Well, not really. PVC pipe is really quite a handy invention.
That was kind of just to get your attention. Still, even though I've researched it a bit, I find it, and all other plumbing, somewhat frustrating, not to mention alarming.
In this diary, I'll go over what I know about dealing with PVC pipe, and at the end ask an illustrated question. Thanks for any feedback, and I'll try to be informative to my limited ability as well.
First, here are some things I've read about dealing with using PVC that make sense. This is specifically about cold water PVC. Hot water is another more complicated story I haven't looked into.
To cut PVC pipe, you need to get a pair of these:
I don't know what they're called. PVC pipe cutters, sez I. It only took me about fifteen minutes to work out that you pull the handles apart to open the blades, and squeeze them back in repeatedly to ratchet the blades back in to cut the pipe. Gotta get in firmly or it won't catch right. I've only done this once, but by Dog, I managed to get a tool that was designed in a matter utterly foreign to me, to work, without throwing it across the room in a fit of rage and despair. There's hope for me yet.
There are obviously other ways to cut through PVC, but you want a straight smooth perpendicularly aligned cut, and that's the point of these puppies.
Still, after you make the cut, you'll want to carefully sand off any burrs, inside and out the cut edge of the pipe. People run into trouble with plumbing because it has to be so precise. You can't be off by a half of a millimeter, because then it will leak. Duh.
Whatever you want to cut and remake, lay it all out first with all the joining pieces (after you sand off the burs and make sure it's clean) to make sure that you've figured it all out, before you get started in with the priming and gluing. Then take it apart and have at it.
Very important thing to remember here is that when you glue a pipe end to a connecting joint, you should give the connection a quarter turn twist to spread and set the glue properly. This is fine with straight connections, but the elbows and T's can't be left to the end because of this. You don't want to be boxing yourself into a corner and have to make another little project to fix it. Put you in a bad mood. Make sure your last connections are straight joints. You might even have to include an extra straight connection to get it all to work.
Be careful with this stuff. PVC cement and primer both are very toxic and flammable. Read the instructions.
Primer is very important. The purpose of primer is to etch the PVC pipe so the glue will sink in better, so there will be less likelihood of the seal breaking from any small pressures.
Temperature ranges are high for both of these substances, from quite cold to up to 110oF. I wouldn't recommend working with any kind of cement at such high temps though, unless you have practice with this stuff and know what you're doing - I'd guess it will set in a heartbeat. When it's really cold, it will take forever, I bet. The primer should work faster.
Plumbers often say that the hardest part is connecting the new stuff up to the old stuff, so keep that in mind while planning. More new stuff may be better. As with working with sheetrock/drywall, you really are going to drag yourself down if you insist on conserving every little piece. All you'll accomplish (unless you are extremely good at either of these) is to create a weaker structure that is more likely to reveal failings over time.
That's my contribution. Here's my question:
Why are these both 3/4" connector fittings? I don't get it.
The smaller one fits snugly onto the pipe, the larger one that isn't attached most definitely does not. What's the deal here? Thanks for any feedback on that. This is one of the reasons I hate dead stuff; it's never standardized in any kind of obvious way. Well, I'm used to live stuff not being that way, but I had higher hopes of home repair products!
Thanks for any feedback.