You cannot avoid turns and twists when doing a plumbing job. When using pex for the first time in your house, you may have a challenge choosing between having bends with bend support and adding elbows like we do in the traditional plumbing. Our experts recommend the use of bends with bend support as it saves on resources and have minimal waste.
Pex Bend With Support
Pex gives you an opportunity to make 90-degree turns when doing your piping without adding any fitting. For perfect bends you will need to add a bend support as pex does not bend at sharp turns. For frame houses you get better protection from abrasive and rigid stud edges for the pipes.
The bend support allows for reduced noise and hammering in the house not to mention that the piping system receives reduced vibrations. When bends are used in pex, there is a great reduction in the potential leak areas hence reduced maintenance costs. The only challenge with pex bends is that you can experience kinks from point to point. This however has a remedy and it can be repaired easily.
Best Bend Support for Pex – Experts Pick.
SharkBite 23050 Plastic Polymer PEX Pipe 90-Degree Bend Support with Mounting Bracket, 1/2″
This is the best bend support in the market at the moment. It is made of hard plastic making it very durable. It is highly recommended for use with pex pipes.
However this size is compatible with the ½ inch pex pipes. This bracket is corrosion resistant making it sturdy hence it can withstand severe environments.
The bend support is 6.5 inches long and 1 inch wide while it makes a curve that is 1 inch high.
The fact that it is made by Sharkbite makes it a trustworthy addition to your next plumbing assignment. You can as well get the ¾ inch bend to fit your needs.
Pex Elbows
Pex elbows are very useful especially in very tight corners. They come in handy when you cannot make a bend comfortably. They are life saviors when the bend get kinks that cannot be repaired as you can easily cut the pipe and add an elbow. You simply cannot do without elbows in a complete pex plumbing network.
Best Elbow Fitting for Pex – VENTRAL 1/2 Inch 90 Degree Elbow PEX Fittings
This is the perfect elbow for all your pex fittings. It works excellently with all types and brands of pex tubing. The elbows are made from lead – free brass and they are compliant with the 2014 SDWA water regulations for potable water applications.
The beauty with this product is that it is very flexible to work with. You can use the crimp connection system where copper crimp rings pressed with a pex crimp toll.
You can also opt for a cinch connection system where stainless steel pex clamp are fixed with a pex clamp tool. Simply put, you can use them with the available tool in your tool box.
This elows are made to meet the ASTM standard F1807, they are also designed for potable water applications (NSF 61-G). The elbows are also compatible with all the SDR-9 (U.S. standard) PEX tubing requirements.
How do you support PEX bend?
Getting a bend support kit is the best option that you have. Some bend support come with a metal base to help you mount it firmly on the wall.
The support comes in handy as pex needs support around tight corners to prevent kinking.
How much bend can you put in PEX?
You can bend pex slightly and accommodate curves. The bend you make will be determined by the radius of the pex tube.