Should I repair or should I replace?

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nealtw said:
Just to prove, I too can ask dumb questions.
1. Do you get more water from a bigger pipe, if the answer is yes, why.
2. Would 3/4 between the mixer and shower head not be filled enough with 2 1/2" pipes feeding the mixer?

I promise to have more questions no matter the answer.;)
Click to expand...

Flow rate is a function of pressure, length and restriction (size). Smaller pipe like smaller wire has higher resistance.

Once the larger pipe is full it doesn’t matter it will only flow out at the rate you put it in.

I have city water and very high pressure so in my case the difference in pipe size most likely wouldn’t have mattered.
 
bud16415 said:
Flow rate is a function of pressure, length and restriction (size). Smaller pipe like smaller wire has higher resistance.

Once the larger pipe is full it doesn’t matter it will only flow out at the rate you put it in.

I have city water and very high pressure so in my case the difference in pipe size most likely wouldn’t have mattered.
Click to expand...

I have been teasing plumbers for years and one house not long ago was all done with 1/2" pex and the home owner had them change to 3/4 for the master shower which had to be home run back to the mechanical room.
Talked the plumber into proving once and for all.

He came back later and said he did the test and told me how much longer it took to fill a 5 gal. pail with the 1/2" shower.
I went into the the bathroom to talk to him and noticed he had replaced the rain head with a hose so it would go directly in the pail. So I asked him if he did that in both bathrooms and he said he didn't have to because that other one has a hand held in it. The handhelds here all have a restrictor in them to save water, so nothing was proved. But he went away happy.:clap:
 
http://screencast.com/t/TPclxXW8Nr8M


first column is based on 2 ft/sec second column is 4 ft/sec
2016-03-23_0934.png





a gubment mandated water saver shower head for 2016 is 2.5 gpm
as you can see a 1/2'' pex pipe does not have the MINIMUM required gpm to fulful the requirement.

other words. like a 70 year old man with a bad prostrate piss'n
 
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Careful about how you reference my pee rate;)
I do understand your thoughts on the pex. if I remove my restrictor, I don't get a better shower.
So if I just look at copper. And I put a 3/4 pipe between the mixer and the shower head the max I can put there is 6.5 gps and if I feed that with 2 1/2" copper pipes each delivering 3.2 gps then I will add those two and feed 6.4 gpm to the shower head.

Will .1 gps be noticeable in the shower?

Back to the pex, how much of that decrease is related to the fittings that are much smaller than the pipe.
 
nealtw said:
I would go with pex and any future repairs if needed will only take minutes.
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I too. Both PEX and CPVC cost about the same but Pex has some advantages over CPVC.It is flexible and easy for plumbers to install. It's resistant to breaks in cold weather and as it has fewer joints,it will bring down the expense. I have used PEX in my new house as my plumber suggested. :agree:
 
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nealtw said:
Back to the pex, how much of that decrease is related to the fittings that are much smaller than the pipe.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Has there been a flow rate done on PEX line(s) including PEX fittings... :confused:
 
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