Removing toilet closet flange

[Rebel1]

One of the slots for the bolts that holds the toilet to the flange is cracked. The flange and drain pipe are both PVC, cemented together. I tried using this internal pipe cutter to separate the flange. It's item

37516 here:

The idea is that you work the tool around the circumference of the drain pipe just below the bottom of the flange. The problem is that the blade is about 1/4 inch too small in diameter to get through the wall of the drain pipe. (The thickness of the flange wall gets in the way.) A blade about 1.5" would probably be perfect.

The problem is how to cut through the drain wall completely. The house is on a slab and the bathroom floor is tiled, so repair kits that work by slipping stainless steel rings between the flange and the floor won't work. Zero gap.

The 3" grinding wheels shown here,

would probably work. (The inside diameter of the flange is 3.25 inches.) I would have to get an spindle at least 3" long that fits into my electric drill and extends below the bottom of the flange.

Any other ideas for removing the flange/drainpipe?

Thanks,

R1

[Rebel1]

I should have mentioned that this is the replacement I'll use.

Just push it into the drain pipe. Triple red rubber seal. No need for pipe cement.

[David L. Martel]

Reb,

On your page for Superior look under PVC Tools and open PVC Saws. Scroll down and consider the cable saw.

Dave M.

[hrhofmann]

Looks like you are on the right track, a little $$, but it should last forever.

[trader_4]

I don't think a cable saw is going to work, given that the pipe is in a concrete slab. I think he's on the right track with a wheel. But instead of looking at grinding wheels, I'd get a "cut off" wheel. They are readily available at hardware stores, HD, etc. Or another saw like he has, with a larger diameter blade.

[dadiOH]

The grinding wheels work, just used one a few days ago to cut down a shower drain pipe in preparation for the drain itself. You don't need a special spindle, any old bolt or threaded rod and nuts of the proper size works fine.

[Ed Pawlowski]

He should run the blade around the inside with a Dremel type tool instead of trying to get under the flange on the outside.

[nestork]

He's not trying to get under the flange on the outside.

He's trying to cut the ABS pipe under the socket of the floor flange inside the pipe. That is, he's trying to cut through the ABS pipe immediately under the floor flange so that he can stick a new flange into the top of the ABS pipe.

[nestork]

The first thing I would do if I wuz the OP is stuff a rag down into that pipe so that if I drop something, I could retrieve it. He can always pull the rag out with a bent piece of stiff wire.

Oren, I think using a razor in such a confined space where there isn't even room for your hand to function properly is a bad cut waiting to happen.

I'm thinking that Home Depot tool rental should have a pipe cutter that would cut through that pipe. It's a pretty common thing to need to do. Most people have ABS or PVC toilet floor flanges in their homes, and those flanges need to be replaced occasionally, and every last one is cemented on. The only way to remove the old flange is with some sort of internal pipe cutter.