Brian-NWMechanical

It is possible to not remove the piping throughout the home and instead to just do a "loop-closing" package near the water heater. This eliminates all potential for flooding, as the isolated and low-pressure space heating loop then contains less than 3 gallons of water, rather than an unlimited flow under city water pressure. There is no guarantee of the remaining Kitec in the home lasting forever, as it has already having undergone 8-20 years of adverse conditions, but at least the house won't flood. This a lot cheaper than replacing everything and doing extensive sheetrock work, so it is a reasonable option. Is it enough at the time of the sale of the property?? I don't know.

The product name Kitec or the manufacturer's name "Ipex" are printed about every 4 feet on the tubing. Sometimes there isn't enough of the pipe exposed to get a clear look. And not all orange tubing is Kitec. But if there are wall hydronic/fan units throughout the townhome, with the heating source being the water heater, there's a very good chance that is Kitec. In my personal experience, Kitec pipes here in the greater Seattle area go before the fittings do. Sometimes the homeowner will spot a small area of wet sheetrock from a concealed leak in the wall. Other times they'll come home to find the carpet drenched. Most of the time, homeowners choose to fix or drain the Kitec pipes before it becomes a big problem. But many wait until leaking starts. We use Uponor PEX products, which do not degrade under the conditions that are destructive to Kitec. Leaking is one of the two problems in this system. The second is bacterial contamination of the water heater from stagnant water in the hydronic tubing working its way back into the potable water. This was first documented locally during a court case involving the Seattle Housing Authority and the Kitec systems in a number of its properties. The Kitec system is an "open loop" design; a "closed loop" design would have prevented contamination and in all likelihood would have allowed the Kitec to have a long life.

I am with NW Mechanical. Good discussion thread! I have samples of Kitec that I carry with me that show what happens to the orange Kitec tubing when it is exposed to high pressure, heat, and chlorine -- this is what most applications have coming off the water heater. The inside layer turns to something like crumbled cookie dough. A leak can occur at that point, or the water can then get between the aluminum middle layer and the outside PEX layer and travel to a remote place in the home. Once it finds a weak place, it can either drip or burst. Since it is usually under city water pressure, there is the possibility of a constant full-pressure water flow at the point of the failure. The most common warning signs of the tubing failing are leaks, blisters, or lengthwise cracks. Our methods of dealing with it are: 1. remove and replace all the tubing. Involves sheetrock work 2. install a closed-loop re-plumb next to the water heater, putting in a stainless-steel heat exchanger, another pump, another expansion tank, etc. This does not guarantee that the remote pipes will last forever, but it eliminates the possibility of a flood. No sheetrock work. 3. install a ductless heat pump system, if physically possible and if allowed by the HOA. Thanks! Brian brian@nwmechanical.com