Condensation on water lines....arrrrgggghhhh!!!

[oldfart]

Well Folks another update on the never-ending story of the Oldfarts bathroom remodel. Today finished installing all the new waterlines..replaced the pressure switch for the well pump and even went the whole 9-yards and bought a new pressure gauge!! ($9 at Lowes..) The pressure tank appears to be in fine shape but may have some questions about that soon. Today I hooked up the electric and ran around the house chasing down all the leaks. AND THEY WAS LEGION!!! A drip here and there..a little dollop in the kitchen....no problem. Snatch up a wrench and tighten this and that. All looked to be well until condensation raised it's ugly head. Folks...I've never seen the likes of it! Now, mind ye, the water coming in from the well is "about" 54/58deg. The temp inside the home is "roughly" 80deg and 78% humidity. Right now it looks like a rain-forest in here. I've never seen pipes sweat so. I'm figgerin' I need to insulate the pipes (cpvc) to end this problem. Mind ye, I'm not talkin' just a leetle bit o' condensation.....I'm talking about a deluge!! I'd be grateful for yer thoughts on this matter as time permits. Audie..the soggy Oldfart...

[oldfart]

Folks..as a side-note let me tell ya'll something. I've never been a big fan of Pex plumbing. It's expensive for the pipe and the cost of the fittings would break most mere mortal men. I bought all the cpvc pipe/fittings/connectors and assordid solvents/glues/cleaners to do this job for less than the cost of the tool to crimp on the fittings for Pex installation. BUT.....the only part of the job that didn't give me any headaches was the 40ft. run from the area where the water entered the home to the kitchen. Virtually problem free. Cut it to length..slip on a fitting and done. (I used the slip-on fittings...Lowes) Sounds too easy don't it? Yeah..me to. An here's the strange part...Pex doesn't sweat or cause a condensation problem. Go figger? Same cold water coming into a hot home...same humidity....NO condensation as with the cpvc pipe. Hmmmmmm? Audie..the mystified Oldfart...

[shadow745]

Actually PEX will indeed sweat somewhat. May not do it as much as other types of supply lines, but they will break a sweat. Case in point..... We own a nice modular home that utilizes PEX throughout and I really like it. The piping has never leaked and it's easy to work with. The only negative is how much the crimping tool costs, but to me the pipe and fittings are relatively reasonable compared to other types of piping.

Anyway..... we had our water softener and a pretty extreme water treatment system installed under the home and it's all connected with PEX. It does break a sweat on very warm,humid days, but it isn't dripping all over. And this may be due to the fact that none of it is insulated, as this part of the piping is under the home. I really believe that PEX resists freezing much better than any other type of plumbing I've seen yet. Now our home is well insulated and has a permanent brick/cinder block underpinning, but the only part of the PEX I've bothered with wrapping with foam insulation is the parts that go out to the retention tank (part of the water system) that is located under our front porch. It is 120 gals. so was too large to go under the home. I know that replacing all piping with PEX would surely be expensive, but IMO it'd be worth it if you intend to live in the home permanently. Later!