My house uses black pipe (PVC ?) for waste removal. I wish to modify the waste system so I can install a basement bathroom; rough ins are in place. The parts I need at Home Depot are white (ABS ?).
Can I use the same cement for both polymer types?
Peter.
There is a specific cement for transitioning from PVC to ABS, used it in my kitchen when I installed a new sink. Available at all the usual places.
PV
Normally black DWV pipe is ABS and should say so on the side of the pipe. Normally white DWV pipe is PVC, it should also say so on the side of the pipe. Each pipe has its own cement that should be used, and only transition fittings with transition cement should be used.
Once when I was in a bind, I used ABS cement on the ABS part and PVC cement on the PVC part and put them together, it worked and has held for the past
20 years.
PVC would be white, ABS black.. HD should have both.
Bob
It is dificult to debate against such fine success. Excellent.
Can you imagine Jesse Jackson hollering racism if they stopped selling black pipe and went to "white only"? I'd not want to be any where near there.
Get the "all purpose" cement. Home Depot sells Oatey all purpose in a red can. YMMV with orher brands
Huh?
Easy way for people to remember: ABS = All Black Stuff
Yes, and read the label. It will specifically say that it is good on both PVC and ABS
Harry K
The black plastic waste pipe is ABS; the white is PVC. PVC has pretty much supplanted ABS nowadays. There used to be some primers & solvents that claimed to be "universal" but IME that meant they were universally inferior to a plastic-specific type. Use some other means to connect your new PVC to the old ABS. It probably only needs to be done in one place.
Hi Peter,
The black pipe is most likely ABS, and as another poster mentioned, it should say so right on the pipe. The white pipe is most likely PVC.
Most home centers sell both types of pipe, but they're often on different aisles in the store. There are also regional preferences. Around here (Pacific Northwest), ABS is the most common pipe for waste systems. PVC is more common in other parts of the country.
The two pipes are basically interchangeable, though I chose PVC for our waste system even though it's less common here. It's a newer pipe technology, and I've had a few leaks on earlier ABS installations. Although, ABS has the advantage of only needed a single solvent, whereas you need the purple "primer" and the seperate PVC solvent for PVC.
If you use PVC for your DWV system, make sure the pipe is stamped and rated for DWV. You do not want to use the thinner drainage pipe that is made for irrigation and gutter drains. You also don't want to use the PVC pipe that is made for supply pressure lines (typically stops at about 1" anyway).
While home centers sell "universal" glues that are supposed to work with both pipe types, the plumbing code does not permit these glue types (at least it wasn't allowed two years ago when we were building). You "might" get a strong water tight connection, but then again, it might leak somewhere down the road. I wouldn't trust them, even if you don't have to meet codes.
The better solution is to use a threaded adapter on each pipe type, and screw the two pipes together.
Or, if you do not have the room to fit the threaded adapters in, I would recommend a "Fernco" coupler. This is a rubber band that slips over the end of each pipe, and has stainless band clamps to hold the band in place. They are the standard way to join no-hub cast iron, but they also work very well for joining different pipe types (iron, PVC, ABS, Copper, Galvanized, etc.). Your home center should stock these too...
Good luck,
Anthony
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