What is PEX “A” and Should I Use it for My Long Beach Home?

PEX piping is a flexible, plastic tubing that is quickly becoming very popular for home and commercial plumbing systems. PEX has a lot of benefits, but chief among them is its flexibility. Unlike copper or iron pipes that have to be cut and shaped around corners and sinks with elbows and other fasteners, Long Beach PEX piping can wrap or bend around any area without additional cutting or fitting. The tubing can also be woven through tiny and oddly shaped spaces, providing new opportunities for the way plumbing is routed through a property. PEX is also resistant to a lot of corrosion and other damage, so it has a long life span and is a bit more environmentally friendly than some other materials.

Even if you have heard of PEX piping, you likely have not heard of the different types of PEX pipin: PEX A, PEX B, and PEX C. The letters are not a reference to a grade or quality, but rather to the manufacturing processed used for each tubing type. Long Beach PEX A tubing is created by melting HDPE polymer. Free radicals are created as a result, and cross-links form between molecules when temperatures are higher than the decomposition temperature of the polymer. That’s a lot of technical information that may not mean much to you. However, you will understand the benefits of PEX A tubing:

Highest Degree of Softness

PEX A tubing is the softest of the three types of PEX tubing. What that means is that it is also the most flexible. Your plumber should be able to wrap PEX A tubing around anything without problem. The tubing can be fed through tiny passageways, over unexpected obstacles, and through a mesh of other tubes or joists.

The increased flexibility also means that the tubing will last longer. There are fewer chances for the tubing to become creased or cracked when it is bent or exposed to pressure.

Easy to Repair

The manufacturing process for PEX A tubing also makes it easy to repair. Your plumber just has to apply heat to it to work out any kinks or to repair them. The plastic can be subtly reshaped to smooth out issues or to make minor repairs.

If you had a copper pipe, for example, getting the same issue fixed would have required expensive repipe repair and a lot of special tools. Fixing the PEX A tubing is faster, 

No Coil Memory

One thing you have to worry about with plastic is that it can become permanently misshapen under pressure. With PEX A tubing, you don’t have to worry about that. The plastic does not have coil memory, so it is able to bounce back to its proper shape after being maneuvered or exposed to pressure. Imagine it like a stress ball that you squeeze over and over again, but it just bounces right back.

Of course, the tubing is not indestructible, but it is easy to repair when issues do present themselves. Just know that you are not going to have as many issues with this kind of tubing.

Price

PEX A tubing does have the highest price of any kind of PEX tubing, which can be seen as a negative. However, when you are evaluating price, you have to consider much more than the numbers. You also have to consider the other benefits the product offers and determine if those benefits provide greater value over time. Many property owners feel that the benefits of PEX A tubing do justify the higher price, especially considering what they save in reduced maintenance and repair costs over time.

PEX tubing in Long Beach may sound like a complicated, futuristic product, but it’s really not. It’s a wonderful plumbing option that can make it easier for you to maintain your system and save money. You should talk to a repiping plumbing company about the benefits for your particular property and then ask detailed questions about the different types of PEX tubing.