Pex pipe exposed to sun

Posted by RicodJour on October 11, 2009, 2:02 am

> OK
> It is acutally under a tree not in full sun.
> So if I can bend it like normal, just go ahead and use it..

Cut off a piece and pressure test it with compressed air...or you
could just pressure test the whole line while you were at it. I'd go
with double the house water pressure.

R

Posted by fftt on October 11, 2009, 1:52 am

> Last fall I ran some pex pipe under ground out to the garage.
> I never got around to hooking it up, 25 foot has been coiled up
> outside of my garage.
> I have read UV exposure is bad.
> How can I tell if my pipe is still good to use?

Wirsbo limits the direct sunlight exposure to 30 days.

I'm sure there is some margin in that number but I don't think 12
months is ok.

You could lop off a piece and pressure test it (with water) to see
it's current burst strength & then do the same test on a fresh piece
of PEX.

cheers
Bob

Posted by Jim Elbrecht on October 11, 2009, 7:29 am

On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:52:13 -0700 (PDT), theedudenator

>Last fall I ran some pex pipe under ground out to the garage.
>I never got around to hooking it up, 25 foot has been coiled up
>outside of my garage.
>I have read UV exposure is bad.
>How can I tell if my pipe is still good to use?

You *could* twist it & bend it and pressure test it-- and hope that
was adequate.

Or, for $20 or so you could replace it and not have to replace all the
crap that gets ruined when a pipe bursts & nobody's home.

Seems like a pretty cheap insurance policy to me. There are so many
things that can go wrong when you do everything right--- why tempt the
fates?

Jim

Posted by theedudenator on October 11, 2009, 10:26 am

I agree with the $20 is not worth it.
But I just wondered how valid the UV exposure was?

> You *could* twist it & bend it and pressure test it-- and hope that
> was adequate.
> Or, for $20 or so you could replace it and not have to replace all the
> crap that gets ruined when a pipe bursts & nobody's home. =A0
> Seems like a pretty cheap insurance policy to me. =A0 =A0There are so man=

> things that can go wrong when you do everything right--- why tempt the
> fates?
> Jim

Posted by fftt on October 11, 2009, 4:01 pm

> On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:52:13 -0700 (PDT), theedudenator

> >Last fall I ran some pex pipe under ground out to the garage.
> >I never got around to hooking it up, 25 foot has been coiled up
> >outside of my garage.
> >I have read UV exposure is bad.
> >How can I tell if my pipe is still good to use?

> things that can go wrong when you do everything right--- why tempt the
> fates?
> Jim

Jim-

Good point....I kinda lost sight of how cheap PEX is and how little
$'s were involved.

If OP can easily dig up & replace the pipe (if he doesn't want to
have a fitting buried), I'd just replace.

The times I've worked with PEX I was paranoid about direct sun
exposure. Until I read or hear otherwise, I'd stick with the 30 day
max.

cheers
Bob

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Pex pipe exposed to sun - Page 2