Unions?

[dreamcatcherr9]

Anyone ever had a union leak?

Are they safe to disconnect and connect regular (or should this be done only when needed)?

Do you use them sparingly or everywhere?

Just curious what other people’s thoughts are...

 

[Crabs McJones]

Never had a union leak that was installed properly. Use as many as possible it makes disassembly and maintenance for cleaning extremely easy.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

Never had a union leak that was installed properly. Use as many as possible it makes disassembly and maintenance for cleaning extremely easy.

Forgive the silly (newb) question. How could one instill “improperly”?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Forgive the silly (newb) question. How could one instill “improperly”?

Well there are two different kinds you can get. You can get slip on, in which case improperly would be not gluing the pipe into the fitting, or there is threaded which improperly would be not using thread sealant tape on the threads and it causing a leak. Another way would be not tightening the two halves together completely tight. Or forgetting to put the rubber seal between the two halves in before tightening it which would also cause a leak.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

Well there are two different kinds you can get. You can get slip on, in which case improperly would be not gluing the pipe into the fitting, or there is threaded which improperly would be not using thread sealant tape on the threads and it causing a leak. Another way would be not tightening the two halves together completely tight. Or forgetting to put the rubber seal between the two halves in before tightening it which would also cause a leak.

Thank you! The rubber seal one I will keep an eye on (so that helped). Appreciated

 

[JoshH]

Well there are two different kinds you can get. You can get slip on, in which case improperly would be not gluing the pipe into the fitting, or there is threaded which improperly would be not using thread sealant tape on the threads and it causing a leak. Another way would be not tightening the two halves together completely tight. Or forgetting to put the rubber seal between the two halves in before tightening it which would also cause a leak.

Another error is not ensuring your plumbing lines up 100%, this can cause uneven pressure on the ring which can then leak.

Also typically not advisable to use thread tape and use pvc thread sealant instead (Heated topic I know). Using tape requires a bit of practice and is more likely to lead to issues during installation.

Thank you! The rubber seal one I will keep an eye on (so that helped). Appreciated

Keep a close eye on those rings as they fall out pretty easily and randomly disappear.

I also plan my unions so the female side is on the easily removed portion of the pipe this makes it less likely you will forget about making sure the female portion is installed before gluing everything. And if you do forget it's usually easier to fix. Example below....

In this example if you installed the female coupling end of the union on the elbow side of the plumbing setup. But forgot to ensure the coupler is actually on there before gluing, once glued, theres no way on earth to put the coupling on after the fact. However if installed as shown in the picture. If you happen to forget to install the coupler it's not as big of a deal and worse comes to worse you cut the pipe, install the couplers and re connect the pipes with a slip/slip glued coupler fitting.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

Another error is not ensuring your plumbing lines up 100%, this can cause uneven pressure on the ring which can then leak.

Also typically not advisable to use thread tape and use pvc thread sealant instead (Heated topic I know). Using tape requires a bit of practice and is more likely to lead to issues during installation.



Keep a close eye on those rings as they fall out pretty easily and randomly disappear.

I also plan my unions so the female side is on the easily removed portion of the pipe this makes it less likely you will forget about making sure the female portion is installed before gluing everything. And if you do forget it's usually easier to fix. Example below....

In this example if you installed the female coupling end of the union on the elbow side of the plumbing setup. But forgot to ensure the coupler is actually on there before gluing, once glued, theres no way on earth to put the coupling on after the fact. However if installed as shown in the picture. If you happen to forget to install the coupler it's not as big of a deal and worse comes to worse you cut the pipe, install the couplers and re connect the pipes with a slip/slip glued coupler fitting.

Great advice! Love the sketch! Thank you for taking the time!!!

 

[ca1ore]

If you use unions for long enough, the O ring can compress or degrade. I have some approaching 20 years old and have had to replace the O rings. Not always easy to get the right size. I’ve a drawer full of the wrong sized ones LOL.