plumbing - Repair slow weep in PVC joint

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
Last night I added some pressure gauges to my house plumbing after the well filter and on either side of the calcite tank. put in shutoff valves too to bypass the tank later if needed.
3/4" CPVC.

Well apparently at two of the junctions, I must not have gotten quite enough goop and a good tight fit b/c they have a really slow leak, really a weep, just enough to build up a drop that dosn't really drip and slowly loses pressure on the system.

Is there a way to fix this? Cutting out those junctions would be a real pain b/c of their orientation.

I came across these Leak-b-gone rings online, basically you slip it up against the junction and weld so it creates a new seam, seems that would work, but could find any at HD.

Other tricks, or someplace to get those?
 
Not really. With them leaking like that, if you get any water hammers, pipe movement, or just higher pressure, there's a good chance the joint will fail. Did you use a primer (not cleaner)?
 
Cut it out and redo it.

Make sure it has enough time to cure before you repressurize it.
 
Yes, I used the purple primer.
In retrospect I see two failures on my part... I'm pretty sure I only put primer/cement on the pipes, not also on the inside joint surface. Very possible I didn't get a complete connection.
Also, since this is the main line coming into the house, I had to do it late at night after everybody was in bed and was in a hurry. Only cured about 45-60 mins before pressurizing b/c, well, I was really tired and wanted to go to bed ;-) not enough?

Guess I'll get out the hacksaw.
 
There's a black rubberish tape designed for that. I'm not sure how much pressure it can hold, but might be worth a try. I saw it at walmart recently.
 
band aid: slobber a bunch of pvc cement on it, let it run and fill the passages out...allow it to sit 2-3 hours before turning water back on

only real fix...cut it out and re do it.
 
cut it out and fix it right.


Rest assured, it will be OK for a while until late, late at night in the middle of winter and usually on a night where you've had a couple drinks or a special holiday or even out of town. It will only fail on one of those days... :lol:
 
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