PEX Manifold, 3/4" PEX x Spin Closed Trunk, 1/2" PEX Ball Valves, 6 Outlets

Hi Bryan: I am not a plummer but installed my own pex pipe system... I used a special crimping tool (~$70) and SS clamps; the easiest for me. I bought copper manifolds with spun closed ends and valves; I left the extra outlets as spares; I did cap them with a short length of pex with a brass plug clamped in to avoid accidental flows if the spare valves were opened. I used some satelite manifolds in bathrooms far away to minimize the number of long runs. hope this helps....remember I am not a plummer, just a homeowner using a Black and Decker plumming book...Good Luck, JG

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Hi Bryan, I've installed 4 of those recently... They are completely generic, they expose regular PEX-compatible fittings so just put a tupe and a crimp ring over and use a standard crimping tool. On manifolds I have the valves are 100% watertight in closed position, with manifolds under pressure (~45PSI). I still plan to put a short pieces of PEX with cap on one end on all the spare valves, just in case. I can always remove those later using 'crimp ring cut' tool which I already have, so no special caps seems to be necessary...

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The manifold is generic as far as Pex tubing is considered. I used the Aquapex tubing by Wirsbo/Uponor clamping it using Hydropex SS clamps and matching tool(http://www.pexsupply.com/HydroPEX-HDCLAMPTOOL-Heavy-Duty-PEX-Ratchet-Clamp-Cutting-Tool) As far as caps go, even with the ball valves I would cap the ends of the unused lines by simply taking a very short length of tubing (1-2") and inserting a plug(http://www.pexsupply.com/HydroPEX-H070500-1-2-PEX-Brass-Plug-3764000-p) into the end and clamping it together. The ball valves work well, but this would be more of a case of bumping it or curious children, etc. Please note i am not a professional plumber, just a handy guy likes to work on his own house.

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Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE Friend, I will not pretend I am a plumber, but I had no issue using this product. The standard ¾” in and ½” out pex pipe (red and blue) fit it just right. I had a mix up because I bought one style of crimps and another style of crimpers, but one trip back to the store (lowes in my case) fixed me right up. I didn’t cap my extra outlets, with the valve in the off position it doesn’t leak at all. The key to these manifolds is the lack of fittings between the manifold and the appliance. More fittings means more opportunities for lines to blow off and potentially leak. This product allows for a solid run from manifold to each appliance so when I eventually insulate under my trailer, I will not have to worry about having to tear out insulation to fix a leaking fitting. Hope I could be of help. Take care.

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This style manifold is for standard ('generic') PEX using one of the different PEX ring connections. They will work with any PEX pipe except the kind with the aluminum in it.   Clamp style like this     http://www.pexsupply.com/HydroPEX-HCL0500-1-2-Stainless-Steel-Clamp-100-bag-3854000-p   uses this tool     http://www.pexsupply.com/HydroPEX-HDCLAMPTOOL-Heavy-Duty-PEX-Ratchet-Clamp-Cutting-Tool      which has the advantage of working with several different sizes of ring.   The other style is the crimp ring     http://www.pexsupply.com/HydroPEX-HCRIMP05-1-2-PEX-Crimp-Ring-4969000-p      which uses a tool like this       http://www.pexsupply.com/Viega-41723-1-2-PEX-Full-Circle-Crimp-Tool-In-Yellow-12435000-p . These have a specific size and they only work for that size.   The PROPex style is the Uponor approach and requires the expander tool.. These are NOT interchangeable with the ones described above, it's one or the other. The manifold you referenced is NOT PROPex. Their rings look like this   http://www.pexsupply.com/Wirsbo-Uponor-Q4690512-ProPEX-Ring-with-Stop-1-2-blue-print-2298000-p   and the tool like this     http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wirsbo-Uponor-Propex-Tube-Hand-Expander-Tool-Kit-3-Heads-1-3-4-1-2-W-CASE-/130700293761?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e6e583681   There's also one other approach that I am unfamiliar with but unless you wanted to become a pro and spend the money for the tools, you don't need to know.   I have used all of the above with success. If you are just wanting to hook up a dozen or so lines, the least expensive and easiest to DIY is the clamp ring style. It has one tool that you can use for both the 1/2" and the 3/4" connections and it isn't too expensive. (You may even find a use for it with future PEX plumbing projects.) The clamp rings are more than the crimp style ones (and a bit nasty/pointy) but the crimp type require a little bit more knowledge to use properly. The expander approach requires proper instruction to get good consistent results and frankly costs more.   As far as the 7 outlets, there are a couple of solutions. The cheapest approach I could see is to get a 3 pass ( http://www.pexsupply.com/Sioux-Chief-672XV0342-1-Copper-Manifold-w-1-2-Crimp-Ball-Valves-3-outlets-5435000-p ) and a 4 pass ( http://www.pexsupply.com/Sioux-Chief-672XV0442-1-Copper-Manifold-w-1-2-Crimp-Ball-Valves-4-outlets-3848000-p ) and solder them together into a 7 pass. You'll need a cap for the unused end and an adapter from 1" copper to 3/4" PEX if that's what you want. If you don't know how to solder copper pipe, don't try this unless you can get some help from some one who does.   You can buy the 12 pass and cut it at the 7 pass point and solder on a cap (1" copper) If you don't have a use for the extra valves, it's a kinda spendy approach. Same conditions as before.   An easier approach that doesn't require any soldering is to use one of these   http://www.pexsupply.com/Sioux-Chief-672XV0499-1-2-PEX-Manifold-w-Valves-3-4-PEX-Inlet-Outlet-4-Ports  . There isn't a picture associated with them, but here's one for a 5 pass ( http://www.pexsupply.com/Sioux-Chief-672XV0599-1-2-PEX-Manifold-3-4-PEX-Inlet-Outlet-5-Ports ). They are the same as the other kinds but have a 3/4" PEX connection on both ends. Use it for the connection to the system and then add one of these    http://www.pexsupply.com/Sioux-Chief-672XV0490-1-2-PEX-Manifold-w-Valves-3-4-PEX-Inlet-1-2-PEX-Ball-Valves    using a short section of 3/4" PEX. This will leave you with one extra valve which you can leave closed, pipe to a drain and use as a flush port or put on a short piece of 1/2" PEX and a plug.  http://www.pexsupply.com/HydroPEX-H070500-1-2-PEX-Brass-Plug-3764000-p   There are also some compression type fittings/manifolds that use wrenches, but those are typically associated with a particular manifold or manufacturer so I won't go into them.   If you are using this for plumbing, ignore the next paragraph.   If you are using this for a heating application, make sure you pipe it in reverse return. That means that on the connection to one feed line go (from closest to farthest) 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 and on the other side go 7-6-5-4-3-2-1. This balances the flow through the individual loops and minimizes the amount of balancing you'll have to do with the valves. To be honest, we always do this and almost never use the valves for balancing, only for flushing the air out and after that, the valves are all left full open. It doesn't really matter if you put the valves on the supply side or the return. I prefer to put them on the return as, in my opinion,  it makes flushing the system out a little easier. Functionally it doesn't matter, the water can't tell the difference.   I hope that helps. Good luck!  

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Verified Reply- PexSupply Staff

Yes, this manifold works with standard PEX tubing and crimp/clamp rings (including the Rifeng brand).

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Verified Reply- PexSupply Staff

Probably not: the PEX nipples are soldered to the manifold. Cash-Acme part 22998 may be worth taking a look at, but it does not have shut-offs.

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