Quality Stainless Steel Flexible Water Supply Lines

Q. "I'd like longer stainless flexes than you show. Are they available?"
A. You can easily connect these stainless steel flexes together by using brass or stainless steel regular "close" nipples, which can be purchased here. Be sure not to use any Teflon™(PTFE) thread sealing tape or pipe dope when connecting two flexes using these fittings. Water flex connectors with FIPS nuts come with EDPM rubber washers used to seal against the end of the pipe. Thread sealant can prevent the female nut from tightening all the way causing the washer not to seal.

Q. "I'm used to using copper connectors on my water heater. Are the 3/4" Fips Stainless connectors as good?"
A. Most water heaters are steel. Stainless steel is a far better metal to use between copper, galvanized or non-metal piping and a steel tank. Yes, the above 3/4" Stainless connectors are designed for water heaters and, we think that once you have used our deluxe full-flow, corrugated stainless water heater connectors you won't want to go back to using copper ones. Easy to install, durable and the prices aren't much different than the old type of copper flexes.

Q. "Do you offer volume discounts on these?"
A. On an order of 10, 25 or 50 of the same item we offer an discount pricing. Volume pricing will appear in your shopping cart.

Q. "I need 100 of one size, how is your inventory on these stainless flexes?"
A. On all but the commercial flexes it is rare that we can't fill orders 100%. If you need 100 of a 1 1/2" commercial stainless flex we might not be able to fill the entire order immediately. Baring unforeseen circumstances, we can get them quickly.

Q. "What about electrolysis and stainless steel?"
A. Using stainless steel connectors can be somewhat helpful. Stainless (like brass) is an alloy metal. The electrical characteristics of alloys seem to make them a bit less prone to dielectric action than pure metals such as copper or iron. The more non-corrosive the alloy components (stainless for example has nickel - a very non corrosive metal) and the wider the electrical potentials of the components of the alloy, the less dielectric problem there seems to be. The alloy materials don't prevent the results of dielectric action, they just spread it over a greater area. There is less corrosion build up at the point of connection using stainless steel, than is seen when a copper adapter fitting is attached to a galvanized nipple or fitting.

Q. "What are the pressure ratings on these?"
A. The corrugated stainless steel flexes offered on this page have a 200psi working pressure, well in excess of the maximum building water pressure allowed by most codes, which is 80psi. These are all top quality flexible connectors.

Q. "What does it mean to have ANSI Certification for lead free plumbing products?"
A. Laws requiring plumbing products that come in to contact with drinking water to be essentially lead-free (0.25% weighted average) have been passed in California, Louisiana, Maryland, and Vermont. In order for companies to ship these plumbing products to locations in CA, LA, MD and VT, they must be ANSI certified lead free.

Q. "What is CA AB 1953, LA Act No. 362, MD HB 372, and VT S.152 and how is this different from previous low-lead legislation?"
A. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the amount of lead in drinking water under guidelines established in the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (passed in 1974; amended in 1988 and 1996). This Act defines "lead-free" as not more than 8% lead in pipes and fixture fittings. PLEASE NOTE: Use of the term "lead-free" varies between the new legislation in CA (AB 1953), LA ( Act No. 362), MD (HB 372), and VT (S.152), and in the current Federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. In the new legislation for CA, LA, MD and VT only (as of Jan 2013), it will mean 0.25% or less (weighted average). Similar national legislation is scheduled to go into effect Jan 2014.