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Copper vs Pex vs SharkBite - Freeze Testing

Copper vs Pex vs SharkBite - Freeze Testing on HackerTube: recommended by 2 Hacker News commenters across 2 separate months, 2018–2022.

Builder Matt Risinger freezes water-filled copper and PEX piping capped with SharkBite fittings to see which survives. The video compares how each pipe type handles freezing.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Recommended as an interesting experiment showing PEX tolerates freezing better than copper.

people recommended it
2
separate months
2
strong recommendations
0
discussed on HN
2018–2022
“did a freeze comparison between copper, pex, and sharkbite fittings some time back. It was pretty interesting.”
— hcoyote, Jun 2019, in “Hacking Water”

What HN commenters said

3 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.

hcoyoteJun 2019Recommends

Matt Risinger (austin-based homebuilder) did a freeze comparison between copper, pex, and sharkbite fittings some time back. It was pretty interesting. At this point, I'd probably go for PEX-A (compression band) over PEX-B (the crimp style) because of the risk of getting the crimp not completely correct. ▶ this video

in “Hacking Water” · View on HN

pkayeMar 2018Recommends

I think the flexible hoses are very common in newer houses. The labor costs are much lower. It also performs well in cold climates. Apparently the technology started in Germany in the 80s so it is well proven. Matt Risinger, a high end home contractor has some great videos on this technology. [link] ▶ this video

in “Efficient Hot-Water Piping (2013) [pdf]” · View on HN

throw0101aFeb 2022Cites it

> A wood stove/fireplace can keep you comfortable but you'll still probably end up with frozen/broken pipes. Primarily a problem with old school copper pipes. Plastic / PEX pipes may be less of an issue: * ▶ this video * [link]

in “Disaster planning for regular folks (2015)” · View on HN

Topics & tags

Home, DIY & practical skillsEveryday physics & science demospexcopper pipesharkbitehome buildingplumbing