Burst in Jacuzzi Pipe: Plumber or DIY?

[Dragonstrike]

Hey everyone.  I just bought a condo, and two weeks into living in it, a pvc pipe as pictured center with what looks like hatch marks in it has burst and is now leaking whenever I run a bath.  A considerable amount of water had drained down the structure from the second floor to an outside panel area, and thankfully my resident manager isn't hasseling me over the drainage part, but I do need to get this fixed asap to prevent any further issues.

The part in question is about 5-6 inches long between two T joints.  Question is, do I use a heat gun to take off the defective part, and just use solvent and pvc welding glue again with a new part?  I can't cut it and have any room to do any other method: the break in the line is closer to the left T joint.

Should I do a compression coupling?  How well would those work?

I signed an as-is clause for the home, so this will be an out of pocket expense: I just don't know how much.  The motor pump is bolted to another piece of wood, and if I can unscrew that and unlatch the couplings to that, I'll have enough room to do work I would think.  Otherwise, the plumber coming on Tuesday said he may have to take out the Jacuzzi just to be able to work on it.   I can access it from a side panel and a small wall panel for now.

Any advice helps, thanks.

[Metric Mouse]

All I could think about after reading this title is the Jacuzzi scene from "Out Cold"....

[sokoloff]

That flex spa line is troublesome. It's not lifetime service like schedule 40 hard line tends to be.

Given the access, I think the easiest repair is to cut the defective line (use a ratcheting cutter), ream out the fittings on the right and left sides of that bad line, and see if you can get a replacement piece of spa line solvent welded in there. It's hard to tell just how much access you have, but I suspect that's going to be hard to get full engagement with the rest of the fittings locked solidly in place.

If you can't do that, you'll need to cut the left T out as well, put a coupler on the leftmost spa line, replace the left T with a new one, and solvent weld (glue) everything back together. It's going to be annoying and doubly so if access is poor. Then, you have to consider if the line that failed is the only one that's in trouble or if you have 5 other lines just waiting to leak, in which case you might take a more aggressive pro-active approach (replacing them all, or replacing the tub, or decommissioning the spa feature if the lines are high enough to not leak if it's just used a normal tub).

If you're convinced it's only that one line, and there's enough solid line on both ends, you might be able to get a Fernco (or equivalent) flex coupling to fit around it. That would mean cutting the bad pipe with a ratcheting cutter, wrestling the Fernco on, lining it all back up and tightening the clamps on the Fernco. I don't love that idea and it wouldn't be my first choice, but if the line is only pinholed, it would work. If the line is worn out, you're just kicking the can down the road.

[Dragonstrike]

That flex spa line is troublesome. It's not lifetime service like schedule 40 hard line tends to be.

Given the access, I think the easiest repair is to cut the defective line (use a ratcheting cutter), ream out the fittings on the right and left sides of that bad line, and see if you can get a replacement piece of spa line solvent welded in there. It's hard to tell just how much access you have, but I suspect that's going to be hard to get full engagement with the rest of the fittings locked solidly in place.

If you can't do that, you'll need to cut the left T out as well, put a coupler on the leftmost spa line, replace the left T with a new one, and solvent weld (glue) everything back together. It's going to be annoying and doubly so if access is poor. Then, you have to consider if the line that failed is the only one that's in trouble or if you have 5 other lines just waiting to leak, in which case you might take a more aggressive pro-active approach (replacing them all, or replacing the tub, or decommissioning the spa feature if the lines are high enough to not leak if it's just used a normal tub).

If you're convinced it's only that one line, and there's enough solid line on both ends, you might be able to get a Fernco (or equivalent) flex coupling to fit around it. That would mean cutting the bad pipe with a ratcheting cutter, wrestling the Fernco on, lining it all back up and tightening the clamps on the Fernco. I don't love that idea and it wouldn't be my first choice, but if the line is only pinholed, it would work. If the line is worn out, you're just kicking the can down the road.

Thanks for the info.  The line itself doesn't have enough space to fit a new part over, so all I really have to work with is taking the defective part off and reusing the T joints.  Thing is, how do I reuse the T joints safely when old material like the solvent weld is there?  Do I sandpaper it off? Or will taking the new part and fitting them into the T joints with a new layer of solvent and pvc weld remake a tight, sealed fit?

[paddedhat]

short answer, there is no reusing solvent welded plumbing parts. The parts are stupid cheap, as in that Tee is worth less than a buck, and there is no way to justify wasting the time to reuse it. You cut the entire assembly back until you reach new, straight pipe and start again. That is why the assemblies with two fittings touching, and a short nipple hidden inside, are a bitch to repair.

 Now for a totally off the wall suggestion.  Take a ratchet cutter and cut the damaged section out. Leave roughly an inch of pipe sticking out of each Tee. Using the damaged section as a pattern, cut a piece of rigid schedule 40 plastic pipe the same length. Now it get's strange, but I have done this many times. Cap both end of the new pipe with duct tape. Place the pipe on the rack of an oven, heated to 400* or so. Let it sit until it's pliable. Now, WEARING LEATHER GLOVES, grab the pipe and quickly bend it to match the curve of the damaged section. One you have it correct, have a partner wipe the pipe with a cold, wet rag, to "set" the bend. Now replace the section with two Fernco couplings, and youre good to go.  Just to clarify, the taped ends keep air trapped in the pipe, and prevent it from collapsing as you heat and bend it. Second, this is how you bend all kinds of plastic electrical conduit, and I have done it hundreds of times, out in the field, using a special oven designed for this. Good luck.

[sokoloff]

The only valid reason to reuse the T is to limit the scope of how much you need to cut out and replace. You're doing it to save labor, not parts cost. (Think about the case of replacing a PVC shower drain in a basement shower where the pipe is encased in concrete. Cut the old drain away, ream the fitting, and glue a new one in in 10 minutes without any concrete work.)

For that reason, they make a reamer that will clean out the old PVC and resize the fitting to take a new pipe. Most plumbers will have them on their van in common sizes.

I like the idea of two Ferncos around either a formed or a flex pipe. Note that Ferncos aren't rated (nor a lot of good) for pressure applications. They're fine for DWV.

[paddedhat]

The only valid reason to reuse the T is to limit the scope of how much you need to cut out and replace. You're doing it to save labor, not parts cost. (Think about the case of replacing a PVC shower drain in a basement shower where the pipe is encased in concrete. Cut the old drain away, ream the fitting, and glue a new one in in 10 minutes without any concrete work.)

For that reason, they make a reamer that will clean out the old PVC and resize the fitting to take a new pipe. Most plumbers will have them on their van in common sizes.

I like the idea of two Ferncos around either a formed or a flex pipe. Note that Ferncos aren't rated (nor a lot of good) for pressure applications. They're fine for DWV.

Thanks for the info. I had no idea that the reamers were available. The pressure rating of Fernco fittings is another  important point.  In this case the pressure isn't as much of a factor, since this would be limited to whatever the Jacuzzi pump generates. That said, I proposed a real "Hillbilly field fix" which could be cheap, easy, and long lasting, but would probably make a plumbing inspector puke, LOL.

[Exflyboy]

If it were me I'd be tempted to rip out all that flex pipe, buy new all new fittings and replace with rigid schedule 40 PVC.. using the heated method for gentle bends will work fine.

Knowing that flex pipe let go once its probably a matter of time before it blows somewhere else and seeing as PVC is generally dirt cheap I'd invest the time and do it right and do it once.

You dodged a bullet but water leaks are a bad deal especially big ones.

[Dragonstrike]

Update:  So, over the weekend and about $160 into parts and new tools, I managed to unhook and remove the motor, cut away the worst of the flex pipe hole, and placed a 1/2" T joint coupling with lock plug over the two ends.  Pvc primer and weld later, along with blue sealant tape for good measure, I managed to seal the leak for what I hope to be permanently.  Granted, it looks like an amateur job but it will do the trick.  Although, I saw how disgusting the insides of the pipes were, and did some research which led to startling information about mold and mildew buildup.  Only thing I have ever known to kill black bacteria buildup like that is Tilex.  So I may end up doing an oxyclean run along with a tilex run for good measure in the jaccuzzi jets.

Otherwise, degrouted and again another amateur job regrouted the bathtub due to a black mold starting to form.  I don't know why the previous owner used heavy group for the lining of the tub, but it didn't help when he used yellow grout over stone.  So managed to fix it today, though haphazardly, lol.

[sokoloff]

Nice job. Feels good, doesn't it? Around here, $160 wouldn't cover a plumbing service visit minimum, so you did well, learned something, and got a few tools out of the bargain.

[Exflyboy]

Nice job. Feels good, doesn't it? Around here, $160 wouldn't cover a plumbing service visit minimum, so you did well, learned something, and got a few tools out of the bargain.

+1.. Nice job..:)