Quest (Polybutylene) Tubing Info & Examples of WHY YOU NEED TO REPLACE IT If It's Used In Your Home

Polybutylene tubing, or more commonly known as "Quest" tubing, is a type of pipe that was used in the plumbing systems of many homes during the 80's and 90's. This pipe is easily recognized by its gray color and copper fittings. This pipe was very popular because of its flexibility compared to rigid types of pipes such as PVC, copper, and CPVC. Much like modern day PEX tubing the flexibility of the Quest tubing made it much easier to install because it required less fittings and measurements didn't have to be as accurate. With rigid pipe (copper, PVC, CPVC, etc) the length of the pipe needed between fittings in order to go around objects or up and down through floors and walls had to be accurate because the fittings are glued or soldered to the pipe leaving miniscule wiggle room. But with Quest you could always cut it slightly longer (within reason) than needed and then clamp it to a stud or floor joist without issues. The flexibility allowed the Quest tubing to be curved to eliminate the use 45 degree angled fittings. And in most cases plumbers could pass on using 90 degree elbow fittings if there was room to make a longer sweep 90 degree curve in the tubing. Those seemed like GREAT benefits because it was easier for non-plumbers to install with success and using less fittings meant less places for potential leaks. But as the years went by those great features became the weak links in Quest equipped plumbing systems. Over time and after prolonged exposure to certain chemicals in the water going through the pipes and being exposed to certain environments the Quest tubing would become brittle and start to crack. This was usually most noticeable where the pipe was curved. The brittle areas would start to crack and then slowly leak more and more. If the pipe didn't become brittle and crack, then there was a high possibility of the copper fittings corroding and leaking or blowing apart. In this video you can see that the big issue with the Quest pipe in our home's plumbing system was the copper fittings. One fitting corroded and completely broke apart. others were corroded and ready to start leaking at any moment. Now we will be removing all of the Quest (Polybutylene) tubing in our homes plumbing system and replacing it with PEX tubing and fittings that will not corrode. Yes, the break we had at the Quest fitting that caused the leak could have been replaced with a Shark Bite fitting, or another "push to connect" style coupler, or some other method of repair and the rest of the Quest tubing could remain in place....until it leaks again. So be sure to subscribe to this channel so you don't miss out on upcoming videos we will have with more plumbing information, DIY plumbing tips, info about different types of PEX fittings, shutoff valves and much more!

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