Can any plumbing-savvy home fixit Dopers help out with this?
I have a very old house that was plumbed before the dawn of modern appliances. The drain in our basement, where the washing machine and dryer are, is 6.5 feet above floor level.
Don’t laugh, this is one of the tamer sections of my basement.
This is too much for the washing machine drain pump, so we have the washer drain to a rubbermaid container, and then sumped up to the drain level. Works great, except where the flex hose meets the drain pipe, which defies all of my best duct taping, puttying, and tefloning.
Any ideas on how to make this junction leak free? Is there some adapter or O-ring dealy that would work?
…what do you keep on the other end of that dog leash?
Cast iron is universally a PITA to work with.
What I suspect is happening is that your pump is pushing more water into the system than it’s able to deal with. So first check the trap to make sure it’s not partially blocked.
Second. Drain systems are laid out so that supply pipes from above fit inside pipes below. Your pipe clamp indicates you have that backwards virtually guaranteeing a leak.
Probably your easiest solution would be to get a PVC to cast iron adapter and then glueing a length of PVC into it making a bucket of sorts on the trap to hold the excess until it can drain out.
Also, check your pump to see if you can turn down the flow.
The dog leash keeps tension on the bungee cord. It’s a load bearing bungee so I don’t dare touch it.
Projammer’s description is spot on, I’ve suspected my pump is too strong and was thinking of a lower flow. I’ll hit the plumbing store and see if they have that PVC adapter.
Question, what about the PVC-to-iron mating? What prevents leaking at the join, putty or silicon or something?
Before putting the pump in, the open pipe was capped with an expandable cap with a rubber ring. Is there some kind of rubber cap like that, but with a hole in it for PVC?
…Doh, I see in the PVC fitting description something called Genova Plastic Lead Seal. I assume this is between the plastic and the iron?
I just want to say get rid of that flexible plastic dryer duct and install some hard-pipe aluminum. all that duct tape over the exhaust looks…not good.
You don’t want the discharge of the pump sealed to the drain. There needs to be some air gap, or sewage could be siphoned out of the house drain into your washing machine. Ick…
If the drain can’t handle the flow, it is either blocked or your pump simply pushes out too much water too fast for the drain to accept.
I agree with **crazyjoe **that the dryer vent is a problem as well. Flexible plastic hose like that is a common culprit in fires. If at all possible, run smooth-walled rigid dryer vent pipe up to that wall elbow. While you’re at it, clean out the pipe running through the wall, all the way out to its end. Dryer vents clogged up with lint waste a lot of energy and can lead to fires. Dryer lint just loves to go “poof!”
What is that roughly 2" diameter gray pipe that’s behind the white PVC pipe, and what’s up with all the duct tape?
I’m a huge fan of the “Hyre thar be spyders” part. Ain’t that just the truth?
Thanks for the wisdom, I didn’t know that about flex dryer vents.
The gray is the insulation that is covering the hot water pipes (from the hot water heater off-screen to the right).
All of the duct tape is the residue from the previous owner we inherited this mess from, who had wrapped what must have been a dozen rolls of duct tape around the drain junction about the size of a basketball. Yes, it still leaked.
Lastly, off screen to the left I installed a one-way valve on the pump hose, so that there is no backwash siphon going into the washing machine.
