Plumbing Nightmare

eternitybc · #1 03-24-2010, 11:02 PM

With all this response I decided last night to take a pair of huge pipe pliers and a hammer to a spare piece (pipe & ball valve) that I had cemented together with the ABS glue. It did not give way easily, the pipe was pretty much mangled before the glue let go. That being said though when it did fail the piece came out of the joint like the glue didn't exist. The inside of the ball value looks like new, it seems the only place the glue attached to was on the very end of the pipe. It kind of reminds me of the behaviour of some glues on metal or glass, once you unseat it a little it just completely releases.

In the end I could easily see the glue releasing if it was expanding and contracting a lot but as mentioned in the posts I'm not sure if that would even occur if you're running a constant temperature through the pipes. As suggested I'm thinking for the drains I’m just going to leave them the way it is. The return I may redo as it runs along the outside of the tank but I will put that off till I have to move the tank again once the floors have been replaced.

Maybe the Rona or Home Depot guys will give me deal, they pretty much know me by name now...

fkshiu · #2 03-24-2010, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eternitybc

With all this response I decided last night to take a pair of huge pipe pliers and a hammer to a spare piece (pipe & ball valve) that I had cemented together with the ABS glue. It did not give way easily, the pipe was pretty much mangled before the glue let go. That being said though when it did fail the piece came out of the joint like the glue didn't exist. The inside of the ball value looks like new, it seems the only place the glue attached to was on the very end of the pipe. It kind of reminds me of the behaviour of some glues on metal or glass, once you unseat it a little it just completely releases.

In the end I could easily see the glue releasing if it was expanding and contracting a lot but as mentioned in the posts I'm not sure if that would even occur if you're running a constant temperature through the pipes. As suggested I'm thinking for the drains I’m just going to leave them the way it is. The return I may redo as it runs along the outside of the tank but I will put that off till I have to move the tank again once the floors have been replaced.

Maybe the Rona or Home Depot guys will give me deal, they pretty much know me by name now...

With all due respect to what others have said about leaving it as is, at the end of the day it's your floors that are at stake, not theirs.

clarence · #3 04-02-2010, 05:00 PM

I personally would not be too concerned. As someone else has said the operating pressure is very low. I have a setup with a mag 12 return on 3/4 inch pipe. I wrap the pipe ends with teflon tape and press them together. I don't use glue in case I want to make changes. I have used this type of plumbing on my pond outside for years with no problems. My tank has been up and running for almost a year. My setup is in the basement and there is a floor drain under the tank. I would use glue if I was in rental or condo unit and did not have the drain in the floor. Clarence

MikeInToronto · #4 04-02-2010, 11:01 PM

I'll tell you two things.
1) There is very little chance you will have a problem with the joints. It takes years and years before the bonds will break and more than likely you will have moved on to another tank or different plumbing.
2) I would still redo the plumbing just for peace of mind. As long as your tank is set up you will always have the fear that the plumbing is going to fail. The time and money spent to redo the plumbing is well worth that peace of mind.