Question about Quest

[dundee]

I am a licensed contractor in MD since 1985 currently taken the home inspector class at our local community college. I was in a house today and the home owner asked me if the pipe in her house was OK. It looked like polybutylene, the manufacture was quest E PB 2110 She was asking if its going to fail. I told her I would check here and let her know the responses. Thanks for any info.

[John Dirks Jr]

Welcome to the forum Brian.

You can find information about PB at the following link.

http://www.polybutylene.com/poly.html

There was class action lawsuits filed on some PB plumbing lines but they have since expired..

Will it fail? You can't predict that. Can it fail? Yes.

What areas of the house are these lines? Are they supply, distribution or both?

[dundee]

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply. PB is both the supply and distribution. She hasn't had any problems as of now. I'm looking to give her a estimate on replacing kitchen and bath counters and would like to know the best way to connect new cut offs to the PB. My plumber says regular compression fittings will do the job. Any suggestions?

[John Dirks Jr]

I'm not a plumbing expert but I would sure recommend one for this situation.

Are the distribution line fittings for the PB lines copper or acetal plastic?

[Bill Kibbel]

Did it have the acetal plastic insert fittings? These have had a majority of the failures. Second is improperly crimped rings.

She was asking if its going to fail.

Even if it doesn't, when reselling the home, it may be a big issue.

[Tim Maxwell]

The only PB I see still in use at a house is with copper fittings and copper crimp rings.

I very rarely see Big Blue that is still in place and if I do it is the 250 psi version, the 160 psi is the one you will rarely see because it has already cracked/leaked and been replaced.

I still give the buyer all the info about the past problems and class action but if it's been in place this long it's about as much to worry about as any other pipes.

[Greg Booth]

Although PB pipe failures do occur, the primary leak problems are the acetal (plastic) fittings. If copper fittings & crimp rings have been used (properly installed) there is little concern. When cutting and modifying Quest piping, simply use Pex with brass fittings, onward from the point of interconnect. BUT, be sure to use the Quest X Pex conversion couplings. Although similar in appearance, there is a slight variation in insert size/configuration. There are several types of crimps, but if you are using copper rings, remember that copper color (natural) rings are on the Quest side and black rings are on the Pex side.

[ericwlewis]

In a friends crawlspace, the PB main had split mid line and had been gushing for quite a while. They called me to say their sump pump discharge was leaking and he had patched it with duct tape.

The only thing that kept it from spraying everywhere was it being located under the vapor barrier.

[Jim Baird]

Tubing say quest, but did not see any leaks.  1991 home.

Comments?

[Marc]

I had the same thing on a 93' this past Monday. Buyer lived next door, wanted it for investment purposes and told me the seller had recurrent 'plumbing' problems and wanted me to investigate it. I always write Quest PB.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Marc

[Jim Katen]

6 hours ago, Jim Baird said:

Comments?