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[automan77]

is  it ok  to run all copper once I stub thur my basement wall?

[Scott7m]

Yes, have you priced 1" copper though?    It's crazy expensive, there isn't many benefits of it over pex, you mentioned you thought it would look better.  Were you worried about how to attach the pex or keep it from sagging and such?? 

[automan77]

Me and my wife were talking about the install and she  likes the looks of the copper   .  I dont have a very long run . I can price it out with the pex and copper both and decide from there.

[Scott7m]

A 10' stick of 1" copper is usually around 40-43 bucks these days, of course you'll need supply and return and copper sweat fittings or shark bites.

10' of pex would be about $7.50

[Michael]

Unless you polish that copper  it will not stay shiny

[willieG]

i used copper in the areas along my walls where i wanted to keep nice tight fits and tight corners.

have a 1 inch header and then 3/4 copper going to furnace exchanger and to domestic water exchanger. nice long loops through the basement ceilings to my  rad in my fire place (50 or 60 feet one way) is pex so there is no joints in teh ceiling. and pex to my in floor heat as well. i guess if you can make sweeping corners with pex it will cut down on head pressure created by sharp bends in the copper (and is cheaper) but really, if you think you need copper, it would not hurt anything (other then adding some head pressure with fittings)

[RSI]

i used copper in the areas along my walls where i wanted to keep nice tight fits and tight corners.

have a 1 inch header and then 3/4 copper going to furnace exchanger and to domestic water exchanger. nice long loops through the basement ceilings to my  rad in my fire place (50 or 60 feet one way) is pex so there is no joints in teh ceiling. and pex to my in floor heat as well. i guess if you can make sweeping corners with pex it will cut down on head pressure created by sharp bends in the copper (and is cheaper) but really, if you think you need copper, it would not hurt anything (other then adding some head pressure with fittings)

But if using 1" copper the main pipe will have a lot less head pressure loss so it might all come out about the same. (depending on total length)

[willieG]

i used copper in the areas along my walls where i wanted to keep nice tight fits and tight corners.

have a 1 inch header and then 3/4 copper going to furnace exchanger and to domestic water exchanger. nice long loops through the basement ceilings to my  rad in my fire place (50 or 60 feet one way) is pex so there is no joints in teh ceiling. and pex to my in floor heat as well. i guess if you can make sweeping corners with pex it will cut down on head pressure created by sharp bends in the copper (and is cheaper) but really, if you think you need copper, it would not hurt anything (other then adding some head pressure with fittings)

i still don't understand all this stuff but  i figure by using a 1 inch header and then all the lines off that header foing to "appliances" actuall reduce the head as  yes there is more pipe but the pressure in those pipes is greatly reduced because the velocity  in teh 1 inch  feed line from the boiler is reduced by now sittling inot 4 other lines ?

if youwere running thngs in series  the  extra elbows may add to the head pressure ?
But if using 1" copper the main pipe will have a lot less head pressure loss so it might all come out about the same. (depending on total length)

[RSI]

i used copper in the areas along my walls where i wanted to keep nice tight fits and tight corners.

have a 1 inch header and then 3/4 copper going to furnace exchanger and to domestic water exchanger. nice long loops through the basement ceilings to my  rad in my fire place (50 or 60 feet one way) is pex so there is no joints in teh ceiling. and pex to my in floor heat as well. i guess if you can make sweeping corners with pex it will cut down on head pressure created by sharp bends in the copper (and is cheaper) but really, if you think you need copper, it would not hurt anything (other then adding some head pressure with fittings)

i still don't understand all this stuff but  i figure by using a 1 inch header and then all the lines off that header foing to "appliances" actuall reduce the head as  yes there is more pipe but the pressure in those pipes is greatly reduced because the velocity  in teh 1 inch  feed line from the boiler is reduced by now sittling inot 4 other lines ?

if youwere running thngs in series  the  extra elbows may add to the head pressure ?
But if using 1" copper the main pipe will have a lot less head pressure loss so it might all come out about the same. (depending on total length)

The quote got screwed up so it is hard to see what your reply was but all I was saying is that 1" copper will have a less head pressure loss than 1" pex will so it could possibly end up being close total to the copper with extra elbows.

[willieG]

what i was suggesting is that if running three or four 3/4 copper lines off a 1 inch header ieven with more pipe and elbows i beilieve i would be reducing head pressure as the 1 inch pex from teh boiler being fed into the 1 inch header and then divided into the other 3/4 loops would in fact reduce the velocity of the water moving in th pipes so that should (would?) reduce the friction in the lines and therefore reduce the head pressure created?

if i was to even use 1 inch copper in series, the extra elbows would create more head pressure but you may be right that copper would have less head pressure than the pex so they might balance out?

[automan77]

its like 25 feet from where i come thru my  basment wall to my furnace and hot water tank

[RSI]

The copper will radiate off a lot more heat. Other than that, it is really personal preference.

[johnybcold]

I used pex thinking I would avoid angles because the pex is flexible, if I used copper or pex I would insulate it so it pretty much looks the same.