10 MISTAKES When Working With Plastic Pipes (PVC, CPVC & ABS) | GOT2LEARN

all right so here are 10 mistakes you don't want to make when working with pvc cpvc or abs and remember to hit the like button right here if you enjoyed and learn something from this video or you'll get punished by the plumbing guards let's get started so number one is not priming your pipes and fittings priming which is only done on pvc and cpvc is something that many beginners tend to not do whether it's voluntary or involuntary but what exactly is priming priming is not cleaning like some may think priming is basically the chemical reaction that softens the pvc or cpvc and provides a prepped surface for the cement primers come in a clear or purple color so it doesn't mean the pipe isn't purple that it's not primed pvc joints are not exactly glued together but fused through a chemical change when the primer is applied both surfaces soften and fuse together once the cement has cured making for a leak-free joint the primer has to be wet per se before applying the cement and it must be applied within five minutes or the chemicals will evaporate this is another mistake a lot of people make when working with this type of pipe or you run the chance of having a failed joint and i urge you to thoroughly read the instructions on the back of the cement cans before doing any work to be sure on to the next mistake number two is not applying cement to both the pipe and fitting when i used to work on the job site this had to be the thing i saw the most cement only being applied to either the fitting or the pipe there's two main problems that happen when it's done this way first of all the cement acts as a lubricant to help get full penetration so if let's say you only put cement on the pipe and it's not enough to make it go in all the way you risk the chance of it leaking and the second reason well there might not be enough cement to seal the joint so always put some in the fitting and give the pipe a quick splash for none of this to happen the third mistake is not twisting the pipe a quarter turn after it's been inserted this is the main reason why glue joints leak or come apart like this one right here the reason why it's mandatory to do this is to ensure that the cement is properly spread throughout the whole joint just pushing it in like this will increase the chance of not getting full coverage if for whatever reason it just cannot be done just apply some more cement on the pipe and fitting but do take note that when doing this it takes longer for it to set seeing there's more of it so just hold them together a little longer than you'd normally would and you should be fine on to the next mistake and that's not holding the joint together the first few seconds after it's been glued i mentioned this in one of my other videos and i'll mention it again for those that missed it you absolutely need to hold the pipe and fitting together when they've been joined and this is due to the fittings having a tapered shape to them the reason for this taper is to open up the gap between the fitting and pipe so it doesn't push the cement from the pipe to the back upon insertion if the gap was too small we could see that most of the cement wouldn't go between the thinning and pipe like it should the only downside is that it pushes the pipe out as the glue sets so always hold them together for the first few seconds the bigger the pipe the longer it needs to be held number five is dropping pvc or cpvc as rugged as they may feel they are very brittle if it's dropped from a significant height it's very prone to microcracking which is barely visible to the naked eye this problem is even worse when the pipe's been laying in the cold for a while unlike kbs abs has its own set of problems but it won't micro-crack if dropped and it gets a point for that the only thing is that most municipalities don't allow it anymore seeing it's not fireproof another thing to watch out for when working with cold pvc or cpvc is to use a metal saw to cut it instead of ratchet cutters like these the pressure required to cut through them will make the pipe crack and potentially explode especially if your blade is a bit old so just use a saw to save yourself a whole bunch of headaches i personally know a guy that was cutting a cold pvc shower drain and he has a missing eye today so do be cautious when working with this type of pipe number six is another mistake i would see often and it's not working fast enough whether you're working with pvc cpvc or abs you need to work quickly the reason being is that if you wait too long the acetone inside the cement will evaporate and make it dry up really fast so you basically have a 5 to 10 second window after the cement has been applied to both the pipe and fitting a trick that'll speed things up if you're a beginner is to dry fit everything and make reference marks on the pipes and hubs you'll be able to use these to make things go quicker during assembly on to the next mistake number seven is applying too much ptfe or teflon tape to plastic threads so let's say you have a mini split a heat pump or a tankless heater drain that's copper and you want to transition to cpvc you'll need to apply some tape to help with the penetration now like we said before cpvc is quite brittle so any extra pressure will cause it to crack which is why ptfe is not recommended for this application as it adds a layer of thickness the better option here would be to use a good pipe dope instead just make sure it's safe to use on plastic before number eight is not deburring the pipe the only thing that makes a plastic joint liquid tight is the cement if it's all pushed back into the fitting because the pipe had a square edge it's very possible you'll get a leak especially on pressure lines there's all kinds of specialty tools you could get to make a quick job of this such as these here but they're pretty expensive so if you don't like dishing out just use a rotary tool or a grinder to get it done it only takes a few seconds and it'll ensure a good sound joint number nine is leaving these pipes in the hotter cold like i said before all plastic pipes become brittle when exposed to cold and when they've been in the heat they buckle and bend so if you can store these inside at all times and number 10 is not letting the joint cure long enough i see a lot of beginners glue up their joints and test them right away and it's not okay to do this if you go on od's website they have cure times for every pipe diameter humidity level and temperature and it must be respected in order for the joint to properly cure you can't be in a hurry for this part so always follow the manufacturer's cure time to get the best results if you did make a mistake during your glue-up project i suggest watching this video right here to know how to disassemble a cemented joint it could really help you get out of trouble and that's it smash the like button if you learned something and share this video with your friends and family and until the next one thanks for watching

Channel: Got2Learn

Views: 526,283

Rating: 4.9191947 out of 5

Keywords: got2learn, DIY, plumbing trick, plumber, do it yourself, pex plumbing installation, plombier, plumbing hacks, plumbing, plumbing tools, plumbing repair, plumbing diy, plumbing how to, how to do plumbing, how to repair plumbing, how to fix plumbing, toilet, rough in plumbing, solder with mini torch, how to solder, how to solder copper, how to fix copper leak, how to fix copper pipe, soldering copper pipe, sweat copper pipe, plumbing tips

Id: wxTq_5szm4g

Length: 8min 25sec (505 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 06 2021