Pex crimp or cinch/pinch rings?

[jazty]

I'll be purchasing the necessary tools for working with PEX shortly and am curious about people's opinions about using crimp rings or pinch rings. I haven't been out to compare prices yet, but I've heard the pinch rings are slightly more expensive. The pinch ring tool, however is cheaper. This actually isn't as important to me as quality joins, though.

This page has some interesting discussion about the strength advantage of pinch over crimp: http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/1709/what-is-the-advantage-of-pex-pinch-clamp-vs-crimp-rings

Also, am I getting this terminology correct? Seems everyone has a different name for the stainless pinch type..

 

[roach711]

I got a little Nibco 4-in-1 copper ring crimper at Home Depot IIRC. Not something you'd want to use for big projects but works fine without breaking the bank.

http://www.nibco.com/PEX/PEX-Tools/PEX- ... ith-Gauge/

 

[nat_ster]

Biggest thing is cost. The stainless steel rings are around $1 each, but the tool will do any size connection. Tool cost less than $50

Copper rings are around 20 cents each. The tool must have the size you intend to work with. Tool cost $80 to $200

If you want to reuse fittings, stainless steel rings are 10 times easier to remove.

The stainless steel ring tool is shorter and much more useful in tight spaces.

I have, and use both. They both seem to work great.

Nat

 

[jazty]

Nice. I jumped on a cinch clamp fastener and 4 packs of SS rings (10 in a pack). Sounds like it'll do what I need. I especially like the thought of being able to fit into tight spaces.

4x Watts P-572 1/2" cinch clamps @ $6.24 a pack
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BO7G8O/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item

Fastening tool @ $28.75
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003IJ0USC/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item

 

[jazty]

Whoa.. didn't expect this. Canadian Tire has 10 packs of cinch clamps for $6.79 and all of their brass fittings are also comparable in price to Amazon. I probably should have just went with those. The Amazon purchase will end up being a bit more than that after currency conversion.
I'm still saving $30 for the tool, though, so I'm happy.

 

[jazty]

WHAT THE?!?!? Canadian Tire has the identical tool I purchased for only $10 more than I paid on Amazon and I could have it tomorrow! How is this happening? Amazon used to be dang near the cheapest...

I wonder if it's too late to cancel my order.

Yes, this thread so far has been mostly ranting and rambling, but this is my thread so I can do whatever I want

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/pex-clamp-cinch-tool-0631408p.html#.UyjzGGcnY-c
http://www.amazon.com/Pex-Cinch-Cla...=1395192626&sr=8-2&keywords=pex+crimping+tool

 

[nat_ster]

WHAT THE?!?!? Canadian Tire has the identical tool I purchased for only $10 more than I paid on Amazon and I could have it tomorrow! How is this happening? Amazon used to be dang near the cheapest...

I wonder if it's too late to cancel my order.

Yes, this thread so far has been mostly ranting and rambling, but this is my thread so I can do whatever I want

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/pex-clamp-cinch-tool-0631408p.html#.UyjzGGcnY-c
http://www.amazon.com/Pex-Cinch-Cla...=1395192626&sr=8-2&keywords=pex+crimping+tool

I keep forgetting your not in yankee land like the rest.

They have no Ida how cheep stuff is for them compared to here in Canada.

Your one of the few skoolie members I may meet one day.

Nat

 

[nat_ster]

Pex system tools is one more tutorial I need to make and post.

There will be many many more with the same questions.

Nat

 

[jazty]

WHAT THE?!?!? Canadian Tire has the identical tool I purchased for only $10 more than I paid on Amazon and I could have it tomorrow! How is this happening? Amazon used to be dang near the cheapest...

I wonder if it's too late to cancel my order.

Yes, this thread so far has been mostly ranting and rambling, but this is my thread so I can do whatever I want

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/pex-clamp-cinch-tool-0631408p.html#.UyjzGGcnY-c
http://www.amazon.com/Pex-Cinch-Cla...=1395192626&sr=8-2&keywords=pex+crimping+tool

I keep forgetting your not in yankee land like the rest.

They have no Ida how cheep stuff is for them compared to here in Canada.

Your one of the few skoolie members I may meet one day.

Nat

I've gotta say, though, with my experience of over a decade of being a cross-border shopper I'm starting to see some changes. To start with, I only ever look at Amazon.com. Amazon.ca is junk...

I live in a border town, so I frequently use Amazon Prime to ship to Sault, Michigan for free then pick it up, or have it picked up, over there. With small (sub $150) orders customs doesn't bother charging import taxes/duty.

What I'm seeing more and more, though, is that we are actually able to get roughly close to the same price on a lot of stuff that was once priced wildly different between Canada and the US. It's probably mostly with the Chinese import stuff, but this Canadian Tire vs. Amazon saga is a fine example.

US Amazon total price for tool and 40 rings: $53.71 USD. Converted to CAD, $59.77
Canadian Tire total price. In-stock inventory so could have it tomorrow: $67.15
And this is with our dollar tanking as of late.

Of course, I still use Amazon most of the time. They have more inventory than any brick and mortar store could every hope to carry and it is damn convenient if you don't need it any time soon. Also, it's great to be able to read reviews.

Construction materials (rigid foam insulation, glues, lumber) are still way cheaper in the States, though.

Nat, if either of us are in the other's neck of the woods we should certainly meet up. Hopefully that happens sometime after you get that bus together. I'm intrigued by your construction ideas and would love to see them put into action.

 

[jazty]

Pex system tools is one more tutorial I need to make and post.

There will be many many more with the same questions.

Nat

+1 on that. Luckily I have a couple friends in the biz who I can turn to around here, but not everyone has that luxury.

 

[gbstewart]

I have been using shark bite more money, but nice to work with , can be used over and over, u can make changes any time, and repairs , plus you can still move the pipe around after the fitting has been put in. on the down side is the cost, and I find them a bit bulky in some places
gbstewart

 

[ThePimentals]

Just wondering if anyone else cares about the lead in the brass pex fitting as much as I do. They are illegal for use in ca and vt. And I kinda feel like they should be. Lead kills people and if you are drinking a tiny tiny bit over the course of 5 years what do you think will happen.

 

[jazty]

I cared enough to buy only lead-free brass fittings. They aren't hard to find on amazon and most stores are phasing out the non lead-free style. Watts products are easy to know if they're lead-free ; the product number will start with "LF".

 

[jazty]

Also, lead-free us a but misleading. I think products can still have 0.8% lead content, down from 8%.

 

[bansil]

how the fittings working for you?

 

[jazty]

I haven't got much use out of them yet. Visibly, they don't look any different. From what I understand the lead is added to help with tooling, not necessarily for longevity or quality. Brass with a high lead content doesn't dull cutting edges as quickly as brass with low lead content.

 

[bansil]

this is very true, some of the steels we use are "L" for the easier machining

 

[ThePimentals]

Also, lead-free us a but misleading. I think products can still have 0.8% lead content, down from 8%.

Yea. Less than "they" say is harmful. I say 0.0 isn't harmful. Call me crazy.