Polyethylene Black pipe - Need tips on sealing fittings

[ruralfarmer]

I just ran some of that polyethylene black pipe across my barn to add a hose fitting in the back. This is not underground, I ran it up the inside of the barn roof. This is in the cold north of the US and I can not connect this permanently or it will freeze. Since I followed the inside of the gable roof, it will drain out on both ends, since I intend to only connect this (via a small hose) to the water hydrant, when I need to fill the livestock tank in the back of the barn. I have been dragging out (of the house) 75 feet of garden hose in freezing weather, every other day, for years. It's getting real tiring. With this setup, I only need to attach the short hose to the hydrant (water source), and put an 8 foot hose on the back to the stock tank. The short hoses I can hang right in the barn and they drain out.

Anyhow, I put in about 70 feet of polyethylene pipe yesterday. There are 4 elbows, and the end pieces with threads to which I attached garden hose connectors. The problem is that every joint is leaking. I recall some years ago, I did some underground piping, and had this same problem. I solved the problem by throwing the gray plastic fittings in the garbage and buying costly brass ones. I could do the same thing, but I have to drive to the nearest large city (60 miles away), and then spend a fortune.

I should have never bought these plastic barbed fittings. In fact I wonder why they sell them because they do not seal. I heated the pipe until it was soft, and double clamped it. I tightened the hose clamps well. I have taken apart the fittings several times, and reheated the pipe, heated the clamps, and eventually I stripped out at least 6 clamps by using a ratchet and tightening so well that the clamps stripped. Short of buying the brass fittings, and starting over, has anyone ever found a sealer that can be applied to the barbs to seal the fitting? I'm thinking silicone, which seems to seal most anything, but I doubt it will adhere to the polyethylene, or maybe even the fitting. Has anyone found a solution to this, or a sealer?

As a footnote, I will NEVER buy these plastic fittings again......

ruralfarmer

[Bob F]

I would try polyurethane caulk rather than silicone. It is much more likely to adhere well to the plastic, in my experience. I will be watching this thread for better ideas, as I have some of this stuff for a project also.

I never had leak problems when I used plastic fittings in the past. Maybe you just got some bad ones. You could try a real plumbing supplier.

[dpb]

[e-mail] wrote: ...

Think there's your problem--when you heated it, it relaxed.

I've not had trouble and if it were general problem wouldn't there wouldn't be a product...

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[dpb]

dpb wrote: ...

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BTW...

If it's cold in assembly area, you _can_ soak the ends of the pipe in a bucket of hot water for a while to give some pliability. Don't soak/heat fittings, that just makes them "grow" to make insertion more difficult unless so warm they deform. Don't use heatgun or somesuch that I gather you've done previously.

It'll help to use a wetting solution of some sort to ease the fittings in--liquid soap will work, WD-40 or similar as well. For potable water, a veggie oil is a possibility altho for no more than is used simply flushing well will be enough to avoid any actual issue.

Oh, and of course be sure there aren't burrs or other contaminants such as "sawdust" from cutting causing problems.

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[JIMMIE]

Never had trouble with plastic fittings. BTW how did you heat them?

Jimmie