Quote:
Originally Posted by iamgeo
Funny you should ask.
Monday morning I awake to frozen pipes. As the day progressed, the pipes started to thaw. As you can see here the 3/4 inch PEX and CPVC was pushed right out of the connectors. Damaged them on the inside. No busted pipes or tubing though. |
That's the thing about the push-lock or shark bite fittings. They go together a little easier with less tools, but when the ice hits the fan, the ice wins. With the crimp or compression fittings, they are strong enough that the pipe will stretch.
The theory behind it is this: In a run exposed equally to sub-freezing temps, the metal fitting will freeze first, due to its higher thermal conductivity. The expanding ice water will grow into the pex pipe. The pipe stretches and the fitting survives. If the run is not equally exposed to cold and the pipe freezes first, the metal fitting may not survive. Same thing during thaw.