[paddles]

Hi Everyone,

I'm what my friends might call a handyman, jack of all trades, which might be a blessing, downfall, or BOTH.

Anyway, I've rigged up the plumbing in my new kitchen. The garden hose faucet is just on the exterior wall behind my kitchen sink, so the previous owners had copper coming from the cold pipe, teeing off to the sink and through the wall to outside.

After we finished the basement, the contractor replaced the copper with pex, so now I've done a bit of work under the sink to be able to get both hot AND cold out to the garden hose.

Can anyone tell me why I might be getting condensation on the cold pipe? I've made sure to turn off the hot water and let it settle to room temp, but I still get condensation on the cold... Pic below to explain setup. Thanks everyone...

http://www.mgxproductions.com/ftp/cabinetdiagram.jpg

 

[Hatsee]

You would have to insulate it, if there is some other way to stop it I haven't found it yet.

In for finding out if there is something simple eluding both of us though.

 

[TheEplumber]

High humidity will cause pipes to sweat. Did you just do drywall and painting too?
I also noticed you have no check valves on the hot or cold at the hose bib. When those valves are open they will cross feed- you'll have hot water to your cold side of the kitchen sink

 

[paddles]

Hatsee: The problem is the basement is already finished... otherwise insulating the whole way down would be an option. If I insulated down to the top of the cabinet floor, will that help my cause?

TheEplumber: yes, it is quite humid right now around these parts... I wonder if a dehumidifier would help my cause... the two valves will never be open at the same time. The hot is more or less to fill the hot tub/wash stuff outside, etc.

 

[TheEplumber]

Google "what causes pipes to sweat"

 

[paddles]

Google "what causes pipes to sweat"

Thanks eplumber,

I'm aware of the general causes of condensation on cold water pipes. I'm actual curious to see if anyone sees a fault in my setup, with the exception of the cold/hot water leading to the same pipe (will be either hot or cold at once, not both).

Thanks a million!

 

[Canucker]

I don't see a problem with the set up. Is it condensing on the whole run of cold pipe? Maybe the humidity is coming in where the tap exits the wall? If thats sealed, then it probably won't matter where you run a cold line, it'll condense from the humidity in your house.

 

[Daniel Holzman]

My cold water PEX lines in the basement condense water in the summer. I insulated all of them with closed cell polyethylene foam, no more sweating. Same stuff I used on the hot water pipes to reduce heat loss. I use the slit insulation, you can often start it where it is accessible and push it a long ways even if you don't have actual access for your hand.

 

[paddles]

Thanks for the replies. It's impossible to push insulation down any further as underneath the cabinet it's a pretty tight fit going down through the tile to the basement... going to try getting a couple of those mini dehumidifiers and putting them in the cabinet. Probably won't help but it's worth a try. Other than that... I'll also try the insulation and hope for the best. We don't have a central air dehumidifier but perhaps that could be an option when the time is right. Thanks again for everyone's input.

M