I have been researching different kinds of pex pipes from Wirsbo to Mr. Pex, etc. I came across HousePex and ThermaPex and they both say they are made by LK Pex AB. Is it the same product? I have found very different prices for the two different brands and I wonder what the difference is? Anyone know?

What other brand of pex pipe should I be considering? Thanks.

Anyone heard of Zurn?

There is little difference in the quality of PEX used for residential plumbing and heating. Zurn is a common name in the plumbing industry.

So then you are basically saying that I can buy the cheaper pipe and still be ok? The housepex is an oxygen barrier type A, 1/2 inch which is about $100 cheaper for a 1K ft. coil. than Zurn.

Non barrier should generally be cheaper than barrier. With non barrier you will need to use stainless steel or brass pumps, fittings, etc., because the oxygen that gets through the PEX won't affect those. With barrier you can use cast iron pumps and valves, etc., which are cheaper. You need to price out the entire system to figure out which way is best for you. Other than the barrier/non barrier aspect PEX is pretty much PEX regardless of brand. The local plumbing wholesaler I'm buying my plumbing stuff from gave me two or three different brands of PEX without regard to brand name.

With water supply plumbing barrier doesn't buy you anything because oxygen gets carried in with the continuous supply of fresh water. In the heating system if you keep new oxygen out you won't have a rust problem because the oxygen in the initial fill of water gets taken out by the metal in the system. If you're not adding water all the time the only oxygen that can get in is through the piping. Oxygen molecules travel through PEX, water molecules don't.

I generally recommend a barrier in all cases. you never know what heat source options the future brings, and you don't want to have to install a heat exchanger later if you don't have to. Also, if you ever need to antifreeze the system, the inhibitors break down faster if exposed to oxygen, and unless you live in an area that doesn't get to freezing you never know if the day will come when you (or a future homeowner) will want to antifreeze the system.

Thanks for the help. We will go with the oxygen barrier because I think we will have to go to a closed system. We just found out that our electric coop has really cheap rates for electric heating, but we have to have that on a separate meter and isolated from the regular electric use. So if we do an open loop, we don't qualify for the low rates since we'd be using the same water for domestic use.