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Old 08-12-2016, 09:32   #1
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What hose to use

So I'm re-doing the plumbing in my boat. My plan was to use standard reinforced vinyl hose because its cheap, but I've seen a lot of boats using pex instead. What do you guys suggest?
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Old 08-12-2016, 10:01   #2
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Re: What hose to use

Not all hoses are safe - search for drinking water hose, and Pex may leach some substances. I picked white opaque garden water hose - the ones marked safe for drinking water. Clear vinyl allow algae to grow and eventually turns black.
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Old 08-12-2016, 13:50   #3
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Re: What hose to use

Pex is meant to carry drinking water in houses and as an additional benefit if it freezes, it won't burst. Just do not use it where it will be exposed to UV.
My boat has reinforced vinyl that is 30 yrs old and is fine, but I think Pex may be better, but more difficult to add onto and replace etc. as you need a special crimper that isn't a small tool and crush rings
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Old 08-12-2016, 14:24   #4
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Re: What hose to use

I'd use pex. pex is safe for drinking water and won't get all sticky like vinyl does.

There's multiple ways to put fittings on:
1. Push-on fittings (like sharkbite)

2. Fittings that crimp with a metal crimp ring - you stick the fitting in the tubing and then crimp a metal crimp ring with a special tool.

3. Uponor Pro-Pex fittings that crimp with a ring of pex. You put the pex ring onto the end of the pipe, use the magic expander tool, it expands it enough to go over the fitting. The ring then shrinks back down.

I've repiped my entire house with the ProPex stuff. It's fantastic. Almost impossible to make any mistakes putting fittings on. Super fast to do. The tool is very expensive.
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Old 09-12-2016, 08:26   #5
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Re: What hose to use

My boat has had vinyl hose for almost thirty years. If I was doing it today I'd use Pex.
It is fine for drinking water and easier to install if you use fittings like those made by Sea Tech. Sea Tech Quick Connect Fittings
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Old 09-12-2016, 11:03   #6
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Re: What hose to use

I've replaced a lot of my system with PEX. I totally re-did the area where the pump and water heater are. I haven't replaced the lines to remote fixtures; so far they work fine.

I went with "shark bite" (or similar brand) press-on connectors and fittings, on the theory that they're easy to remove and re-install without tools. For some reason I seem to need to do this more often on a boat than I ever did on my house.

That said, these fittings are more expensive, and removing them isn't always as simple as you'd think, if they're in a tight location or there's not much room between fittings.

For the house, I bought the PEX ring compressor tool for a small job, and I'm liking this method a lot. Easy one-handed install, and removal isn't too hard; just replace that section of PEX. It's cheap enough not to bother re-using the old section.

If I had it to do over, I'd use the shark bite connectors where I thought I might need to someday pull the connection apart, and the compression rings on the rest. The tool isn't that expensive, and probably cheaper than buying all those shark bite fittings.
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Old 09-12-2016, 11:18   #7
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Re: What hose to use

I had forgotten about the shark bite fittings, I have only used the rings
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Old 09-12-2016, 12:25   #8
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Re: What hose to use

The Sea Tech ones Hop Car pointed out would be superior over sharkbite to me. I'd rather go plastic (weight moving around with the boat) and I'm sure the sharkbites will corrode in salt.

Even with the ProPex stuff, I'd use the plastic fittings for the same reasons.
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Old 09-12-2016, 12:33   #9
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Re: What hose to use

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Originally Posted by HopCar View Post
My boat has had vinyl hose for almost thirty years. If I was doing it today I'd use Pex.
It is fine for drinking water and easier to install if you use fittings like those made by Sea Tech. Sea Tech Quick Connect Fittings
HopCar,

Thanks for reminding us all about the Sea Tech QD fittings for PEX. They are about half the price of SharkBite fittings.

I'm always willing to save $ if I'm not overly compromising relevant features/ quality/ durability.

Cheers! Bill
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Old 09-12-2016, 12:35   #10
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Re: What hose to use

Many new homes are plumbed with PEX. It's approved for this purpose and does not leach anything.

PEX may be the ideal product for boat plumbing. It's lightweight, easy to install and as someone mentioned, a light freeze won't harm it. There are many ways to connect it.

It can be used for hot water, something vinyl tubing and garden hose would be a problem for.

My boat was plumbed with PEX from the factory.
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Old 09-12-2016, 14:24   #11
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Re: What hose to use

I used the Sea Tech fittings with PEX tubing to completely re plumb my boat about 2 years ago. It went easier than I expected and I'm happy so far.
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Old 09-12-2016, 14:41   #12
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Re: What hose to use

I'm looking to replumb soon as well. Now that I know what type of hose, how do you decide diameter? How about pump size?
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Old 09-12-2016, 16:17   #13
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Re: What hose to use

Is there any advantage to pex tubing for a boat over the reinforced hose sold in marine stores?
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Old 09-12-2016, 16:53   #14
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Re: What hose to use

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Originally Posted by dwedeking2 View Post
I'm looking to replumb soon as well. Now that I know what type of hose, how do you decide diameter? How about pump size?
If the size of your original hose isn't a problem, use the same size.
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Old 09-12-2016, 16:54   #15
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Re: What hose to use

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Is there any advantage to pex tubing for a boat over the reinforced hose sold in marine stores?
I suspect PEX is less expensive. Both will carry water from here to there and last a long time.


If you ever need to add or replace a section, PEX will be easier to find than marine tubing. Any hardware store or home center will stock it.
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