Kitchen Plumbing Help (Please!!)

[Shelly]

Hello ~

My husband and I are trying to remove a short piece of rusty galvanized piping (waste pipe) underneath our kitchen sink. We are using a pipe wrench, but it is not budging! We have tried both WD40 and Vinegar (this was suggested by our local hardware store).

We have to have the pipe wrench facing down, on the left side of the pipe, because the dishwasher is to the right. We could use a smaller pipe wrench on the right side, but we can not get good leverage on it.

Here are some pictures so you can see what we are working with:

Can somebody PLEASE help us? We have come so far in our garbage disposal replacement, and don't want to have to call the plumber now!!

Thank you!

~Shelly

[roger61611]

I'm not much help, I've never known anyone to get one of those suckers to come out. I would have suggested heating it up with a blowtorch, cause I have nothing else to offer, but you'd set your house on fire doing that.

[That wire coming out looks rather insecure, and I don't mean bashful !]

Getting that pipe apart I swear is the single most difficult thing one can attempt on a house. Couple other mentions other than wd-40 that I saw on the web recommended cutting the pipe that you're trying to take out down so it sticks out a short bit from the galbanized monster, than use a wrench to try to collapse it.

Other people mention using a longer wrench, though it looks like you've got as much as you can get in there.

[CJT]

I don't know if it would help, but there's something called "naval jelly" that purports to remove rust. Once the rust is removed, the pipe might be more cooperative.

e.g. :

[CJT]

Apparently Lowes has it, too:

[George E. Cawthon]

Ok, quit fussing around and cut out a circle around the pipe, a hole with a diameter of at least 4-6" larger than the pipe. That allows you to move the electric cable out of the way and get to the pipe behind the wall. Next put fiber glass or asbestos between the pipe and burnable surfaces and heat the pipe with a propane torch. While it is still hot you can, if you wish also squirt WD-40 or a penetrating oil on the joint that you wish to loosen. You can heat and cool the joint several times if needed as each time you do you tend to loosen the rusted joint.

When you finish, repair the hole by gluing a piece of plaster board (drywall) or better a piece of

1/4" plywood to the existing plaster. It's under the sink so if you paint it all the same no one will ever notice it. Good Luck.

[Noozer]

Take a 6 foot 2x4 and place one end on the wrench handle, set the other end on the floor (towels underneath to protect the floor). Stand on the 2x4 and bounce on it lightly.

A torch on the pipe may help loosen it up as it expands from heat and then contracts again when cool. A few sharp raps from a hammer should help shock the joint apart as well.

[BobK207]

Put a cheater bar over the wrench handle (a pipe will) to get some more leverage.

Put the wrench on the pipe so you can TIGHTEN the joint.....apply force to wrench until you get a very slight thightening movement. Now flip the wrench over and loosen the joint.

TIghtening first breaks the joint free with fear of breaking the pipe stub off.

Give this a try, it will work, always works for me.

Let us know how the repair job works out

cheers Bob

[BobK207]

Put a cheater bar over the wrench handle (a pipe will work) to get some more leverage.on the joint.

Put the wrench on the pipe so you can TIGHTEN the joint.....apply force to wrench until you get a very slight thightening movement. Now flip the wrench over and loosen the joint.

TIghtening first breaks the joint free with fear of breaking the threads.

Give this a try, it will work, always works for me.

Let us know how the repair job works out

cheers Bob

[John Grabowski]

I would apply generous amounts of Liquid Wrench for a few hours and then try the above technique. You can find Liquid Wrench at auto parts stores and many hardware stores.

[Sacramento Dave]

If it's that tight there is a good your going to break somthing. Most likely there is years of corrosion in the pipe, you may end up having to sawzal the threads. Once you get it out hope the inside threads on your Santee are not gone. When you put it back together use brass it is a neutral metal ad electrolyses will not effect it.

[Bob]

There's always the risk that when you get that pipe out, you won't be able to get a new pipe to seal in the wall, necessitating replacing even more, and tearing up the wall in the process. Why not just take off the elbow and add new from there. Worst case, you can hacksaw most of the way through the elbow end so that it can expand and break loose. Don't ding the threads!

If you must remove the pipe, add an extension piece of pipe over the end of the wrench. Apply as much force as you can to it, perhaps with a stick up to the cabinet to hold it, then hit the pipe with a hammer to apply impact force in the same direction.

Bob

[Stormin Mormon]

Beat end of pipe wrench with hammer (far left end). Pound in a downward direction. More spray lube. Try Aerokroil, Castle, or some brand other than WD.

[Shelly1205]

Thank you all very much for your help. We ended up just cutting the darn pipe off! :P

It was a long, difficult project, but I am happy to say that it is FINISHED, and everything seems to be working fine!! (I hope I didn't just jinx it by saying that...)

~Shelly

[Rudy]

WTG ! when in doubt, cut out all the old corroded metal pipe and replace with ABS. It will last indefinitely

[Larry Jaques]

On 17 Jun 2006 21:30:57 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "Shelly" quickly quoth:

See if your husband has a piece of 2-1/2 to 6" steel pipe about 3' long. Drill holes in it so a pry bar will fit through one side and the monkey wrench through the other. Now you have an extension for the wrench outside the cabinet. One person can hold it steady while the other twists.

(Pray that your vertical pipe is more solid than the horizontal from that elbow, though.)

Also, sometimes it works best to try to tighten a fitting before loosening it. (I found that out in my previous life as an auto mechanic.) You might be able to get a bit better angle on it to push up, then switch it around to remove it.

_ | | __ ============| | wrench | | | | | | pipe (overhead view) | | | | \\\\============\\\\ pry bar | | -

Jewelcome.