# How do you store your pex rolls



## Nazareth (Sep 30, 2017)

How do you guys effeciently store pex rolls in your vans. They seem to take up a lot of space


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

I don’t like the rolled pex. I buy 20’ length, grab the middle and load them up high in the cube. I don’t care if I have to use a coupling, it saves time and looks nicer without having to use a talon on every single joist.


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## Nazareth (Sep 30, 2017)

That's the way I prefer to do it, but the man wants rolls


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Nazareth said:


> That's the way I prefer to do it, but the man wants rolls


Ask your boss if you can try the 20’ers for a month to see the difference in time efficiency and quality of work. I’m sure there’s a little price difference between rolls and sticks but there is a huge difference in labor cost. Make it a $10 bet. 

We stock 80’ each on the truck and when we have a repipe coming up we a buy what we need.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Nazareth said:


> How do you guys effeciently store pex rolls in your vans. They seem to take up a lot of space





OpenSights said:


> Ask your boss if you can try the 20’ers for a month to see the difference in time efficiency and quality of work. I’m sure there’s a little price difference between rolls and sticks but there is a huge difference in labor cost. Make it a $10 bet.
> 
> We stock 80’ each on the truck and when we have a repipe coming up we a buy what we need.



DOODS.

Put a 6" pipe on your roof rack with cleanouts. Unroll your pex and cut it into lengths to fit in the pipe. This will be cheaper because you're buying rolls and the pipe will straighten out. The plastic couplings for viega pex are like 1$.

You can probably fit a 15' pipe on your rack. If you use black ABS pipe it will stay warmer and the pex inside will straighten out better.

Y'know, I've never seen anything bigger than 4" ABS........


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

OpenSights said:


> Ask your boss if you can try the 20’ers for a month to see the difference in time efficiency and quality of work. I’m sure there’s a little price difference between rolls and sticks but there is a huge difference in labor cost. Make it a $10 bet.
> 
> We stock 80’ each on the truck and when we have a repipe coming up we a buy what we need.


Thats 80’ red and blue. We usually have a couple sticks of white to designate hard lines, but it’s kinda rare that we use it.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Nazareth said:


> How do you guys effeciently store pex rolls in your vans. They seem to take up a lot of space


what do you mean " store"? I carry them like copper tubing, just hanging off a bracket bolted on the shelves...if I have a big job, then the truck gets packed tight and unloaded into where im working...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Nazareth said:


> How do you guys effeciently store pex rolls in your vans. They seem to take up a lot of space


We don't usually use pex rolls except occasionally on some really lowball newcon. We almost exclusively use 10' and 20' fosta pex. Fosta pex comes in rolls but it's a bear for anything over 1/2" and is very difficult to straighten. I keep 10' sticks on the van. 

I have two 4" pipes on the rack for storage and three hanging from the ceiling of the van. I do have a roll of BX, a roll of 1/4" copper, and a roll of 5/8" copper bungeed to the back of the drivers side of my cage. I guess that's the closest I come to your idea.

Sticking past the passengers head I can get 12' pieces. One of my top tubes is also 12'. It's nice when I can get 12' pieces left over from jobsites because then when I replace a 10' piece in a house I can cut on either side of te existing couplings. Also, when running down a wall from a joist bay you often need two 6' pieces as 5' usually doesn't quite make it.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> what do you mean " store"? I carry them like copper tubing, just hanging off a bracket bolted on the shelves...if I have a big job, then the truck gets packed tight and unloaded into where im working...


But when they unravel.....


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## SchmitzPlumbing (May 5, 2014)

all white 20 ' sticks in a 20' of 4" on the roof. 1/2 fits inside of 3/4 . about 240' of each fits in the 4"


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

SchmitzPlumbing said:


> all white 20 ' sticks in a 20' of 4" on the roof. 1/2 fits inside of 3/4 . about 240' of each fits in the 4"


So you're telling me that you can fit 12 pieces of 3/4" pex in a 4" pipe? WOW. Never tried that much.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

So get this schit, you can fit 15 pieces of 3/4" pex in a 4" pipe and they can easily slide.

I find it ironic that I cut these off a roll


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

OpenSights said:


> But when they unravel.....


they dont open up that much, and you can just wrap a bungee cord around them..


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

OpenSights said:


> I don’t like the rolled pex. I buy 20’ length, grab the middle and load them up high in the cube. I don’t care if I have to use a coupling, it saves time and looks nicer without having to use a talon on every single joist.


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

I just wrap the 20' lengths in the top of my van in some pvc.
Nothing on the roof an its out of the way.
I do have a roll of heatlink bungy to my one shelf...if taking forever to use it. 
Someone else call in an order, i picked it up now i have a roll on my truck for a year.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

heres a trick to straighten coiled pex......crinp a hose adapter on 1 end and run hot water through the coil from a washing machine outlet or the bottom of the water heater..in a few miutes the coil will be soft and pliable ..just a little water on the inside, or you can blow it out..works great for doing radiant heat loops, lays nice and flat and your not fighting a frozen garden hose material..


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## Sushison (Nov 24, 2013)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> heres a trick to straighten coiled pex......crinp a hose adapter on 1 end and run hot water through the coil from a washing machine outlet or the bottom of the water heater..in a few miutes the coil will be soft and pliable ..just a little water on the inside, or you can blow it out..works great for doing radiant heat loops, lays nice and flat and your not fighting a frozen garden hose material..


i love that trick. Especially here where the winters are extra cold.


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

skoronesa said:


> DOODS.
> 
> Put a 6" pipe on your roof rack with cleanouts. Unroll your pex and cut it into lengths to fit in the pipe. This will be cheaper because you're buying rolls and the pipe will straighten out. The plastic couplings for viega pex are like 1$.
> 
> ...


It will not straighten out and this is a waste of time,go buy 20'-0"" pex and be a hero


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

sparky said:


> It will not straighten out and this is a waste of time,go buy 20'-0"" pex and be a hero


you want to straighten a roll of pex out...crimp a hose connection on one end and hook up to bottom of water heater and let it run through the pex roll, as it gets soft lay it out on the lawn straight..once its straight and nice and hot, switch to cold water to harden it up still straight, its not perfect but takes most of the curl out of the pipe...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> you want to straighten a roll of pex out...crimp a hose connection on one end and hook up to bottom of water heater and let it run through the pex roll, as it gets soft lay it out on the lawn straight..once its straight and nice and hot, switch to cold water to harden it up still straight, its not perfect but takes most of the curl out of the pipe...


If you're getting hot water from the bottom of a water heater it has a broken dip tube.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> If you're getting hot water from the bottom of a water heater it has a broken dip tube.
> View attachment 126504


Ahem, why would there be a bottom element then? When I drain one out it's hot.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Ahem, why would there be a bottom element then? When I drain one out it's hot.


What? The drain should give you primarily cold water because it's situated right near the end of the dip tube. The lower element is a couple inches above the bottom of the dip tube. Sometimes lots of buildup in the tank can change this. Next time you can try it with a new/clean inside tank that you're certain has a good dip tube. It might not be cold but it certainly shouldn't be more than lukewarm. When you drain one out to replace the cold is shut so you can only suck hot water.

My experience with this is hooking up a hose to flush sewer lines when I snake them. This means it's primarily customers that we have installed STATE brand water heaters for. Other brands may have the diptube in a different place or a bit shorter.
*
The bottom comes on only after the top is satisfied just so ya know. So when you use hot water the upper will kick on first.*


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> If you're getting hot water from the bottom of a water heater it has a broken dip tube.
> View attachment 126504


go do it and get back to me....


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> What? The drain should give you primarily cold water because it's situated right near the end of the dip tube. The lower element is a couple inches above the bottom of the dip tube. Sometimes lots of buildup in the tank can change this. Next time you can try it with a new/clean inside tank that you're certain has a good dip tube. It might not be cold but it certainly shouldn't be more than lukewarm. When you drain one out to replace the cold is shut so you can only suck hot water.
> 
> My experience with this is hooking up a hose to flush sewer lines when I snake them. This means it's primarily customers that we have installed STATE brand water heaters for. Other brands may have the diptube in a different place or a bit shorter.
> 
> *The bottom comes on only after the top is satisfied just so ya know. So when you use hot water the upper will kick on first.*


your wrong bro..give it up...


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