Braided vinyl tubing

[James Mc]

Hey, anyone use braided vinyl tubing for re-plumbing? It has a high psi rating, easy to bend and no special tools needed to attach as well as no weird taste. Pros /cons?

[Sheryl M]

We had braided vinyl under our kitchen sink in a 13' Scamp. It was a short amount of tubing (from the sink to the drain outlet). I wrote 'had' because the camper was sold.

[redbarron55]

It is OK as long as it is protected from the sun and is located where you can see it.
Sometimes it separated along the fiber reinforcement and is more of a tube within a tube.
The pressures you will have in a trailer with a pressure regulator to protect from high city water pressures will be well within the ratings and should work OK.
Hot water would not be as good of an idea, however.
On my rebuild I am planning on using PEX, but as you know it is considerable more difficult to work. I may change my mind and use the vinyl as well.

[Franswa]

all the braided nylon tubing I have come across is very stiff.....while it may take a huge amount of psi, it may be too stiff to make a psoitive seal around a barbed fitting...especially in smaller diameters typical with our applications

bigger/stonger is not ALWAYS better.....in my trailer there is a PRV that limits pressure to 25-30 psi...garden hose can handle that...and then some

[mmeyer]

I used pex and shark bite fittings when I re plumbed my UHaul VT pressure side and the braided vinyl drain side. Worked out fairly well, with a few issues on the drain that were solved by heating with hot water to make it pliable.


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[James Mc]

Well, it's not going to have a hot water tank, and honestly I can't see myself ever hooking up to city water, the last trailer I owned for 4 years and not once did I hook up to a city water line. I have a shurflo pump waiting for me to get it installed and just needed to know what would work for that. The old hand pump system used clear vinyl tubing, but I realise there is ultimately no pressure in that line, so the unbraided tubing makes sense. I just don't want to over-complicate my plumbing setup for no reason

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by mmeyer

I used pex and shark bite fittings when I re plumbed my UHaul VT pressure side and the braided vinyl drain side. Worked out fairly well, with a few issues on the drain that were solved by heating with hot water to make it pliable.

I have a current problem like this, with 1/2" pex attaching to that vinyl reinforced hose with about a 5/8" outside diameter. Do you have a sharkbite fitting number I could use on that by any chance?

Thanks!

Frank

[Darwin Maring]

I put a pressure limiting device on the input water hose connector when at a campground. You can get on at WalMart. There are 2 types, the least expensive will limit to 50psi and a more expensive one is adjustable. I doubt if your on board water pump would exceed 50psi.

[stevebaz]

2 years ago when I replumbed my Scamp 13 I used all new clear polyurethane braided hose. I like the stuff its all routed inside the trailer. Bends to tight radius without constricting and no special fittings. At any time I can see if anything is funky inside my water lines.

In SO CAL I don't have issues with freeze thaw but I do have relatively warm water sitting in the lines for months on end. Its good to be able to actually see whats inside my lines.

[Dennis mn]

The first thing I did when I bought the Scamp was to redo the strange pluming installed by the original owner. The water heater supplied heat for the shower only. I made a serious mistake of not looking at the temperature/pressure rating of the tubing. First time I went camping, I looked under the sink, the tubing looked like a balloon just before it broke! I replaced the tubing with tubing of proper temp/pressure rating. Eleven years on, and there have been no issues. I do carry a roll of this tubing under the sink.

[TimR]

I just finished putting a bunch of this in my 17' boler. Found it fairly easy to work with compared to the Pex. I used a lot of hose clamps to make sure it didn't leak or pop off the fittings. Time will tell I guess. I found it kind of inbetween as far as price goes because the shark fittings are really expensive. Plus not impossible, but more difficult to get off if I need to reconnect or make changes. I put the foam insulation around the line from my hot water tank to the shower to make it a little more efficient too. Hopefully if I don't get all the water out this winter too it will be strong enough to take a bit of freezing.

[steve dunham]

After 40 years in the trades ,the only place iI saw braided vinyl tubing used was for non pressure applications and never concealed in any structure.
There is a reason they use Pex tubing . Easier to use /install is not always the road to follow

[Franswa]

that we see braiding and think it equals strength, as in pressure resistant (good thing)....when in fact it equals strength, as in resistance to crushing/kinking....I've seen a lot of braided in boats where lines have to run in tight quarters with a lot of sharp twists and turns...and most of those were non-pressure applications

they'll work fine in pressure applications, I guess, if you have the room to route them...and you can get a good/reliable seal (a tall order IME)

[ThomasE]

I used a short section of clear braided hose under my sink when I added a pressure accumulator, haven't had any problems. Main thing is you can't run hot water through it. But the type of hose is common, and easily attaches with 1/2" barb fittings and hose clamps. Forgot to add that it was more flexible than pex which is why I used it.

[Steve_N_Janna]

I re-plumbed my Scamp 13' three years ago with braided tubing, barbed connectors and standard screw type hose clamps. No issues to date. I had originally planned to use PEX, but the braided line proved to be inexpensive as well as ridiculously easy to lay out and work with.

-- I do not run hot water.
-- I do have have an inline pressure regulator.