Is PEX-A or PEX-B better for a repipe?

No grade wins outright. PEX-A is the bendier tube, joined by expansion fittings that leave the bore fully open. PEX-B is stiffer, usually cheaper, and joins with crimp or clamp rings. On a repipe, installer skill and fitting choice count as much as the letter. To weigh whole-house options first, start with the repipe a house page, and see Citrus Belt Plumbing for how a visit is set up.

How do PEX-A, PEX-B and PEX-C differ?

The letters name the cross-linking process. PEX-A uses peroxide while the plastic is hot, PEX-B uses silane and moisture in a later step, and PEX-C relies on an electron beam. Each gives a different flexibility, handling and fitting style, and all three are sold for hot and cold supply.

The Wikipedia article on cross-linked polyethylene lays out those methods. In ordinary repiping the choice is between A and B, since PEX-C is rarer in home water systems. The marking printed on the tube states the grade, the pressure and temperature rating and the approvals.

Which is better for a Southern California house?

Either will do. Both grades are approved by the state building standards commission for hot and cold water, and Southern California crews install each. PEX-A suits cramped attic and wall runs and homes where flow matters; PEX-B suits tighter budgets. A skilled installer using either beats a poor job in the other.

California approved PEX statewide for potable water, with the rules taking effect in 2009 after an environmental review. Cities may add rules, so check with the Building Division on what a repipe permit needs. The PEX versus copper page compares the material with copper.

Does the fitting type change water flow?

Yes. PEX-A expansion fittings leave the full bore open, so water meets less restriction. Crimp and clamp fittings on PEX-B sit inside the tube and narrow it slightly. The fitting type changes the bore, so it is worth naming on the quote and checking on the job.

The difference matters most on long runs or in homes with many fixtures running at once. A plumber can compensate with a larger tube size or a manifold layout, so do not treat it as a deal-breaker. Ask whether the quote uses expansion, crimp or clamp joints and what size tube serves the heater and kitchen.

Can PEX be repaired if it kinks or leaks?

PEX-A has thermal memory, so a heat gun can often remove a kink and let the tube return to shape. PEX-B does not, and the usual fix is cutting out the kink and joining with a coupling. A leak at a fitting is repaired by cutting out and re-making the joint.

Where the tube runs inside a wall or a slab, a coupling can matter, because some jurisdictions restrict fittings in a slab. A plumber can advise on what your city allows. Our guide to leaking water pipe repair explains how repairs work.

Is PEX-A more resistant to chlorine or heat than PEX-B?

Claims differ, and the careful answer is to read the tubing. Makers of both grades publish chlorine and temperature ratings for their own products, and a comparison that says one grade always wins is not well supported. Choose tube marked with the chlorine and temperature class you need.

Wikipedia notes that PEX carries antioxidants that protect it against chlorine, and that some adhesives can undermine them. Sunlight is a separate hazard: a month of direct exposure can embrittle the tube. Keep it covered in storage and on site, and ask the installer how it will be shielded until walled in.

How does Anaheim's water affect PEX compared with copper?

Plastic does not scale or pit the way copper can, which helps in hard water. By the City's figure Anaheim water is about 18 grains per gallon, very hard, so scale builds in copper, galvanized pipe and the water heater. PEX does not corrode, but the heater still scales.

Many repiped homes in Anaheim, Fullerton and Orange replace aging copper or galvanized lines, and postwar homes in Buena Park, La Habra and Placentia often have original piping. A softener, see hard water scale prevention, protects the water heater whichever grade you choose.

What does a PEX repipe cost, and is repiping worth it?

Cost depends on house size, number of bathrooms, access, wall repair and permit fees. See PEX repipe cost and repipe house cost for ranges. A repipe is usually worth it when pipes leak repeatedly, water turns brown, pressure has dropped or the house has failing galvanized or polybutylene lines.

When deciding whether to repipe at all, reasons to repipe a house and replacing polybutylene pipe cover the triggers. Have the quote name the PEX grade, fitting type, wall repair and permit. The quote form is how a local visit gets started.