I am planning to replace some pipes - currently 38mm push fit.
I was wondering if solvent weld is easy and neat for a first timer. I think it could look neater as the couplings are slimmer.
Anything difficult?
Solvent weld is very easy. I did it for the first time last year. No problems at all. Just make sure your joints are clean first. Give them a wipe with a clean rag moistened with acetone and apply the solvent weld to both surfaces. Push together, wipe off any excess and leave for 24 hours before running any water through.
It couldnt be easier. Wipe the pipe clean, wipe the stuff on, assemble, go away til tomorrow.
NT
Sorry to be picky Dave, but...
Since the "solvent weld adhesive" is a solvent, there's no need to clean the joints with a "solvent" (e.g. acetone) first. Just wipe any water/muck/bits off with a damp rag.
Secondly, there shouldn't be any excess solvent weld adhesive to wipe off, and if there is any excess, wiping it will often make the situation worse. Just leave any excess or pare it down with a Stanley knife after a few minutes.
Also, there is absolutely no need to wait 24 hours before putting water through. Five minutes will be more than adequate - the joint will be absolutely rigid and entirely watertight well before five minutes have elapsed.
The biggest gotcha is that the solvent weld adhesive definitely has a shelf life. So buy fresh and aim to use it up within a few months if you have more than one project to do.
The general technique is to cut and assemble the system dry and then weld it up one joint at a time. Use a pencil to mark the angle at which each joint needs to go. Apply the adhesive in accordance with the instructions and immediately bring the two parts together at or close to the correct angle. Adjust the angle if necessary. The joint will firm up within a few seconds. If you have a convoluted route, you may need to make up the joints in a particular order (which should become obvious as you play) which will allow you to make adjustments (between un-welded sections, natch) as you go along.
HTH
Don't take too long over putting the bits together in the right orientation. The joint sets fairly quickly and you won't get it apart again once it has.
Colin Bignell
Nope dead easy. Only gotcha is that its not compatible with pushfit piping - (different diameter slightly, and different material). So to join to pushfit you will need to use a "universal" (i.e. compression type) fitting.
Yes. It is virtually an instant fix so there is no place for error. Make up all and fit dry to ensure iy all lines up. Put allignment lines on all joints with a pencil. Apply the solvent with ventilation or take a glue sniffing trip. (I love the smell of it)
I found that pusfhit could be glued inside (or was it outside) solvent stuff fairly easily..
As others have said - nothing to it.
One trick I've found, after accidentally putting a hole in a pipe, was to cut up a straight connector to make a sleeve that could be opened up and snapped over a pipe and solv-welded into place.
I agree with this.
First, cut and assemble all the parts dry. Then figure out the assembly order.
Ba aware the stuff sets *alarmingly quickly*, and you will have very little 'wiggle' time to adjust angles etc. You've you to get it in place and set in the correct position and angle almost immediately.
Yes. And where alignment is critical, dry fit and put a pencil mark across the fitting/pipe joint to aid quick assembly.
Good tip that, ta.
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You might consider this:
Don't expect to get any more than a few seconds to get your adjustment right with standard adhesive - you only get one chance to get it right.
Cic.
I would have thought that a wipe with a solvent would serve to remove any traces of grease and other surface contaminants on the pipes. It should also slightly 'etch' and roughen the surface, thereby helping to strengthen the final bond.
The solvent weld I bought said on the instructions that I also needed to wipe the joints first with another of their proprietary products. I took one sniff of the solvent weld which stunk of acetone and since I'd already got a large bottle of acetone assumed the proprietary wipe would probably be the same thing at inflated prices. I think the purpose of the wipe was like you say to remove any traces of grease or other surface contaminants. Better safe than sorry. I've not had any leaks either.
It may not be necessary to leave it 24 hours either, I just prefer to be prudent with plumbing or anything glue related.
The solvent weld adhesive is a solvent which melts the plastic. There is no "bond". The solvent weld product melts the plastic pieces together so they become as one.
BS marketing crap designed to up-sell you something you don't need. It wouldn't matter if the pieces were soaking wet with water and covered in grease to boot. The solvent weld product is going to do its job regardless. The only thing you need to wipe off is grit which would stop you from sliding the pieces together.
I took
The thing is, it's not glue. The solvent dissolves the plastic and makes it a solution of plastic-in-solvent for a few seconds and then evaporates off or migrates through the rest of the joint/pipe. When you bring the two parts together with the solvent you weld them together. Once the joint has gone hard, that's it. There's no further "going off" or curing or drying. There's no plastic-adhesive-plastic interfaces. You make two pieces of plastic into one piece of plastic by melting them together. End of.
Finally, there's no need for prudence, particularly as waste systems work at atmospheric pressure plus or minus a gnat's.
Whatever the official definition of a 'bond' is, I would definitely prefer to ensure that the surfaces degreased and decontaminated before starting the final process of sticking them together.
Oh dear!
But better safe than sorry. I'd rather have a waste pipe stuck 100% rather than 99% - even though 99% is undoubtedly more than adequate.
The point Dave is making is that you are *not* sticking them together. You are welding them together - there is no adhesion required.
Why stick em, when you can weld them?
I think you're missing my point, and splitting hairs about 'weld' and 'glue'. I'm simply saying that I consider it best practice to ensure that the mating surfaces are clean before you try and stick them together - whatever you use as sticky-stuff (in the most general sense of the word).
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