reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
Is there any way to seperate pvc fittings that have been glued without cutting them?
Thanks
Thanks
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PVC ?
- Thread starter reefsandrotts
- Start date
Yes.
What I've done is cut off the pipe close to where the fitting is. Then take a heat gun and heat up JUST the pipe that you are removing from the fitting. You don't want to heat the fitting (if possible) because you don't want the fitting to go soft/misshape. Take a pair of pliers and grab the pipe and start to roll it away from the fitting. It will cut and roll away. This is FAR easier to do with pipe 2" or less. 3" pipe is a BEAR to do this with. With the smaller pipes it can be done in about 10m. The bigger stuff takes a LONG time. There's a video somewhere that I followed when I did it, but I wouldn't know where to look for it now.
What I've done is cut off the pipe close to where the fitting is. Then take a heat gun and heat up JUST the pipe that you are removing from the fitting. You don't want to heat the fitting (if possible) because you don't want the fitting to go soft/misshape. Take a pair of pliers and grab the pipe and start to roll it away from the fitting. It will cut and roll away. This is FAR easier to do with pipe 2" or less. 3" pipe is a BEAR to do this with. With the smaller pipes it can be done in about 10m. The bigger stuff takes a LONG time. There's a video somewhere that I followed when I did it, but I wouldn't know where to look for it now.
reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
Phyll
It worked perfect with the heat.
Cranked up the stove and just kept turning it and I was able to pull the fitting apart.
Thanks for the help.
Jim
It worked perfect with the heat.
Cranked up the stove and just kept turning it and I was able to pull the fitting apart.
Thanks for the help.
Jim
That's awesome...thanks Phyl... never knew it could work, just tried it on a ball valve I was saving since it had a shortie pipe stuck in it.
Word of caution to the people heating them on a stove top though- be careful as PVC when toasted/burnt produces harmful and noxious chemicals, so go easy when applying above open flames, or better still make sure you're in a well ventilated area!
Word of caution to the people heating them on a stove top though- be careful as PVC when toasted/burnt produces harmful and noxious chemicals, so go easy when applying above open flames, or better still make sure you're in a well ventilated area!
I did more than my share of this when we were plumbing the basement. We had a leaking fitting and it was in a place where we couldn't cut in a replacement. We had to pull them apart. The smaller fittings were a breeze compared to the 3" pipe though.
I used a heat gun. No fumes (it doesn't get hot enough for that with the gun).
Glad it helped!
I used a heat gun. No fumes (it doesn't get hot enough for that with the gun).
Glad it helped!
MikeM said:
I have to agree with this. Unless you have some very expensive fitting to recover, you are better off just cutting out the bad section and redoing it. Most PVC fitting are not that expensive, and pipe is cheep. Also, it can be a little tricky to get a good cement job on a used PVC fitting, especially if the pipe or fitting got deformed when it was taken apart.
If you use primer and cement the joint is almost always good.
Sometimes you just can't cut it out and replace it (not enough pipe left to re-glue to). At least that was our situation. Along with being 10:00pm with our tank already going on 3 hours of being down while we replumb into the basement. No way were we waiting til morning for a new fitting!
"ALMOST always" is definitely key there. Even with primer, cement and the best of intentions, sometimes a fitting leaks.
"ALMOST always" is definitely key there. Even with primer, cement and the best of intentions, sometimes a fitting leaks.
