What Makes Kitec Different?
There are a lot of similarities between Kitec and the other PEX products on the market, but there are also some major differences. PEX is the standard abbreviation for "cross-linked polyethylene", the type of plastic used in Kitec and Rehau pipe. One main difference is that Kitec is based on metric sizing and the other manufacturers are on standard English sizing. Besides the fact that Kitec has at present pulled completely out of Nevada and no longer sells product here, the fact that it is a metric sized pipe makes it impossible to find fittings to work with this pipe.
Also, the fittings that Kitec used were made of inferior quality brass (they had a high percentage of zinc in them) which has lead to them dezincifying (having the zinc leeched out of them). The results of this leeching are shown above and below. Zinc oxide builds up as a white residue and restricts the flow of water, leading to low water pressure.
What Makes Rehau Different?
Like Kitec, there are a lot of similarities between Rehau and the other PEX products on the market, but again, there are also major differences. The primary problem with Rehau is that the fittings used were made of inferior quality brass (they have a high percentage of zinc in them) which has lead to them dezincifying (having the zinc leeched out of them). As these fittings corrode they pull zinc into your water system and there is a high potenital for cracking and breaking of the water lines.
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