Plumber wisdom needed

-
pishta

pishta

I know I'm right....
Joined
Oct 13, 2004
Messages
23,826
Reaction score
13,683
Location
Tustin, CA
My 60 year old 3/4 gal main water feed split right under the house shutoff. I turned the water off at the street meter and dug out the pipe. That 3/4 galvanized pipe is about 3 inches in diameter because of all the rust on it and I cant even make out the 90 that it screws into at the bottom turn to the run across the lawn to the street. I cut the bad section out and patched it with a section of braided nylon tubing (150PSI rated) and some hose clamps. Its holding but its not permanent (or is it?) . Question. Do I attempt to unscrew the rest of the 10" of pipe that goes down the crusted over 90 or is that sure disaster, breaking the pipe at the threads of the hidden 90 causing more of the run to be replaced? I looked into the compression fitting, but I dont know of I can get the outside of the pipe ground down to the necessary round shape? Or will unscrewing it simpley break the corrosion and make it come out exposing fresh threads for the new 18" nipple? To make it even more fun, the foundation where the pipe runs down seemed to be carved out for the pipe so I have zero room for a bulky compression fitting right above the 90. Thanks.
 
Not seeing it makes this harder to answer. Carefully take a hammer and whatever tool you have and start cleaning off the the pipe. Most of that stuff will come right off. If you believe that it is pipe that has rusted to that size I think your only choice would be to hire a plumber for repairs. On the crusted over 90 can you get to it to hold it? Also it helps to loosen the pipe by wacking it with a hammer several times to break the rust loose at the joint your trying to loosen. How deep is the line under ground? If it is shallow enough you could dig it up on the outside also for more room. See what you have left. You might end opening up your foundation for more working room.
 
I would hire a plumper.once to start to play with that old pipe big problims.been there your temp fix will hold tho.Hire the guy you should not drink from the water feed anyway.
 
Ok, here is a sideways photo. Hope it helps. I used a wire wheel on an angle grinder to get the crust off, worked pretty good, and a cutoff wheel to cut the pipe, looked like good metal thickness from the cross section. the gray stuff is pipe dope.
179491_1688781334023_1072386414_1868728_6189609_n.jpg
168664_1688774853861_1072386414_1868722_7535617_n.jpg
 
is that break on the city side or your side.Here in Canada if its on the city side its there problim.Also cold water reed last longer hot water wrought out faster.
 
my side, cold water main. vinyl hose is potable water certified. If I were to unscrew a section of pipe in a run, are the threads in a way that the section unscrews or does everything downstream need to be turned as well? ie are the threads L and R? How did they do this if the nipple needs to be changed out? Do they unscrew everything past it? Seems odd, but Im no plumber. thanks

PS, This happend right after they tested the hydrant off my curb. Coincidence? Maybe the pressure change when they capped it off? Bastards!
 
I'm amazed the code enforcement officer isn't on you. In NY local code says lines from curb must be 3/4 copper and if you have an old iron line once you have a problem you must updated. Once curb **** shut has happened off thats the invite for code enforcement to turn back on.
 
If it is your home take it out to the meter and replace with PVC
 
Code enforcement, around here, HA! we got houses that havent mowed lawns for 2 months, overgrown trees onto easments, potholes...Water guy told wife I shouldnt use the main shutoff, but he was cool and understood. It was off for about 1/2 hour. Copper is nice, but our tract was built in '45 and the corner house JUST got onto the sewer system, finally! Her septic tank hadnt been serviced since 1960!!!! Single couple, cant fill one in 40 years?
 
500stroker said:
If it is your home take it out to the meter and replace with PVC
Click to expand...
Yeah. I got everything but time and plumber cash at the moment. It is PVC from the meter to about 5 feet onto my property. Did that when they changed them out years ago. Maybe next day off.
 
I would consider using another couple of clamps on that plastic just for the security that that one clamp will not blow off from the pressure of the main. If you can get them to hold down tight that would at least help out as opposed to only having only one clamp on each side.
 
dustermaniac said:
I would consider using another couple of clamps on that plastic just for the security that that one clamp will not blow off from the pressure of the main. If you can get them to hold down tight that would at least help out as opposed to only having only one clamp on each side.
Click to expand...

That tubing is semi rigid and I had to break a sweat just getting it between the nipples so it has no where to blow, but I do have 2 extra clamps that ill cinch on.
 
Trace it to where it goes vertical into the floor. Is cruddy there, at a fitting?
you have a mess, probably from electroylisis. SP . I doubt you will find a threadable connection, until you hit the meter, minus the 5 feet. PVC comes glue-able, and threaded. Use schedule 80 (thick). I dunno here, without seeing it; cut the riser pipe off square, when it can be cleaned off, with no big pits still in it. clean, rent a threader, and re-thread pipe into floor. You will need a threaded coupler. And pipe dope/teflon paste. Then find a way to ground the rest of the plumbing pipe.
I would say use adaptors, but your iron pipe looks shot.
 
Plumber buddy told me to check out PEX, it comes in a roll, easily bends and can be mated to existing fittings by adapters. Basically dig up old pipe, cut before fittings and unscrew whats left, lay out PEX next to old pipe, fit to meter PVC, make PEX sweep up to my 3/4 shutoff valve at foundation and fit PEX adapter into valve, bury and forget about it! Sounds good to me. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
pishta said:
Plumber buddy told me to check out PEX, it comes in a roll, easily bends and can be mated to existing fittings by adapters. Basically dig up old pipe, cut before fittings and unscrew whats left, lay out PEX next to old pipe, fit to meter PVC, make PEX sweep up to my 3/4 shutoff valve at foundation and fit PEX adapter into valve, bury and forget about it! Sounds good to me. Thanks for the suggestions.
Click to expand...

That is the way to do it. The pictures show how bad it is.
 
Don't expose pex to sunlite. Do you have pex crimpers? I have done thousands of PVC waterlines. Sch 40 is all codes require.
 
I do alot of plumbing and what I see is the need for one or two compression sleeves. Cut out as much as you need put one clamp on one side get a piece of galv as long as you need it put the sleeve on the other end. The sleeves have a rubber gasket on both ends, you have to tighten both endsof the sleeve to work. do this on both ends of the repair. I dont think that you can get a good seal with the Pex fitting to the pipe but if you can it is by far the best way to go.
 
I like the PEX, but wifey says shes not ready for a trench job yet. I would be all over the compression fittings, but the pipe is no longer round for sealing, its a scaled up monster! And the ones I saw for 3/4 are the size of a slide hammer weight, I dont have the clearance, Clarance! I think im going to try and wire wheel clean the pipe down at the elbow and hit it with some PB blaster overnight to maybe help with the eventual attempt to unscrew it from the 90. If I can get it out, I can use a 4" L and R nipple (C'mon guys, no one mentioned this lifesaver?) and a 16" nipple with a coupler on it to properly repair this section. If I break it at the 90, it looks like better pipe on the horizontal run to cut and rethread as well as having more room. I can dig deeper but I cant chisel out my foundation where the vertical run is easily. So far the hose clamp are holding with a slight tightening up this morning. About 1 cup of water at the bottom of the plastic lined hole over 24 hours. Im going to repack that valve as well as removing its body will be tough.
 
cut it above the 90 and unscrew it out of the valve. Hit it with a torch to break it loose. The threads have fused together in the 90 and all it will do is twist off. The valve being dissimilar metal than the pipe it will come apart. 31 years as a professional plumber I am positive what i am talking about. Dig back on the service line a few feet.It may not all be that corroded. Use one new 3/4 pvc adapter in th stop a new 90* and some pvc pipe with the rubber cone coupling that was mentioned. Its called a dresser coupling. Trust me, this is easiest and most permanent. Later when you want to replace the line remove dresser coupling and glue pvc to the meter. Pex underground is risky if cars drive over the yard it may crush flat and reduce your pressure. We pipe 10 houses a week in pex and run all our water lines in pvc.I have probably plumbed 9000 houses in my lifetime. I wont steer a Mopar bud wrong.
 
Case closure: After trying the PVC nipple out of valve and threading the stub out from the 90 to a PVC coupler and then running another PVC nipple into the Dresser coupling. I got leaks everywhere @ 90psi as the main line didnt even line up with the house fitting anymore (something shifted, probably the yard dirt with erosion) So a flex type repair HAD to be used. PEX is the bomb ! I bought 5 feet (they just started stocking it this morning in 5' sticks instead of rolls) and a male and female sharkbite coupler and cut the 90 out of the system. Cut back the supply line a a foot (it was still way too big for the pipe threader, had to grind it down with an angle grinder and a flapper wheel for about 10 minutes) and I had fresh round pipe to work with. Taped up the brass Sharkbite NPT fittings, torqued and crossed my fingers Jeeze, all you do is push the PEX into the fittings and click, its DONE! Fittings are about 8 bucks a pop, but a real lifesaver in my situation. Looked into a Gal union and PVC couplers, but this was by far the simplest when things no longer line up and both sides are rigid. I got water water in the house and no water in the hole! This job is done......PEX is the new 90 from the supply to the shutoff, but later I will extend it all the way to the meter. Can reuse the fittings too, with a little horseshoe release tool, looks like an A/C-EFI pressure line connector tool. Thanks for all the advice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top