Dry fitting PVC

143MPCo · Dec 7, 2014

This is for all you plumbers, I have been dry fitting (seating) all part before attempting to permanently boundâ€¦ this has to be the biggest pain in the butt I have to complain about when pre-fitting/sizing/cutting/disassembling and then bounding of anything to do with PVCâ€¦

Can anyone give out a few tips to make this an eraser process or is the status-quo the norm?

rayn · Dec 7, 2014

Afraid that seems to be the norm. I HATE dry fitting PVC as they don't come apart. I am also scared to out any type of lubrication on them to help them come apart, as k don't know what is or isn't reef safe. I usually end up building as I go with a exact idea of what I want the finished product to be. I try to leave some pipe showing around any joints though in case I have to cut something apart.

TJ's Reef · Dec 7, 2014

The best thing I've come up with to alleviate this issue is to sand/chamfer the ends of cut PVC using 80-120# Emery Cloth in palm of my hand. I even take the time to bevel all inside edges with a file for better/quieter water flow as well. Temporary fitting placement I'll sometimes use a bit of water in fitting to make my marks then remove and dry off before gluing.

Cheers, Todd

surfnsalt · Dec 7, 2014

avasquez01 said:
This is for all you plumbers, I have been dry fitting (seating) all part before attempting to permanently boundâ€¦ this has to be the biggest pain in the butt I have to complain about when pre-fitting/sizing/cutting/disassembling and then bounding of anything to do with PVCâ€¦

Can anyone give out a few tips to make this an eraser process or is the status-quo the norm?

There is not much I dry fit anymore because I've been connecting Pvc fittings from 1/2 " to 4" for 15 years now. Best tips I can tell you is have a good Pvc cutter, don't push dry fittings all the way together so they will come apart easily, if they are stuck together tap on opposite sides of the fitting and lots of wiggling back and forth. Make sure you prime your fittings and pipe! I see glued non primed fitting come apart very easily over time. O and turn some good music on while working.

143MPCo · Dec 7, 2014

Thanks, everyone for the replies...
This is NO fun!

Took me 3 days to to dry fit and almost 4 days to primer and cement it all back together.

surfnsalt · Dec 7, 2014

avasquez01 said:
Thanks, everyone for the replies...
This is NO fun!

Took me 3 days to to dry fit and almost 4 days to primer and cement it all back together.

But hard work pays off. Looks great.

143MPCo · Dec 7, 2014

surfnsalt said:
But hard work pays off. Looks great.

Thx surfnsalt!!! just out of curiosity, what would a professional plumber charge for something like this?

tonymission · Dec 7, 2014

I use vise grip pliers to twist and remove my dry plumbing if I'm too much of a wuss. Issue I run into sometimes is ending up a little short as the glue allows everything to fit together even tighter. So now I'm somewhat smart enough to compensate for that.

tonymission · Dec 7, 2014

avasquez01 said:
Thx surfnsalt!!! just out of curiosity, what would a professional plumber charge for something like this?

$700-1000 depending on fittings

143MPCo · Dec 7, 2014

tonymission said:
$700-1000 depending on fittings

I'm in the work line of work... dang!
:jaw:

surfnsalt · Dec 7, 2014

avasquez01 said:
Thx surfnsalt!!! just out of curiosity, what would a professional plumber charge for something like this?

Time and matrial job. In the northeast. You know how much the matrial was and like 80 to 160 an hour.

143MPCo · Dec 7, 2014

surfnsalt said:
Time and matrial job. In the northeast. You know how much the matrial was and like 80 to 160 an hour.

well hmmm....

32hrs @ 160 = little over 5.5k
32hrs @ 80 = little over 2.5k

not including materials... = I'm in the work line of freaking work... lol

surfnsalt · Dec 7, 2014

It would be no where near 32hrs if you did it for a living, lol 6 to 8 at most.

143MPCo · Dec 7, 2014

surfnsalt said:
It would be no where near 32hrs if you did it for a living, lol 6 to 8 at most.

I would milk it for all its worth... lol... j/k

JMSKI333 · Dec 7, 2014

tonymission said:
I use vise grip pliers to twist and remove my dry plumbing if I'm too much of a wuss. Issue I run into sometimes is ending up a little short as the glue allows everything to fit together even tighter. So now I'm somewhat smart enough to compensate for that.

Same as tony. I keep channel locks handy to pull everything apart. Glueing as you go only works for simple projects. 9/10 times I'm putting things together and taking them apart a few times before I even think about glueing.

phillrodrigo · Dec 7, 2014

Let's put it this way my brother is a plumber. He works for the plumber's union as his 9 to 5. Then he does a ton of side work also. He gets $50 per hour and that's considered a bargain. Not mentioning names but we have a self per claimed cheapo in our club and he went with my brother for to have his boiler put in. I think it's a good idea to have a plan on what your doing and just glue as you go. The only thing I wouldn't glue are the bulkheads just because once you glue them if you mess up you have to go order new ones. Even hiring a plumber isn't always the right thing since they may not know certain things that will effect the tank. They may add something brass not thinking. Plumbing is simple. My big thing I always recommend is clear primer. The purple if you aren't used to it can make your entire job look like crap.

Jlobes · Dec 7, 2014

surfnsalt said:
It would be no where near 32hrs if you did it for a living, lol 6 to 8 at most.

+1.

and I hardly dry fit anything anymore. I have a plan, measure, account for the insert distance and make it happen. dry fitting helps if you need to evaluate the route and plan, but its not accurate for cutting, as you cant "seat" it when its dry and the glue/primer help lube it.

kschweer · Dec 7, 2014

Looks great man! Wish I had the space for something like that. I personally love the build process and plumbing is actually my favorite part. Best of luck!

143MPCo · Dec 7, 2014

phillrodrigo said:
Let's put it this way my brother is a plumber. He works for the plumber's union as his 9 to 5. Then he does a ton of side work also. He gets $50 per hour and that's considered a bargain. Not mentioning names but we have a self per claimed cheapo in our club and he went with my brother for to have his boiler put in. I think it's a good idea to have a plan on what your doing and just glue as you go. The only thing I wouldn't glue are the bulkheads just because once you glue them if you mess up you have to go order new ones. Even hiring a plumber isn't always the right thing since they may not know certain things that will effect the tank. They may add something brass not thinking. Plumbing is simple. My big thing I always recommend is clear primer. The purple if you aren't used to it can make your entire job look like crap.

Good to know... I went clear primer and acetoned off all the factory lettering.... see any color combos...lol

143MPCo · Dec 7, 2014

Jlobes said:
+1.

and I hardly dry fit anything anymore. I have a plan, measure, account for the insert distance and make it happen. dry fitting helps if you need to evaluate the route and plan, but its not accurate for cutting, as you cant "seat" it when its dry and the glue/primer help lube it.

thanks for the info... I did seat right to the inside lip of each fitting with a rubber hammer, and used two channel lock pliers to pry the seated pieces apart... Guess I'm a glutton for punishment!?!?