The project for this week, is replacing a section of app.90 year old soil pipe, which has developed a split along its length. We intend to replace this section with plastic pipe. Any tips, warnings, etc on cutting and removal of the offending bit? It's in a particularly difficult location, in a corner next to the outside wall, with very little space behind it.
Sheila
Exactly what i did am doing last weekend today! Mine was attached to a toilet, that is being replaced, may not be relv or suitable in your postition, but i found cutting as much aroun the pipe as possible using an angle grinder then with fairly big hammer whacked the section in the middle and it simply broke, thereby allowing me to cut the bit at the back, when i say simply i dont mean simply it does take a few (alot) of hits with the hammer (wear eye protection) If your just replacing a section and its visible consider using cast iron, appar, its not expensive and easy to use, also you need to make sure there is sufficient support for the pipe above if your putting a section in as plastic wont support the weight of cast iron, (a tiny section i cut out weighed a tonn) Have fun Olly
Wear mouth protection!!! Youre cutting a pipe lined with congealed shit for 90 years. Shit hitting the fan at 11,000 rpm has to be about the worst job of all. Very glad I've never done it :)
NT
Full face protection is on the list! It's not something either one of us is looking forward to. Just _finding_ the leak was unpleasant enough.
Sheila
Oh you soon learn to get blaazay (I opted for the sounds like spellin method since I was what they siad didn't exist when I was at school dislexic) about that brown lubricant that helps you assemble your pus fit joints
-- Paul Barker
In which case you'd know it's not as bad as all that. The inside of the pipe tends to be rusty rather than shitty.
The weight of the sections of CI pipe whilst not a problem on the ground are a major hazard when several metre up a ladder.
Start at the top and make sure each section you remove is well supported with a top rope. Aim to cut out about 1m at a go.
A diamond bladed angle grinder is useful and make much less CI dust and sparks.
having used diamond to cut ferrous, I found it almost useless. I was told the diamonds react with the iron and dissolve into it, making diamond discs ineffective on iron and steel. And in fact, hardening the steel a bit in the process.
NT
The message from snipped-for-privacy@meeow.co.uk contains these words:
That sounds a bit unlikely given the quench from red heat needed to harden carbon steel but ISTR cast iron is already stuffed full of carbon so if diamond did dissolve in it it shouldn't make any difference.
I've done it, not that bad really. Definitely wore goggles and a nose/mouth mask though :-)
The method is as per other poosters, as far around the pipe as you can get, then a good clout with a club hammer to break the final join.
Cheers
Paul.
the sparks off an angle grinding blade are more than red hot.
To the iron, no, but to the blade it makes it all but useless. It turns it from a diamond cutter to a slotted steel washer. When I went from diamond to cheap grit the cut speed went up over 10x - that was on HSS, not cast, but I expect the principle would be the same.
NT
I have a diamond disc (Screwfix 71994) which is going strong after almost a year say one job (some big some small per week average). I know it cuts through CI. If there is something better let me know but I know it is a lot better than ordinary resin/abrasive cutting discs.
You got me wondering now. I was using a toolstation diamond disc to cut hss, and it was hopeless. Switched to screwfix cheap grit disc, that worked no prob. Thats really all I know... maybe I should look at that scrwefix blade. Toolstation ones are a lot cheaper, and work A1 on concrete. Or perhaps its the CI vs HSS difference? No idea.
NT
I'd guess the latter: HSS is what you make tools out of for cutting metals including steel, CI's what shatters if you whack it :-)
I did it by cutting as far round as possible at 2 positions about a foot apart, then lengthways to join the ends of the upper & lower cuts. Then you can take a section out and get the grinder in to cut the rest of the way through to the back.
hardening
There are diamond discs and diamond discs. I have seen them here in France for about 6 euro, haven't tried those but we had a couple of different cheap ones. Almost useless, you would be better off with ordinary stone/metal cutting disks. We also have a 80 euro disk which we have had for ages and is still very good. Not sure when exactly my husband uses it and when he chooses the ordinary ones though, sorry.
-- Holly, in France. Holiday home in the Dordogne, website:
We've finally managed to remove the split pipe, using a rented snapper and cutting above the hub. The bottom of the pipe, though, was not only split for most of its length, but seriously corroded, so it crushed, rather than snapping (it was VERY thin, and resembled flaky pastry in texture)- Himself finished the cut with a reciprocating saw. We had hoped to leave a long enough stub, to simply splice-in a piece of plastic pipe, using a collar and clamps. Unfortunately, there isn't enough intact pipe left above the hub. So, we'll need to remove the lead and oakum from said hub, and insert the plastic in that.
Any tips on lead removal which don't involve the use of a torch?
Sheila
Omigawd! Sure I did it myself long ago, I think I drilled out as much lead as posible and pried out the rest with a gash[1] screwdriver or whatever came to hand
[1] it was afterwards
That's what we're in the process of doing right now - taking turns, because it's in a very cramped corner, largely underneath the kitchen counter. And we're tall people. It'll be my turn to crawl in there in a few minutes. How did you actually get the spigot end loosened from the hub? This one seems quite unwilling to leave the spot it's been in since 1912.
Sheila
brute force & pig ignorance I guess - it was a long time ago and I've forgotten the gory details (you know, like mothers forget what childbirth was really like? :-)
The spigot and the hub seem to have rusted together - it's nearly impossible to tell where the spigot ends. We puddled-in some WD-40 and left it overnight. Himself will be scoring the inside with a reciprocating saw. We hope to be able to knock it loose without damaging the hub.
Sponge-bathing in the laundry room is a real drag - I want my bathtub and shower back!!!
Sheila
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