How much PVC pipe should be seated into a fitting for a safe / secure joint

[Hammer]

I know PVC pipe should be seated into a fitting until it reaches the small lip inside the fitting but let's say you're making a repair and you may not be able to achieve full depth. What is acceptable?

Note: I'm talking waste / drain line

 

[breplum]

any less than full depth makes it an unsuitable joint. when making repairs, use no-hub couplings to help

 

[Hammer]

any less than full depth makes it an unsuitable joint.

Even in a gravity drain system?

So if could get 3/4 of the depth seating with a good amount of glue on it and there is no pressure on the pipe to pull it apart it would be at risk to fail and a no hub coupling would be a better repair?

 

[Twowaxhack]

Even in a gravity drain system?

So if could get 3/4 of the depth seating with a good amount of glue on it and there is no pressure on the pipe to pull it apart it would be at risk to fail and a no hub coupling would be a better repair?

A pvc fitting is tapered. The fitting gets tighter at the bottom of the hub.

So if the pipe isn’t fully inserted it’s not considered a proper joint. That’s not saying it’ll leak, it’s saying it’s not designed to be 1/2 or 3/4 of the way inserted.

 

[breplum]

NH couplings just makes getting full access sometimes easier.

 

[Hammer]

A pvc fitting is tapered. The fitting gets tighter at the bottom of the hub.

So if the pipe isn’t fully inserted it’s not considered a proper joint. That’s not saying it’ll leak, it’s saying it’s not designed to be 1/2 or 3/4 of the way inserted.

Acknowledged. The original intent of the question was what an acceptable depth seating would be when you're in a "not be able to achieve full depth" situation with little or no risk of failure or leak.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Acknowledged. The original intent of the question was what an acceptable depth seating would be when you're in a "not be able to achieve full depth" situation with little or no risk of failure or leak.

The last 1/2” of the joint, makes the joint. There’s no acceptable shortage of insertion depth in the books.

 

[havasu]

IMHO, if it is just a gravity drainage line, I wouldn't sweat it. Water will always find the path of least resistance. I just laid 120' of 3" solid PVC pipe, and I know some joints weren't cinched up all the way.

 

[MicEd69]

Acknowledged. The original intent of the question was what an acceptable depth seating would be when you're in a "not be able to achieve full depth" situation with little or no risk of failure or leak.

Dry fit a few joints and you will find out that the tolerances are such that on a 2" pipe, some get tight at like 1/4" and some at 1/2" and some can almost be inserted a full 3/4". As such, there is no way to establish a "non-full depth" length that will provide a "little or no risk" to failure.

When making a repair, if you can't insert the pipe into the fitting all the way when gluing, you should cut additional pipe length out and redo the repair. If you don't, there will always be a chance of premature failure.

 

[Twowaxhack]

IMHO, if it is just a gravity drainage line, I wouldn't sweat it. Water will always find the path of least resistance. I just laid 120' of 3" solid PVC pipe, and I know some joints weren't cinched up all the way.

So if you do crappy work he should too ? . 100% make-up isn’t mandatory but that’s how it performs best and how it should be installled.

 

[Hammer]

The last 1/2” of the joint, makes the joint. There’s no acceptable shortage of insertion depth in the books.

Copy. I was really asking if anyone has been the situation that they just couldn't achieve full seating on a gravity drain waste repair but were able to get a good depth that felt good and tight and solid after glued and assembled if they ever had an issue with it leaking. Not really in the book type question more real field installation experiences.

 

[havasu]

What was mentioned is this was a general gravity drain. My mind heads directly to irrigation drain lines, Since I just spent days dealing with rain water runoff, but later it is stated that this is a waste line. Yes, this should be a solid connection, since we are not dealing with just water runoff, which is already buried underground. You really want to be more precise with gluing up a sewer waste line.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Copy. I was really asking if anyone has been the situation that they just couldn't achieve full seating on a gravity drain waste repair but were able to get a good depth that felt good and tight and solid after glued and assembled if they ever had an issue with it leaking. Not really in the book type question more real field installation experiences.

Failures in the field are often because the book wasn’t followed.

I think what you’re wanting is approval for improper work, maybe not. But the fact is the joint is weak if it’s not made properly. Does that mean it’s going to fail ? Not necessarily.

Then you have the differences in tolerance between brands of manufacturers. It’s recommended to use the same fittings brand and pipe.

A lot of plumbing failures are from improper install but get blamed on the type of material used. Some materials are more forgiving when installed improperly than others.

Different fittting sizes have different hub depths so I’d have to know the size fitting you’re dealing with to tell you how short you could be without severely compromising the joint.

 

[Twowaxhack]

What was mentioned is this was a general gravity drain. My mind heads directly to irrigation drain lines, Since I just spent days dealing with rain water runoff, but later it is stated that this is a waste line. Yes, this should be a solid connection, since we are not dealing with just water runoff, which is already buried underground. You really want to be more precise with gluing up a sewer waste line.

I’m just being sassy, I was just messin with ya.

 

[turdchaser2000]

I know PVC pipe should be seated into a fitting until it reaches the small lip inside the fitting but let's say you're making a repair and you may not be able to achieve full depth. What is acceptable?

Note: I'm talking waste / drain line

Some people are saying just the tip is good enough

 

[Camdo]

While constructing a special purpose device, there was a poorly assembled glue joint of 1.5 inch PVC pipe fitting that slipped out of its fully seated position about 1/8 inch. Horrified, I pressure tested the assembly to 140 PSI (the highest available to me) and the joint held okay. This joint is subject to some handling strain and operates between 0 and 100 PSI. Although infrequently used, it has held up nicely and no longer of any concern to me.

 

[MicEd69]

While constructing a special purpose device, there was a poorly assembled glue joint of 1.5 inch PVC pipe fitting that slipped out of its fully seated position about 1/8 inch. Horrified, I pressure tested the assembly to 140 PSI (the highest available to me) and the joint held okay. This joint is subject to some handling strain and operates between 0 and 100 PSI. Although infrequently used, it has held up nicely and no longer of any concern to me.

And the Titan had made the journey to explore the Titanic wreckage three times a year apart before its tragic accident. So just because something works infrequently shouldn't eliminate concerns, especially if it has a known flaw.

I wonder what the weak link is in your infrequently used system.

 

[GReynolds929]

Some people are saying just the tip is good enough

Just the tippy tip...

 

[Hammer]

NH couplings just makes getting full access sometimes easier.

Using a no hub between the tub overflow / drain and the p trap would definitely make things easier.