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Copper vs Pex vs SharkBite - Freeze Testing

Matt Risinger · 1.6M views · 2017-12-15 · 13:01

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Overview

Builder Matt Risinger freezes water-filled copper and PEX piping capped with SharkBite fittings to see which survives. The video compares how each pipe type handles freezing.

On Hacker News

Recommended as an interesting experiment showing PEX tolerates freezing better than copper.

Recommended by 2 HN people across 2 months · HN mentions 2018–2022

Topics

Home, DIY & practical skillsEveryday physics & science demos
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pexcopper pipesharkbitehome buildingplumbing

What people said

hcoyote · 2019-06 · Recommendation

Matt Risinger (austin-based homebuilder) did a freeze comparison between copper, pex, and sharkbite fittings some time back. It was pretty interesting. At this point, I'd probably go for PEX-A (compression band) over PEX-B (the crimp style) because of the risk of getting the crimp not completely correct. [VIDEO]

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pkaye · 2018-03 · Recommendation

I think the flexible hoses are very common in newer houses. The labor costs are much lower. It also performs well in cold climates. Apparently the technology started in Germany in the 80s so it is well proven. Matt Risinger, a high end home contractor has some great videos on this technology. [LINK] [VIDEO]

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throw0101a · 2022-02 · Reference

> A wood stove/fireplace can keep you comfortable but you'll still probably end up with frozen/broken pipes. Primarily a problem with old school copper pipes. Plastic / PEX pipes may be less of an issue: * [VIDEO] * [LINK]

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Sources

Video by Matt Risinger, played through YouTube.

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