More and more people are installing plumbing systems with PEX (Cross-linked Polyethylene) and are asking, “will PEX work with Smart Recirculation Control products?”
Yes, the Smart Recirculation Control will work fine with a PEX installation. However, you will need to install a short 4″ section of copper pipe immediately after the water heater and on the upstream side of the hot water recirculation pump to provide a location to attach the temperature sensors.
PEX does a pretty good job of insulating which creates a lag in sensing the temperature causing the
Smart Recirculation Control to react slowly to the changing water temperature in the piping. Also, be sure to put pipe insulation over the temperature sensors to help with temperature sensing.