Plumbing, Part 2, PVC

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is an amazing substance that has made many plumbing jobs relatively easy. You do no soldering, which makes life simpler.

First, you will see many different thicknesses of PVC, called schedules. In repairs, use the same one you are replacing. If you are unsure what that is, ask the folks at your supply house. Note: pipe carrying hot water may call for CPVC. Do not substitute regular. The pipe may melt a bit and PVC, when heated gives off a toxic chemical, plus, it stinks.

If you have a leaky pipe, they do wear out, or coupling, you have to cut out the section it is in. A hacksaw will work fine. If you are using a lot of PVC, you may invest in a PVC cutter. One problem: sometimes, especially indoors, you will have little room to work. Buy a string saw, a piece of cable with handles. Just wrap it tight, move it quickly back and forth, and the pipe will cut like butter. Make your cuts neat.

You need to always measure carefully. How much you cut out depends on how big the leak is and what kind of coupling you use. If you have a lot of room. say in a sprinkler system, slip couplings are cheapest and work fine. Make sure you have enough pipe to fit deeply into the coupling. You may have to fight a bit to get the last coupling in place because you have to bend both sections of pipe until you can push the last end into the coupling, but, if you are careful and have room, it's not that bad.

If lacking room, consider an expansion coupling or compression coupling. They are a little more costly but better than driving yourself crazy fighting with pipes. An expansion coupling is just what it sound like. It slips on one end of a pipe; you glue a coupling to the other end and it telescopes into position. A compression coupling is a tube that fits over the gap in a pipe. Before you insert that, there are 2 ends that screw on, each with a gasket. Put one on each piece of pipe, position the tube and tighten the screw on pieces; the gaskets will make the fitting water tight. Do not over tighten; I have done that and cracked the fittings. Also, tighten one end a bit, then the other, switch back and forth until both are tight. Do not completely tighten one first. With a car tire, you do not tighten one lug nut completely before tightening the next. Treat this coupling g the same way.

You will, here and there, need to attach threaded couplings. One end glues to the pipe. A female coupling is threaded on the inside, the male on the outside. In other words, the male screws into the female, as should be expected. You will see many kinds of bends, 45 degree, 90 degree, Y couplings; just use the same sa what you are replacing. Same goes for bushings which are used when the pipe changes diameter. There are also flex coupling which are quite handy for certain uses.

Gluing pipe is a bit tricky. First, you must treat both the pipe and the coupling. Sand both until slightly rough, then apply PVC Cleaner; do not skip this step. It makes the PVC tacky and receptive to the glue. Then sand again. There is a PVC primer. I only used it on pipes that were going to be under a lot of pressure, but really, you should always use it. Both cleaner and primer cans come with applicators and you just spread them lightly and evenly. Let the cleaner dry and scuff the pipe before using primer/ Important note: PVC Cleaner is acetone. Do not breathe in a lot of it and definitely do not smoke around it. Also, don't get it in cuts, believe me, it burns.

Make sure your pipe is clean when you start gluing.

There are 3 basic glues, each with pluses and minuses. Gray glue: plus; it dries slowly so you have time to work. Minus; it dries slowly, so you cannot turn on the water for a while, several hours. Clear glue; minus; it dries super fast so you can turn on the water right away. Minus; it dries super fast so you need to really be on the ball or it will start setting before you are through and you will have to clean it all off and start again. Both gray and clear glue require a completely dry surface, so the pipes will have to drain completely. There is a blue glue, sometimes called Raintight. You can glue wet pipe with this (it is better if it is dry, but it does pretty good on wet pipe). Also it dries quickly, but not instantly, so you have a reasonable amount of time to work and you can turn the water back on in an hour or so. All glues come with applicators. Paint the inside of the coupling and the end of the pipe thoroughly but not heavily (you just have to try this until you get the hang of it but, you'll learn quickly). As you insert the pipe into the coupling. twist it, about 180 degrees, if possible. This will ensure that the glue is evenly distributed.

If all this sounds complicated, it really isn't. Like many things, once you try it, you get the hang of it quickly. One last note. Try not to get it on your clothes, the glue will not come off. Unfortunately, you will likely get it on your hands (I tried working with gloves but it just didn't work). When you do, get it off as soon as possible. wash your hands in the PVC cleaner to soften the glue (but remember, if you have any little cuts, it will burn). Then use any pumice based soap. such as Lava, or any of the soaps sold for mechanics (there are several and you can get them at places like Home Depot).

Learning to do simple PVC repair can save you a bit of money and really isn't too hard, so give it a try. Have fun.