All of the drain and vent pipes in my house are ABS. I’m moving some lines and removing others. Apparently in my neck of the woods (VT/NH) ABS pipe and fittings has gone the way of the dinosaurs. I’ve been to every plumbing supply house, lumber yard and hardware store in my area and no one carries any ABS. Even HD doesn’t have it. So, the question is, can I simply use the all-purpose glue that says it works on ABS and PVC and mix the two types of plastic together? This seems too easy, so I figure there must be some reason why it can’t be done. Any info would be appreciated. Another option that was suggested to me was to use Mission or Fernco couplings to join each end of the new PVC section to the old ABS. Which way would be best?
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Replies
The glue works, the rubber thingees work too. I'd use the glue, but you might check with your local building dept. as to what they allow.
Joe H
The multi-purpose cement is designed to glue pipe to itself... ABS to ABS, or PVC to PVC... not one kind to the other. Save yourself a headache and either buy the glue that IS designed to glue one kind to the other (there is sucha thing, it's sold at plumbing wholesalers) or use a Fernco coupling. I would do the latter.
There are special TRansistion cements for this purpose.
Acording to this, you are "allowed" only one transition.
http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=29101
http://www.oatey.com/apps/catalog/showskus.asp?ctg=1&subctg=1&prodgrpid=166
http://www.ipscorp.com/weldon/products.html
http://www.elchem.com/solvents_chart.htm
http://www.ipscorp.com/weldon/multipurposetransitioncements.html
Since you have multiple connections I suspect that you will need a couple for at least one of them to allow them to slide together for assembly.
Wow, thanks for all the links! There was some good information there and now I'm thoroughly confused! From what I've read here, it sounds like the glue works, but you can't, or at least shouldn't, use it. At any rate, what I did was use a fernco coupling to connect one side of the ABS to PVC and used the glue to join the other side. I did the glue joint first and after it had set for a few minutes it seemed solid as a rock. Should I worry about it failing over time? Keep in mind that this particular application was just a vent pipe so there's no pressure on the joints. As for the Fernco couplings, although I've used them before years ago and never had any trouble, there's something about them that leaves me with a bad feeling. I've still got 5 drain lines and a couple of vents to deal with and based on the reading I've done it sounds like they would be better to use than the glue. Is there any reason to be concerned that they will fail or leak over time?Thanks to all of you, from a carpenter masquerading as a plumber.
Edited 7/2/2006 3:39 pm ET by AndyCharron1
"Thanks to all of you, from a carpenter masquerading as a plumber."I am a handyman masquerading as a plumber, electrican, painter, carpenter, etc, etc.So take what I say with caution.If the fit is good, ie, no tension on the joint I would think that it is fine.
PVC glue will in most cases will glue abs/abs & abs/pvc.
But I have yet to see a jurisdiction that allows this practice.
A transition coupling is required in every jurisdiction that I have worked in.
I wouldn't worry about the glued joint failing over time.
Please excuse my ignorance, but by "transition coupling" do you mean a fernco type connector? Is there any reason to worry that over time, on a drain line, they will leak? (Assuming of course they are installed correctly!)
Fernco¯ Mission¯ Tyler¯ AB&I¯
All make transition couplings.
So the answer to your question is yes.
As far as leaking--- no worries.
I do a heck of a lot more mechanical couplings than I do glued joints---- they are tried & true.
Thanks for the info and the quick response. So it looks like Fernco it is for the rest of the work I have to do. Thanks again.
4" ABS is 4.5 O.D. 4" sewer pipe (SDR) is PVC but has an O.D. of only 4.25". The glue on coulpling has one side for the ABS and the other for SDR. Not the sort of fitting you find at the box store.
"4" ABS is 4.5 O.D. 4" sewer pipe (SDR) is PVC but has an O.D. of only 4.25". The glue on coulpling has one side for the ABS and the other for SDR. Not the sort of fitting you find at the box store."You need to be careful here.Sch 40 DWV is the same diameter whether it is ABS or PVC. And I believe that sch 40 (and maybe sch 30 3") is the only thing allowed to be used with a house.Outside the house sch 40, SDR 35 (and there are other SDR ratios for different applications) and Sewer & Drain (ASTM D-2719 IIRC). The SDR 35 and the S&D have the same smaller OD.And, at least locally, Lowes has the coupling to connect from that to sch 40.
I'm not sure when ABS came out but over the years it has been found not to hold up as well as PVC. A plumber told me that.
I too am not a plumber but have used transition glues many times and they are still holding together after 20 years or so.
Where I live, code requires a fernco when joining ABS with PVC.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
I agree with most of the posts about not glueing ABS to PVC most codes that I deal with banned that years ago. Fernco couplings are similar to no-hub, installed right they will last a life time. Luck.
Thanks for the info. When installing a fernco coupling is there anything more to it than the obvious? I've always just pushed the two pieces of pipe in until they meet in the middle and then tightened down the band clamps. Anything else I need to know?
To look like a legit plumber-dude you could buy a torque wrench that tightens them down to the correct spec. I have one that's T-shaped and ratchets... nice for when you're in a tiny crawl space and can barely get your hands on the work.
Thats about all you have to do. Just tighten until it is nice and snug, don't over tighten and strip the bands; you can tighten more if needed, but it's hard to tighten less. BTW you don't need a torque wrench unless you plan to do multiple joints, they cost about $45.00. Luck.
Edited 7/4/2006 9:04 am ET by Shacko