Looking for PVC elbow, or alternate solution

[Peabody]

Here's a picture of where the backwash waste line from my pool reaches the street. The water discharges over the top of the curb.

As you can see, part of the elbow is missing, probably scalped by the lawn mower, so I get a fountain when I backwash, and that doesn't do my lawn any good.

Neither my pool store nor Home Depot knows what the elbow actually is. The portion of the elbow that sticks down into the black rubber pipe is 1.5 inches OD. And it looks like it's the same situation at the other end of the elbow. But I don't know what kind of elbow that is or where I would find a replacement, either at a store or online. Anyone have a suggestion? I even checked with the outfit that built the pool, but they have no clue. Well, it was 1972, so that's understandable.

If I can't find a replacement, I was thinking of using epoxy putty to re- encapsulate almost the entire elbow as it sits. I don't know if the putty would adhere to the PVC, but if it goes all the way around, it would be pretty much held in place by itself. If it leaks a little, it wouldn't matter. What do you think? Should that be the first option to try?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Dean Hoffman]

Maybe call it a hose barb x male irrigation elbow in a search,. 90 degree Is the part that goes into the ground threaded?

[Peabody]

Right below the elbow is a hose clamp. So I assume no threads are involved.

Anyway, more searching produced this:

Seems like it might work, depending on what "1.5 inch" means.

What do you think?

But I'm really tempted to try the epoxy putty.

[Dean Hoffman]

It looks like the fitting would work. I wonder if some sort of stretchable tape would do the trick. It looks like there would be room to wrap it if you dig a little. There's apparently no pressure involved.

[gfretwell]

1.5 O/D sounds like a 1.25" PVC pipe (the nominal size is I/D) It may be a 1.25" street elbow and maybe a short piece of 1.25" pipe stuck in the other end. Since it is just hose clamped in there, take it to HD and match it up.

[Marilyn Manson]

If you can't find a match, you should be able to rig something up using Fernco connectors and short lengths of PVC pipe.

All sorts of couplings here...

Ells here...

[Marilyn Manson]

Speaking of Fernco, they make a Pow-R-Wrap Fiberglass wrap.

Works on PVC.

FPW248CS Pow-R Wrap - 2" x 48" to repair up to 1" diameter pipe FPW3132CS Pow-R Wrap - 3" x 132" to repair from 1¼" to 3" dia. pipe FPW4252CS Pow-R Wrap - 4" x 252" to repair from 3" to 6" dia. pipe

Amazon, Lowes, etc.

[Peabody]

I found the poly elbows at Lowes. But the 1.5" is too big, and the 1.25" is too small. They had nothing in PVC that was even close. So I guess the original from 1972 was some kind of oddball thing that I won't be able to find now.

I think I will try the epoxy putty. I'm not sure how well the Fernco fiberglass tape would work with the right angle, and I'm pretty sure I can encapsulate almost the entire elbow with the putty.

[Marilyn Manson]

Sure, give the putty a shot, but I don?t why you don?t think the tape will work. They use fiberglass cloth on all sorts of odd shaped objects.

The wide stuff would cover that whole elbow.

Tape bends.

[micky]

Sand with coarse sandpaper.

but if it goes all the way around, it would be

[Hal Bundy]

There are so many sizes of polypipe it's almost impossible to find the right fitting locally.  If you dig up around the pipe you'll probably find the size and DR number printed on the pipe.

[trader_4]

If he has to resort to that, as i recall the Shark Tank bunch funded a startup that sold repair kits for plumbing and other applications. It was a kit that included a fabric cloth together with a water activated glue. I don't remember the name, but I know I saw them a few years ago at Lowes or HD. It may have been Fiber Fix, I see that name comes up now. Also Fernco makes a similar product, there are probably others. For this fix, that's what I would use instead of replacing that elbow.

[trader_4]

I agree. There is also Fiber Fix, I think that's the company that started this, they were on Shark Tank. I've seen their kit at Lowes or HD, it's a water activated glue and fiber mesh cloth. Seems perfect for this application.

[gfretwell]

That thing is hooked up with rubber couplers. Take it to a real plumbing supply and they will hand you a new one. This thing didn't come from the far side of the moon. Someone sells one. The rubber coupling also gives you some flexibility in what will work. In the time he takes on a jack leg fix that may fail right away, he could have bought the right part or adapted it to something you can find easily the next time the mower hits it.

[Tekkie©]

On Fri, 20 Aug 2021 14:01:37 -0500, Peabody posted for all of us to digest...

Excellent suggestions by other posters. You mentioned the mower scalping it so be aware it will probably happen again so watch where you put hose clamps. Do you want to sacrifice the elbow or the mower?

[Dean Hoffman]

Peabody will plan ahead and put some sort of post with reflectors next to this problem after it's fixed.

[Tekkie©]

On Sat, 21 Aug 2021 13:22:50 -0700 (PDT), Dean Hoffman posted for all of us to digest...

Will Sherman do this?

[gfretwell]

I would cut the whole mess out and re plumb it lower or regrade the land around it to protect that pipe.

[trader_4]

The rubber couplings are not the problem, the PVC elbow is. Why would a fix fail right away? Fiber Fix is accepted and works, even Fernco sells similar repairs. And it's outside at the curb, not in his attic.

[Peabody]

Yes, I will find something that isn't too ugly to put over it so the lawn mower can't get to it.

I think the problem with finding an exact replacement for the elbow is the fact that the original was installed in

1972, half a century ago. It likely isn't a standard part now, and may even have been a special use part back then. Anyway, the company that built the pool is still in business, and they have no clue what the elbow is or where it came from. They would do the repair by digging up everything and rebuilding it. I can always resort to that, but would rather avoid the expense if possible.

I've finished the repair using two tubes of JB Weld Epoxy Putty. I layered the entire elbow with putty, essentially building a new elbow using the old one as an embedded form. I have had good experience with epoxy putty. The tape stuff might work just as well, or better, but I was just more comfortable using the putty.

I will let it all cure for a few days before testing. In theory there isn't a lot of pressure there, but the water has to change direction by 90 degrees very quickly, so I think the strees is probably pretty high. Of course the maximum pressure would probably at the lower right angle, which hasn't broken yet. So a lawn mower encounter may me the most likely explanation for the break. I hope so.

In theory Mr. Peabody and I (I am Sherman) could take the Wayback Machine back to 1972 and see what the part was. But I don't think it's operational anymore.