethylene - Kitec® XPA™ can be installed directly below grade or encased in concrete without additional protection. Its tough cross-linked polyethylene outer and inner layers provide excellent corrosion resistance, while its aluminum core provides a built-in permeation barrier against ground source contaminants such as termiticide. The result is years of reliable service, even in harsh soil and water conditions where the use of copper should be avoided."


WHAT MAKES IT FAIL?

The alleged construction defect relates to Kitec's brass fittings, not to the company's plastic pipe. The issue is a chemical reaction known as dezincification, which accelerates corrosion in brass fittings when they are exposed to oxygen and moisture. Brass is an alloy that is primarily composed of copper and zinc. When fittings experience dezincification, zinc leaches out of the brass fittings, leaving a blockage of zinc oxide that leads to leaks, restricted water flow, and breakage.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Yep the Zurn brass fittings are just deteriorating. My BIL the plumber installed a bunch of them and and they are failing in under 3 years. He had a bunch of them fail in a big church, caused lots of damage. Zurn was trying to blame it on the water being acidic. They pulled water samples but I haven't heard the outcome.

 

[slowzuki]

Dezincification is a big problem in some fields. The biggest issue is the high price of copper lately has led to the use of more zinc in brass fittings. In aggressive water or when connected to a system where they are the anode, some crazy things happen. It will strip the zinc right out of the part leaving a weak and brittle piece.

I'm glad I didn't bury any of my fittings in the slab! I think I have those type.

 

[rvtgr8]

Yeah, when I first heard about the suit, I rushed out to check my fittings. I too was thrilled at the knowledge that I had no fittings in the concrete. There is no recognizable markings in my fittings and that is better than seeing Kitec or Zurn. Supposedly you will begin to see a telltale white residue form on the outside of the fitting if the the dezincification is happening.

Robert

 

[slowzuki]

Robert, unfortunately from what I've seen, any of them that are under stress such as when the PEX heats up and pushes on the fitting, they may break before any visible external damage.


I have very high mineral content water but its not acidic luckily. I've reused 30 year old copper pipe that looked new. Less than an hour away their water eats through copper pipe in no time.