Slight miscalculation in plumbing

[SallyWho]

I'm putting together my water mixing station, and it seems I have a little problem. The outlets at the bottom of the barrels are lower and the inlet of the pump, and I failed to compensate for that by angling the 90° elbows upwards slightly. Everything else important is already glued in, and now I've got this height difference. Can I use a block to prop up the horizontal line of plumbing so everything lines up? I mean, I could force it together as is, but it would put stress on the connections to the pump. I've already tried loosening the unions and trying to adjust, but it's all glued solidly. Thoughts?

 

[Fishfinder]

Are the barrels full? Put 2x4s under them

 

[SallyWho]

Are the barrels full? Put 2x4s under them

Not full yet. That's a good idea- I do have some plywood out back I could cut to fit. I do have PVC leading up from the pump to reenter the left hand barrel at the top, but it's a uniseal, not a bulkhead, so it has a little flex to it if I need to raise the barrels. Thanks!

 

[Jlentz]

That first picture is a perfect example of why I hate plumbing.

 

[hwntunda]

HD sells a flexible pvc connector, with coupler ends for gluing
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DURA-1-in-x-18-in-PVC-Slip-Flexible-Repair-Coupling-FRC-010/203598733

 

[LE0]

you can use a pvc insert, extender or coupling. Should be a quick easy fix.

 

[SallyWho]

HD sells a flexible pvc connector, with coupler ends for gluing
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DURA-1-in-x-18-in-PVC-Slip-Flexible-Repair-Coupling-FRC-010/203598733

Oh, that will be awesome for future use! I can guarantee this will not be the end of my plumbing woes. Once the tank gets here, I'll have to plumb it. [emoji15]

 

[SallyWho]

Finally got it done! It's messier than a first grader's penmanship, though. 24hrs to cure, and then I can leak test it. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything is good- I do NOT want to take it apart to fix it!

 

[Dennis McGrath]

Hey, that looks good to me. Who cares about the purple, it makes it look like coraline algae !! That's the look you were going for, right?

 

[SallyWho]

Hey, that looks good to me. Who cares about the purple, it makes it look like coraline algae !! That's the look you were going for, right?

Oh, absolutely! And any orange glue peeking out is just some sponge!

 

[Fin]

Spa Flex PVC can be your friend in those situations. I had a slight miscalculation of my own recently and that is how I resolved mine.

 

[Erica-Renee]

Measure twice Cut once Dry fit everything..

but looks as thou you found a solution

 

[User]

You don’t need to cure pvc glue gif 24 hours. It’s ready to go 10 mins after you set the pieces.

 

[Erica-Renee]

You don’t need to cure pvc glue gif 24 hours. It’s ready to go 10 mins after you set the pieces.

that is because its not glue or adhesive (correct term)Its a Solvent.. Causes each of the two surfaces to heat up, soften and fuse together...

Giggles..

 

[Sleepydoc]

that is because its not glue or adhesive (correct term)Its a Solvent.. Causes each of the two surfaces to heat up, soften and fuse together...

Giggles..

Picky, picky!

 

[markstubb]

If the purple bothers you, you can clean it off with some clear pvc primer. Be careful with it.

 

[Sleepydoc]

you can use clear primer from the get-go if the purple bothers you, or just skip the primer completely. The primer simply serves to pre-soften the PVC and ensure a better & stronger bond, but for our low-pressure applications it isn't really necessary. The purple color serves as a marker to show the plumbing inspector that it was used. otherwise there's no difference between the purple and the clear primers.

 

[SallyWho]

So, the junction in question has a slight leak at the union- enough to drip and puddle, but not a steady stream. I couldn't find compatible flexible pvc products in town, so I bought this off Amazon. The only problem is that it's too long. Do you think I can cut it and find a regular pvc coupling to fit the new ends, so I can glue it into the union?

Oh, and here's another kind of clueless question: the pvc is glued into that union- are replacement half unions sold anywhere, or will I have to cut out the section on the other half of the union and just replace the whole thing?

 

[Sleepydoc]

I've never seen replacement half-unions; you have to buy the entire thing and use what you need. NO idea if that coupling you bought can be spliced, but you can go ahead and try it. Otherwise they sell Spaflex or Ultraflex flexible PVC that can be glued like any other PVC pipe.

Where is the leak? I read a tip somewhere that you can seal one end and hook up a vacuum to the other end while applying PVC cement to the joint in question. The vacuum will apparently draw enough cement into the joint to seal it. I wouldn't trust it for full water main pressure but for our applications it should be fine.

 

[Neoalchemist]

^^^I've used this trick^^^, but with silicone and it worked. the silicone may or may not have filled the void but it sealed anyway so I was happy.