Correct type hose?

[429CJ-3X2]

The heater valve on my son's '97 Mountaineer broke clean in two due to age. I bought a replacement valve at Autozone, and asked for 7 feet of corresponding heater hose to go with it. I didn't know if I had any, and thought I might change the hoses while I was at it. What I was sold was reinforced PCV hose - for $2.99 a foot. PCV hose is thicker walled and therefore very slightly less flexible than heater hose. What I was sold was 19/32, or 15mm, not 5/8 which is what I needed. That 1/32"/ 1 mm makes a big difference on whether the hose goes on or not. After I cut 5 or 6" off the hose I was sold and realized it was going to take some stretching to go on the heater fitting, I found some 5/8 heater hose in the garage that I ended up using. I took the new hose off the heater nipple a couple of times to get the clamp where I wanted it. I would have had to cut the PCV hose to get it off.

I plan to return the PVC hose regardless of the answer because of the smaller size, and the price, but can PVC hose be safely used for heater hose? I couldn't find anything that said one way or the other.

 

[RickOTR]

IIRC, PVC hose will not hold up to the high temps of the cooling system. I would use the Heater Hose as that's what it's made for. I found the OEM hoses on ebay for around $35.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

That's what I was wondering. It's listed uses are Fuel/PCV/EEC. It looks like fuel line. Here's what I just found in the description for ACDelco PCV hose on Amazon - Warning: Do not use for pressure lines on fuel injected engines or for cooling system applications.
As I think about it, heater hose expands as the coolant heats up. There's no way this thick walled PCV hose will expand. Like I said, I'm going to take it back anyway, but this warning will back me up if I meet resistance at Autozone.