Using PEX tubing for Mash Tun manifold?

After spending some time looking at CPVC in Home Depot, I noticed PEX tubing. I searched the forums, but haven't found any threads regarding using this material as a manifold for my 10 gal round cooler mash tun. With a temp rating of 200 degrees F, this should handle mash and sparging temps, no? What do you all think?

As I see it:
Pros

• Cheap! :rockin:
• for potable water- no leaking chemicals
• can handle mash and sparge temps
• will fit into CPVC fittings (also cheap)
• flexible so I can design a manifold like figure 163 on Palmer's website. http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD-1.html Plus, it would use a lot less fittings than rigid copper pipe or CPVC

Possible Cons

• Slits (w/ a hacksaw) might "bend" open to a larger slit. Drill holes instead?

Finally, with batch sparging, should I use 1/2" or 3/4" tubing?

Pex will work great. Its inert like plastic used in the brew buckets. The only downside is the fittings are a bit expensive. You can use brass sharkbite fittings with them.

CON: you cannot glue pex to CPVC fittings. You could attach them to cpvc with a screw or some other mechanical fastener.

Per http://www.ppfahome.org/pex/faqpex.html

Can PEX be joined with solvent cement?

No. PEX cannot be joined with solvent cement, glues or heat fusion. PEX is installed using only mechanical fittings or compression fittings.

BargainFittings said:

The only downside is the fittings are a bit expensive. You can use brass sharkbite fittings with them.

CON: you cannot glue pex to CPVC fittings. You could attach them to cpvc with a screw or some other mechanical fastener.

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Thanks. After playing around with CPVC fittings in Home Depot, I'm not too concerned with having to buy manufacture recommended fittings for the PEX. The CPVC fittings are cheap and fit snug, with the added advantage of being able to disassemble easily for cleaning.

I also us a round cooler for my mash tun. I attached some PEX tubing to the lid for use as my sparge arm. I attached the tubing with zip ties and drilled 1/8 holes every 2 inches at varying angles for my sparge arm. So far, it has worked well

The sparge arm sounds like it would work well, but I gave up on making a manifold with it. Pex on a rectaugular (or any other (90 degree based manifold)) would work great and be economical, but it wan't very easy to work with when making a wound manifold for my "drink" cooler.

pex is bad ass

The only thing I don't like about PEX is that it grows in length as it gets hot. It is not a big issue if using short pieces. If using longer sections putting a loop or a "hump" in the line allows it to grow & shrink without putting strain on your fittings. I also like PEX because it insulates somewhat. There is less heat loss through the tubing and you can touch the tubing without getting burned.

PEX fitting can be much more inexpensive if you buy them from a plumbing supply wholesaler that usually deals with contractors. I've found Lowes & Home Depot to be at least double the price. Shark Bite fittings are simple to use, can connect to CPVC, Copper and of course PEX but they are expensive. The simple PEX fittings & copper rings are much cheaper but you need a special tool (expensive) to crimp the rings. If you just need to make a couple connections use the Shark Bite fittings. If you are doing a complex system and maybe want to add a bathroom to your house then buy the PEX crimper tool and use the cheaper fittings.

I've got about 150' of PEX from a radiant floor project that I did. I was hoping to be able to use it when I create my brew house in our barn someday. Which reminds me I need to go get a lottery ticket.

You could make a round manifold with a Tee fitting and loop it.

Take a heat gun to it if it doesn't want to conform to that tight a circle.

BargainFittings said:

You could make a round manifold with a Tee fitting and loop it.

Take a heat gun to it if it doesn't want to conform to that tight a circle.

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I did that exact thing for a sparge manifold

I don't think you can use hot water heater pex (white stuff) for drinking water applications...

sjlammer said:

I don't think you can use hot water heater pex (white stuff) for drinking water applications...

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PEX is used as a replacement product for copper in hot and cold applications. It is a type of polyethylene plastic similar to the brewing buckets we use.

White pex is the same as the colored pex without the colorant added.

We used Pex tube for our manifold. It is hard to bend into a tight circle. I used a heat gun to soften it up. I put about 12 1/4 holes in the bottom and along with a false bottom the system works great. We used a short piece of regular tubing to connect the drain so everything comes apart easily.
You can see more at.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/squam-lakes-brewery-pictures-144764/

I live in a fairly new house (2007) and all the plumbing is done with PEX, except for the first 18 inches out of the hot water heater because of building code. So that if the hot water heater malfunctions it wont melt off the pex.

I use PEX for my sparge arm and it is wonderful. You can use the actual crimp tool and the suggested rings but they are expensive. I used a t- fitting for underground sprinklers and some screw clamps. This method works great, but it will not work if you are going to put the fittings under pressure, ie house plumbing. When I added a utility sink to our garage i started with the screw clamps only to find it leaking like a fountain. I ended up using sharkbite fittings, which are quite expensive, $7-9 each. But they work great, are very simple to use and can connect anything to anything. PEX-copper-CPVC-PVP-polypipe. The key is to have a square cut on the pipes that you are connecting.

pilotdane said:

The only thing I don't like about PEX is that it grows in length as it gets hot.

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...don't we all...