Per Tools and Fittings

[piper guy]

About two years ago, one night when Dave and I were talking he suggested to me (rather strongly) that I should get a set of Pex water line crimped so, some clamps and some fittings.

Well ..... Here's a really big thank you to Dave !! Walked around the coach today and noticed a water drip on the left side where there shouldn't be any. Was close to the docking station. After taking all the stuff out of the basement and taking down the wall in front of the filter I found the winterization valve had a cracked fitting. Since I didn't have any possibility of getting a new one in the near future I was put into thinking how I could bypass it. I dug out mys storage tub of Pex fittings and realized that I had purchased 2 shut-off valves. With some thought as to which liner to cut and which line to join, I was able to shut off the winterization hoses and connect the inlet water from the filter to the cold water manifold.

If you don't have the clamps and fittings and a good Pex crimp tool I highly suggest you get them. Will cost about $75.00 at Lowes or Home Depot. You want stuff for 1/2 " Pex hose.

[piper guy]

I truly hate autospell on the iPad.
Thread was supposed to be Pex Tools and buying a crimper tool !

[superduty glampers]

Good idea, amazon has the crimping tool for $26.75 and you can get 10 1/2" clamps for about $8.00.

[Dave&Ginny]

Vaughn I'm glad you were able to fix the problem before it ruined a good camping trip. I still carry my tools and parts but hopefully I won't need them

[Char & Steve]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

Vaughn I'm glad you were able to fix the problem before it ruined a good camping trip. I still carry my tools and parts but hopefully I won't need them

Dave... you WILL still need them!!! We had a much lower model MH then you have now but trust me, you will need them. The Ford power and all related items were almost perfect for 8 years but coach always had issues.
Our first problem on a long trip was a sheer pin broke on one of the slides. A new one was not to be found at 7pm in Dillon NC so best I could find was nails.
I had the wife tap the slide switch wile upside down with my arm up in the slide until the hole lined up and dropped the nail in. Slide went out but since not hardened as soon as the pressure switch was about to stop it, bang the nail broke. We did the same fix for this trip and once back we had many spare tools and parts.

Steve

[Dave&Ginny]

Steve,

You're probably right but so far we've spent quite a bit of time on the highway and in the campgrounds and haven't really had any big issues.

We're looking forward to the rally which will be the start of our vacation which will take us East to Niagra Falls and then into NY. Hopefully the coach holds together for the trip.

[almcc]

Yes, it's always good to have PEX fittings around. I've used them to take out the water filter in our unit and to help others with repairs to plumbing. I found that there are a couple of different PEX crimp rings, the solid round type that works well on the red and blue solid PEX tubing and the "sharkbite" type that works well on the plastic PEX tubing that RW uses around the water pump.

I've also found that PEX fittings are not common in some areas, I got the last couple of 1/2 inch PEX shut off valves in Brawley California last winter, needed to go to a plumbing store, no PEX stuff at the local hardware store to be found! It's good to carry spares.

[atom ant]

Got these a few years ago

Pex Cinch Clamp Fastening tool - Pex Crimping Tool - Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o03_s00

[travelin' texans]

If you use both the bands & the crimp clamps you have to have 2 separate tools, is that correct? I need to stock some parts, but don't want an entire toolbox full of different parts requiring different tools.

[atom ant]

Not sure what you mean by bands?

[piper guy]

Danny. I bought the better crimp tool (was about $40 at Lowes) but am glad I did. Didn't have a whole lot of room to work. Bought 2 bags of crimp clamps and 2 inline shutoff valves. Going to buy 2 more valves to have on hand. Get 1/2" stuff.

[almcc]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

If you use both the bands & the crimp clamps you have to have 2 separate tools, is that correct? I need to stock some parts, but don't want an entire toolbox full of different parts requiring different tools.

Yes, the band and the crimp clamps require separate crimp tools, sorry!

I bought the band crimper first as I used it to do some house plumbing, and found that the RW had the other clamps. I trust the bands as they seem to crimp tighter but they won't fit over the flex hose that RW uses, only the crimp clamps do.

A fellow RVer had some leaks around the area where the crimp clamps were used (not a RW), he had to re-crimp with my crimper, solved the problem.

Another reason I use the bands where possible is that you can use a "go-no go" gauge on them (supplied with the crimper) to assure that the tool is crimping tight enough, saves looking for leaks later.

I carry both, just in case!!

[r time soon]

He probably means the solid copper bands like what is used for house plumbing now. That style of crimper won't crimp the zurn type of crinp rings. Different animals altogether.

Chris

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

If you use both the bands & the crimp clamps you have to have 2 separate tools, is that correct? I need to stock some parts, but don't want an entire toolbox full of different parts requiring different tools.

Yes, there are different types of connections with pex. You are probably referring to the crimp connectors or the ratchet type connectors. Both types require their own tool but the ratchet type only requires one tool regardless of the size of ratchet band you are using. Redwood uses the ratchet type.

[Jim & Mary]

Vaughan

Could you be specific about the tool and crimps you use on the Redwood? All this input has me confused. Normally I don't mind paying a little more for a good quality tool; this maybe no exception.

Thanks, Jim

[travelin' texans]

Thanks for all the info! Think I'll go with the crimp clamps instead of the bands as they'll work on the white reinforced hose which seem to cause more problems than the pex. Plus that tool appears to work on any size clamp.
Jim watch a few u tube videos on pex & it will be clear as mud!!

[r time soon]

Here is the ball valve I used to place on the water line to the toilet. They are famous for the water valve attached to the foot pedal breaking and continually runniing water when you don't want it to. Also a pic of my larger zurn crimpers, don't always fit in tight places but crimps very reliably. The smaller pair are nippers, which can also be used in a bind to crimp with. Just don't cut through the zurn fitting while crinping. These can also be used to cut off an already crimped zurn fitting from pex or braided hose. So can dikes or diagonal side cutters. The stainless is tough, but keep at it and you can get them off to replace broken elbows, etc. I bought my larger crimpers on eBay, they also have the smaller ratcheting crimpers also. Hope this helps.

Chris

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by r time soon

Here is the ball valve I used to place on the water line to the toilet. They are famous for the water valve attached to the foot pedal breaking and continually runniing water when you don't want it to. Also a pic of my larger zurn crimpers, don't always fit in tight places but crimps very reliably. The smaller pair are nippers, which can also be used in a bind to crimp with. Just don't cut through the zurn fitting while crinping. These can also be used to cut off an already crimped zurn fitting from pex or braided hose. So can dikes or diagonal side cutters. The stainless is tough, but keep at it and you can get them off to replace broken elbows, etc. I bought my larger crimpers on eBay, they also have the smaller ratcheting crimpers also. Hope this helps.

Chris

I just figured out what to do with my spare clamps I probably should just do it before I have a problem on the toilet.

[piper guy]

That was what 1 of the shutoff valves was for, just hadn't gotten down to that point on my to do list. Going to buy 2 more, one for a spare and one for the toilet line.

[atom ant]

I eventually want to valve the W/D somewhere close to the source so I can shut them off like the ice maker and dishwasher and use the redwood for a brief time in the winter without having to winterize all that stuff. The base Redwood can be winterized in no time on the road.