22 or 21.5mm pipe

[Graham C]

Builders have damaged (...list of over a dozen items!)

One of these was the toilet overflow - it only protruded 10mm into the outside world so they chopped it off and rendered it over!

Found a new piece of plastic pipe in a skip, but have just discovered it won't connect to the cistern elbow joint.

Reason - the new pipe is 22mm and the old one is 21.5mm.

Plenty of pipes / fittings for both available on the web, but...

Why do we have to have two almost identical overflow pipes? I've fiddled with the maths and 21.5 doesn't seem to produce a sensible imperial fraction.

Was hoping to put a tick by this tonight and get on with the other disasters tomorrow. I'm now going to sit down in front of the TV and emery the end of my pipe.

GrahamC

[Dave Liquorice]

Like waste water, solvent weld and push fit.

[Brian Gaff]

I do hope you are going to name and shame the cowboys with a suitably sarcastic repost. brain

[John Rumm]

Its deliberate so that you don't mix up solvent weld and push fit pipe / fittings.

[Andrew]

It's another area of notorious incompatibility between makers all resulting from the change from 3/4 inch to metric between the 70's and 80's.

The stuff my local hardware store sells still seems to be 3/4 inch though, but not the same in Travis Perkins.

[Graham C]

Now this sounds excellent. Didn't know about these. I'd already investigated routing the existing overflow into the down pipe via a 'T' piece and a number of adapters but it became a nightmare.

Have looked at Toolstation and they have just the job at a sensible price

I'd already proved that if the inlet float jammed fully open, then the water coming in was about 120% of what the existing overflow could cope with. Damp (very) carpet syndrome.

Thanks.

GrahamC