3.5" sewer (DWV) cleanout caps???

[HighOnTCP]

So we have the standard DWV pipes outside of our house, two of them, one goes towards the street and the other towards the house (they actually go straight down and hook up with the actual sewer line).

Long story short, we had to saw them off and re-cap them. I measure them, they are 3.5" O.D., I go to the hardware store, the guy sells me

3" and 4", says 3.5" doesn't exist, I must have measured wrong. Wrong, 3.5" does in fact exist, 4" is to big, 3" is too small.

Called three other plumbing stores, nobody has ever heard of 3.5" DWV pipe, so now I have two waste pipes sticking out of the ground with no caps on them.

Anyone heard of 3.5" and know where I can get the caps with the cleanout plugs in them?

thanks,

Erik

[Robert Allison]

3-1/2" OD is going to be 3" schedule 40 PVC. The store probably sold you schedule 20 DWV pipe fittings. Are the fittings extremely thin?

Also, there are fittings designed to go onto the pipe and there are fittings designed to go into a fitting such as a coupling. Make sure you get the right type as well as size.

[HighOnTCP]

Robert,

thanks for the reply. Actually, the pipe itself is very think, but it is sch 40, says so right on the pipe. it is 3.5" O.D. and just under

3.25" I.D. I actually took a chunk of the pipe (that we sawed off) to the plumbing store...nothing in the store fits it.

[EXT]

Go to a plumber's supplier to find what you are looking for not a retail store.

[jim]

Is the pipe plastic or metel are you trying to put it in the hub or on the spiggot or pipe end there is to my knowledge no 31/2 or33/4 pipe Ive been plumbing for 30 yrs and have just about seen it all post a picture I can tell you what it is

[Eric9822]

Check here

[HerHusband]

I've never seen or heard of 3.5" PVC pipe. Is it plastic, metal, or some other material (clay, etc.)? Is it white PVC, Black ABS, or some other colored plastic pipe? Is it rigid or semi-flexible like the black poly pipe?

I know there are minor differences between "DWV" pipe (used for sewer lines) and "Drainage" pipe (used for foundation and other landscaping drains). But, I do not know the exact measurements of each.

Maybe you could use a 3" or 4" Fernco style cap? They're made of rubber with a clamping band. They'll stretch a little bit to go over bigger pipe, or you can tighten the clamp down to fit a slightly smaller pipe.

I recently had to use a 1-1/2" Fernco cap to cap an old 1-1/4" galvanized line while we were remodeling, and it actually worked quite well. Not the ideal solution, but if you can't find the proper fitting...

Anthony

[JC]

Her Husband needs to contemplate this question. "Why would anyone make pipe of a dimension that there would never be any fittings for?" I suspect they have just made an error in measurement i.e OD versus ID. I'm betting it's 3" PVC or maybe ABS if it's plastic at all.

[M Q]

I bet that it is a 3" coupling or fitting. Does a piece of 3" PVC pipe fit INSIDE of it?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

And since the needed part was cut off the old one, you take it to the store and say "I need one of these"

[HerHusband]

Like you, I'm betting it's a common pipe size that standard fittings will work with. But without a picture or detailed explanation, who knows what he has. People don't always use the appropriate materials for the job. If it's

3" PVC, it should say something like 3" Schedule 40 DWV stamped all along the side. Most fittings have the size stamped in them as well.

The original poster said he took the pipe to the store and nothing would fit it. His words, not mine. Rather than just saying "you're wrong", I suggested a possible solution.

Based on my personal experience, the dedicated plumbing supply stores don't necessarily have any better selection than the home centers. Although, I have had to turn to online sources (like

for more uncommon fittings (i.e. a 2" brass tee).

Also, just because pipe and fittings were in use at some point, doesn't mean they're still available today, or available locally.

In any case, if you can't find it locally, and you can't find it online, what other options do you have? You either come up with another solution, or you leave it uncapped.

Anthony

[HighOnTCP]

ALL ---

It is green sch 40 DWV pipe. 3" does fit inside of it, very loosely. the O.D. of the pipe is 3.5", the I.D. of the pipe is about a 32nd under 3.25". I did take it to a plumbers supply store (ABC Supply), the guy helped me and out said he had never seen anything like it before in his life but did confirm it was a 3.5" sch 40 pipe.

I was hoping someone out there had seen this...Being that this house was built by Lennar (formerly US Homes) there is not a single thing you could show me anymore that would suprise me, unfortunately.

Thanks for all the assistance and ideas, I think a rubber type of cap is what I am stuck with.

Erik

[Plague Boy]

Does anybody have a *really big* mud dauber?

[Joe]

I ran into same thing on a job. If you have a grainger supply near you they will have what will work for you.

[TRUENEPHIM]

3.5 does exist...its in older homes built in 50s,and its steel pipes.. Its a brass cap. It can be found on ebay, Walmart delivery, etc.. So he's not wrong

[Dan]

replying to Joe, Dan wrote: No Luck there...any help appreciated

[Vince]

I have the same 3.5” pipe going towards the house. Is coming from a 4” why tee. Goes 4” to 3.5 absolutely. I am a plumber

[Rich]

Just found some in my house built in 2004. Apparently was no longer needed for the hot water heater when the previous owner switched from propane to natural gas. I just nee a cap and found this at USPlastics: