Plumbing boo-boo

I ran the TM out to Lake Sangchris State Park early this morning intending to spend most of the day in the office and return this afternoon. Unfortunately I was hurrying to get back to work (you already know where this is going) and crunched the grey water pipe where it enters the elbow on the railroad tie at the back of the campsite. At first I thought an easy temporary fix would be to just pull the pipe together and reglue it but the pipe actually broke off where it enters the elbow.

Any suggestions for a quick repair to get me through the weekend? I think I've seen rubber sleeves with hose clamps at either end to temporarily repair drains and I'm going to run out to the hardware store at noon to look for something similar. Of course, the two thins I'm connecting are different diameter - the outside of the elbow and the 1.5" ID pipe. Suggestions welcomed! - camp2canoe

[ShrimpBurrito]

As a temporary fix, you could install a Fernco coupling as you suggest. Any decent hardware/plumbing store will have them for a few bucks. They come in different sizes and look like this:



For a permanent fix, since it sounds like there is an old section of pipe still in the elbow that does not protude from the elbow, you are probably going to have to cut the elbow off and install a new one. You'll probably need to install one or two pipe unions to make up for the lost length.

You may actually find that the Fernco works quite well. I've seen them on drains as a permanent install. Not ideal, but they work. You could always leave it on there permanently until it fails, even carry another one in case it fails on a campout.

You are lucky the pipe didn't break off at the tank.

Dave

Dave - you are my hero! I printed off the photo and ran over to Ace hardware where they had one in stock. Now I'm just waiting until I can decently leave the office so I can try my perhaps-not-so-temporary fix. Thanks for going the extra mile in finding a photo of the adapter. - camp2canoe

[ShrimpBurrito]

My pleasure! Let us know how it works! I may just have to add one to my toolbox if it does the job.....

Go easy when tightening those clamps. You don't want to split the pipe.

Dave

[Bill]

Originally Posted by camp2canoe

the pipe actually broke off where it enters the elbow.

Here's a bit of heresy - go easy on me, folks. These are glued joints. If the pipe broke off where it enters the elbow, then you are faced with a short (perhaps very short) stub of pipe which is glued into the big part of the elbow. On a few occasions when I really needed to, I have had some success in removing that stub. I've taken a small slender screwdriver or an ice pick and driven it between the stub and the elbow using gentle taps of a hammer. After a while, if I'm careful, the stub chunk actually breaks lengthwise, and then can be peeled out of the elbow with pliers. Touch up the inside of the elbow with a sharp knife, and you are ready to insert a new piece of pipe.

Or cutting off the elbow and gluing a new one on with unions may be easier and quicker. Your choice.

Bill

The rubber coupler worked perfectly. Carrying one in your TM box would be worthwhile. Unfortunately I also had a slow drip where the pipe exits the grey water tank. It is my understanding that pipe is welded to the tank and my local RV shop, not a TM dealer, is going to glass on a repair but won't guarantee that the drip won't reappear or worsen. They say the only certain fix is to replace the tank. And so it goes. - camp2canoe

There was just a recent post here on solutions for the drip you have. I would check that out before spending money for a non guaranteed repair.

See
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=9143

[ShrimpBurrito]

Glad the Fernco coupler worked on the other end! Thanks for reporting back.

Dave