I have a (brass/copper) union on my 1 1/4" main. The nut spins on easily, so alignment is not off much, if any.
Still, despite torquing it to the point of almost needing a second wrench to keep from twisting the pipe, it has a small drip.
I tried teflon tape, but that seemed to create more of a gap than it sealed, so I switched to paste.
Is there some other thread seal?
Should there be some sort of “gasket” on the mating surfaces? Maybe paste on it as well?
Oh - previous problem with house draining incredibly slowly, creating a puddle where I was trying to sweat a connector?
Shop rag on hemostat held it much longer than bread.
Yes, there’s normally a flat washer between the two flat mating faces of the union. As you’ve found, pipe dope or tape on the threads is of no benefit.
Tape or pipe dope on the threads doesnt do anything for you. You need to put tape or preferably pipe dope on the mating surfaces.
Unions can take more force than a lot of people have the tools to produce. Channel locks or adjustable wrenches might not do the trick. I usually tighten them with 2 14inch pipe wrenches.
OK. so there isn’t supposed to be a gasket: what should be there?
First I couldn’t get a joint sweated (finally figured out to reduce heat and keep adding solder until it would no longer get completely sucked into the joint (no, I don’t want to see the inside of the fittings).
Now I can’t even get a threaded joint to seal.
The brass thread onto the sch 80 male adapter is also leaking.
This has some unidentified blackish PLASTIC main line which had been threaded instead of getting a proper fitting. Of course the thread stripped when I tried to torque it down.
Picture is worth a thousand words here. If we can look at it we can tell you what should or shouldn’t be there and tell you exactly what you need for parts.
OK - no or little experience - there should be 8 pics in this album:
The yellow stuff coming out of the ground is painted ABS sheathing intended (it appears) to protect the water line.
The turquoise is a bizarre cement certified to join PVC to ABS - since I knew I had PVC, and had no idea what the pipe is, I went with max flex - it has held over a week.
The gray is a Sch 80 PVC male adapter
The next piece is a brass female adapter onto the valve (this thread leaks badly)
Above the valve is a TEE joint - 1 1/4 into the house, 3/4" into the hose bib.
We finish with the notorious union.
I have no idea what the ground wire is for - this place was wired not only for cable TV in about every room, but there is an ancient “WAN/LAN” router mounted on the garage wall.
Than there is the burglar alarm…
IOW: I ain’t touching the wiring in this place
If you can shut off the water water at the curb stop, otherwise you are limited to just fixing the union.
Take off the hose and undo the union.
Un-thread the whole assembly from the PVC adapter.
Use a jack knife to carefully remove any residue on the unions mating surfaces.
Then use a brass wire brush(do not use steel) or sand paper to polish both of the surfaces.
Teflon tape the PVC adapter.
Thread the assembly back onto the PVC adapter. Firmly but not so much you break anything, grabbing on the copper pipe gives you a lot of leverage. Ensure the union lines up.
Put a thin layer of pipe dope on both of the unions mating surfaces.
Thread the union back together.
Lock a wrench on the hose side of the union. Use another wrench to tighten the union nut. You need to use a bit of force, The maximum you could with 12 inch wrenches.
If your still feeling ambitious the galvanized coupling should be replaced with a brass one. Copper and Zinc are reactive and should never be used together(brass and zinc less so be still to be avoided)
I tried teflon on the PVC - it was still leaking when the pipe lined up with union.
I have some 1000 grit emery to polish the mating surfaces of the union (also some 280, which sounds more reasonable).
I will need a new brass brush - I think I’ve destroyed the last one.
That coupling on the bib is a stand-in - it needs to be a T with another 3/4 line down into the sprinkler.
I’m going to get another fitting and put together another assembly (I have 3 valves, and can solder the mess up in my sleep) using a threaded valve.
It’s going to take another day to recover (anemia and bad back, shoulders, and elbow - nothing like keeping a morphine in a bottle cap by the bed).
Union (copper side) had a stray drop of solder on the underside. out of view. Easy fix.
Turns out, it was not (until latest “fix”) a thread leak at the PVC adapter - it was the green glue.
Allowed it to thoroughly dry and applied a very heavy coat. Waited 2:30 (instructions say 2:00).
Now have 4-5 pinholes, as well as a leak in the teflon tape between PVC and brass.
Roomie will be out for a few days, so will re-attack when that blessed event occurs…
So - anybody know something which will adhere to any and everything - I can see this turning into a excavation of half the supply line. And it almost got overgrown by a tree’s roots - chopped that down just before it ripped up the sprinkler system and the sidewalk.
Can you get an abs female adapter? Cut it back a little to get a clean joint and make up the difference with a brass nipple.
If gluing is not working you could instead use a dresser coupling. I’ve never needed to go that route with abs though. You’d need to be careful not to overtighten on the abs.
As far as ABS - I am only guessing that the protective sheath is ABS - I sincerely hope the potable line is not ABS - as I understand, ABS is no good for pressure.
Which brings us back to “what IS the water line?”
We are passed the point of threads - I have an adapter sitting 1/4" to 1/2" above the sheathing - aside from the gap, they are actually close to being the same diameter.
I really doubt that the PVC adapter can be removed, sort of cutting off the pipe - which gets ugly real fast.
My thinking is finding a slow-setting, low-viscosity epoxy, slipping a no-hub coupler over the PVC and the sheath, then filling the gap with the epoxy. I have syringes with which I could inject the epoxy into the no-hub. Or just slip the rubber cylinder over the joint and fill the more of the green stuff.
It seems that dresser are available in only std. steel or cast iron O.D. and can join only pieces of the same diameter.
Perhaps another PVC fitting can be sacrificed to increase the diameter of the pipe (cut the un-threaded portion down the middle and use screws to secure the halves to the pipe).
This would leave me with the hex flange on the male fitting to remove so we have two cylinders of the same diameter.
I take it the dresser simply compresses the rings around the two ends - the space between the rings can flood for all it cares.
First, I’ll try a flex coupling or two.
Thanks again