Doing some plumbing repairs today and I thought I would pass on a tip – the original grey piping in the 80’s Barths is compatible with the 3/8” Pex system. This saved me a ton of work since a tee had broken that was buried in a place that would have been a real pain to fix with the old banded style plumbing.
If you haven’t worked with the Pex stuff it makes plumbing a real dream to work with, especially in tight spaces 

I second that. Just finished with some repairs and my mechanic said it was a piece of cake.

Oh yeah, I should add that the pex tubing works with the shark bite connectors....just push them on and they lock on water tight. 3/8" size is good for the Barth tubing.

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Originally posted by chrisW:
Oh yeah, I should add that the pex tubing works with the shark bite connectors....just push them on and they lock on water tight. 3/8" size is good for the Barth tubing.

The sharkbite also has the advantage of being all metal. I don't trust plastic. Particularly nowadays. I replumbed mine with Pex, brass fittings and Oitiker clamps, but would seriously consider sharkbite if I were doing it today.

Sharkbites do have plastic in them, just not a lot. I use them when doing water heaters and there's either a piping change or the valves won't shut off.

Not bad stuff as a rule, but I won't use them a lot. Personal opinion.

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Originally posted by JL:
Sharkbites do have plastic in them, just not a lot.

I guess I should have said the body was metal, rather than plastic. I have had a couple of older RV fittings break, but not on my Barth.

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Sharkbite.....Not bad stuff as a rule, but I won't use them a lot. Personal opinion.

Nah, that sounds like a professional opinion. Would you elaborate on why you would not use them a lot, and what you would use on an RV?

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Originally posted by bill h:

quote:

Originally posted by JL:
Sharkbites do have plastic in them, just not a lot.

I guess I should have said the body was metal, rather than plastic. I have had a couple of older RV fittings break, but not on my Barth.

quote:

Sharkbite.....Not bad stuff as a rule, but I won't use them a lot. Personal opinion.

Nah, that sounds like a professional opinion. Would you elaborate on why you would not use them a lot, and what you would use on an RV?

First off, I do heating and air conditioning for a living. I also do water heater replacements. My saying is that unless it's a house hold appliance, if it has gas or refrigerant, I work on it.

I also do wet heat. Boilers, hot water baseboard, radiant, etc. Not a lot of call for in in my part of the country, but enough to make it fun.

As part of the wet heat and water heaters, I see a lot of garbage done by pro's and homeowners. I've seen one Sharkbite fitting blow off and that was because of improper installation (I assume the pipe was not bottomed out in the fitting and the street pressure was 120psi. The pipe end that blew off was slightly bent.)

To me, the issue with Sharkbite in a camper is vibration. I'd be afraid it'd vibrate loose as we drove, even if it's installed correctly.

Given the choice, I'd use PEX with Oetiker clamps, doubled up where it can be.

I also feel there is a lot of difference between a personal opinion and a professional opinion. Professionally, Sharkbites are okay. I'll use them, just not much and not in my house.

quote:

Originally posted by JL:

Given the choice, I'd use PEX with Oetiker clamps, doubled up where it can be.

Good info. Thank you. Makes me glad I went that way. Wish I had thought of doubling up on the clamps, though.

BTW, do you favor single or double ear Oetikers?

When I re-worked my Barth's plumbing a few years ago, I used the PEX piping with brass and copper fittings and a copper ring for clamping. (tool was expensive) I have had no problems with it at all, and wonder what is the difference - better or worse - between the two different methods of securing.

quote:

Originally posted by Jack:
When I re-worked my Barth's plumbing a few years ago, I used the PEX piping with brass and copper fittings and a copper ring for clamping. (tool was expensive) I have had no problems with it at all, and wonder what is the difference - better or worse - between the two different methods of securing.

The Oetiker clamps are sort of a constant tension clamp, in that the ears act as a spring to keep the clamp pressure constant should the tubing shrink. However, I believe that to be a bigger issue with rubber lines than PEX. However, I have had old heated-up rubber line shrink so much that the line was easily pulled off the fitting with the clamp still on, so that feature is not absolute. I prefer Corbin clamps for rubber line, anyway, as their range of tension is wider.

The Oetiker is a little easier to remove, and some models of tool are pretty reasonable. Additionally, a farrier's nail puller can be used, of even a pair of dikes, in a pinch. To be a little more proper, dikes can be modified to be parallel at the proper crimping gap and will work pretty well. A pair of ordinary pliers can be modified as end crimpers, and another pair as side crimpers. All that matters is that the gap be a certain measurement and have parallel edges.

The Oetiker clamps are a little easier to use in a tight area, depending on the type of band clamp in the comparison. I like the ability to have a choice of straight on or 90 degrees when clamping the Oetikers, depending on the obstructions.

I made a home made band crimper, but it was clumsy and time-consuming to use.

Once they are installed, I never had a problem with the band clamps, either.

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:

BTW, do you favor single or double ear Oetikers?

Never used the double ear clamps.

quote:

Originally posted by Jack:
When I re-worked my Barth's plumbing a few years ago, I used the PEX piping with brass and copper fittings and a copper ring for clamping. (tool was expensive) I have had no problems with it at all, and wonder what is the difference - better or worse - between the two different methods of securing.

From what I recall, there are places that rent the tool for clamping. I'm in the industry, so I know that a rep will sometimes 'rent' you a tool for a job or two. If you buy the tool, they'll give you the rental price off it.

Another thought.

My main line, who will not be mentioned, offers a 25 year warranty if the system is installed by a certified installer. The installer has to go through the brand specific training. One of the things that's mentioned is proper connection methods.

If you take Brand "A" and use it with brand "B" connection methods, you have no warranty.

Will you need that warranty? Who knows?

I will say that my main brand uses a specific connection method that no one else in the industry does. BUT (caps intended) they have another line that uses the Oetiker clamps. Probably the exact same PEX, coming through the exact same extruders with the biggest difference being the writing on the tubing.

Just something for any purists out there.

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Pex system

I need to replace my bathroom faucet and the outside water shower/wash off by the dump tanks. This should make things easy.

However I can't seem to get at the outside wash off. There is a white panel where the water valves are located and the wash off comes thru that. If I try and take off the panel I need to remove all the water supply valves and water input conection.

I can sort of fit my hand back to the valve but can not do any replacement work?

Any ideas?

Tom

What's behind the faulty plumbing on the inside of the coach? I found a hatch in the floor of a closet that gave me access to the attachment of my water inlet when it went belly-up.