Which Type of PEX Fittings Are Best?

Which Type of PEX Fittings are Best?

PEX fittings are essential to complete your project with one of the World’s best inventions – PEX tubing. PEX is such an amazing product that it has replaced century-old pipe technologies and best practices. PEX lasts longer black pipe, it is more durable than copper pipe, and PEX has now passed the test of time since it has been successfully used now for many decades. 

But which PEX fittings to use? There are many options: you have probably heard of Sharkbites, clamps, expansion fittings, and our top choice – “Copper Crimp” fittings. There are pros and cons as always, but the clear winner is Copper Crimp fittings, and here’s why:

First Sharkbite: This one is easy, they have a poor performance record, and they are expensive.  

Next, clamps: This one is easy too. Clamps do not have the holding power for longevity. They pop loose, sometimes after a few months or years, and always at the most inconvenient times. And it is a big mess to clean up when this happens. 

Third, the expansion fittings require a very expensive tool that is cumbersome to use, and of course, these fittings will only work with “PEX-A”, a more expensive version of PEX that costs more money, but without additional value to justify the cost. We only use PEX-B, the most widely used and trusted PEX by far.

Finally, our clear winner… is “Crimp Fittings with Copper Crimp Rings”. 

Crimp Fittings with Copper Crimp Rings are very low cost, and the highest, long-lasting quality. It is like getting Mercedes-level quality engineering for the price of a bicycle. These Crimp Fittings are the clear winner not just in our minds but in every industry that values top quality at the lowest cost. 

Crimp Fittings are the style of PEX fittings that have the barbed ends. You simply slip the copper crimp ring over the end of your PEX tubing, push the barbed end of the fitting into the PEX, position the copper crimp ring over the barbs, the squeeze the crimp ring in place. Sometimes there is a tool that will measure the diameter of the crimp ring after it has been crimped to show that sufficient pressure has been applied. 

The best news? Once you pressurize the tubing and see that there are no leaks, it will NEVER leak. (At least not that we have ever seen.) You are good for life. If there is a leak, NO worries – just crimp it again with the crimp tool, and that should be all that is needed. 

One other piece of advice: There is always enough room on the barbed end of the PEX fitting to use two crimp rings. We recommend using TWO crimp rings on each fitting for additional finality. This creates a seal that you won’t have to think about ever again. 

Our TOP Recommendation

Again, our #1 recommendation is to always use PEX Crimp fittings with Copper Crimp Rings. Click here to search our fittings, and if you don’t find what you need, just contact us and we can get you what you need. (Our online store does not show all the sizes and styles we have available.) 

We are your one-stop shop for PEX Crimp Fittings of ALL sizes!