Connecting PVC to galvanized elbow to hydrant

[Splinter]

any tips or suggestions?

"beer tap" hydrant came in today, so line into shed gets finished tomorrow, just in time for Saturday's concrete.

3/4" pvc water line connecting to base of hydrant, local supplier recommended the below fittings. Any special tips or tricks other than the normal tape/glue?

thanks!

 

[Franz©]

2 turns of teflon or some TiteUnite pipe dope.
Those are both taper thread so they will come up nice if you just lubricate them.

 

[Splinter]

thanks franz, pipe dope added to tomorrow's list

 

[Splinter]

another question: would it be better if I use dope and tape on the metal to metal connections, and just tape on the pvc to metal threads? I ask because I have a slight worry that the dope will lube the plastic "too much" and I'd possibly overtighten the plastic fitting. Is that easy to do or should I just not worry about it?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Yard hydrants? I put an 18" section of galvanized pipe on the bottom of them rather than running the PVC right up to them, then I set a flat cement cap block in the bottom of the hole, the hydrant sets in the hole with the 18" pipe laying horizontal on the cap block and then packed it with gravel around the base then dirt. This helps stabilize the hydrant. Other than that, yes, you have the proper fittings to make the connection. DO NOT attempt to use teflon tape on the threads, it always leaks (PVC to metal, iron pipe threads), rather, use pipe thread dope, you get a seal with that.

Charles

 

[Franz©]

Now, for the 8,736,249th time pipe dope and teflon tape are both only lubricants that allow the mechanicle fitting to be brought up to sufficient torque to prevent leakage. They serve no sealing purpose. The little globs that wind up in the thread when it is made up just fill in imperfections in the cut thread.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

They serve no sealing purpose. The little globs that wind up in the thread when it is made up just fill in imperfections in the cut thread.

Say what you like......................

Charles

 

[MXtras]

Now, for the 8,736,249th time pipe dope and teflon tape are both only lubricants that allow the mechanicle fitting to be brought up to sufficient torque to prevent leakage. They serve no sealing purpose. The little globs that wind up in the thread when it is made up just fill in imperfections in the cut thread.

If this were true, - - oh, why even bother.

Scott

 

[Franz©]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13724&highlight=pipe+dope
Read the last post in the thread.

Swing on by, bring the pipe, any size to 5" and I'll provide the dies and pipe lathe.
The majority of people use crappy dies and cut **** threads. Good chasers cut good threads.

 

[Steve in Mi]

My suggestion would be to use a brass or stainless street el in a water line. I use Teflon tape 99% of the time and have had no problem. I had no problem with the old oil based pipe dope either but Teflon tape is less messy to work with IMO. Yes I agree that in either case (tape or dope) the function is that of lubricating the threads so that the joint is "made up" properly.

 

[Bib Overalls]

I drive a steel fence post in next to the yard hydrant and secure it with stainless steel hose clamps. Makes it solid.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13724&highlight=pipe+dope
Read the last post in the thread.

Swing on by, bring the pipe, any size to 5" and I'll provide the dies and pipe lathe.
The majority of people use crappy dies and cut **** threads. Good chasers cut good threads.

We are not talking what one might be able to do with perfect dies and taps and uncut pipe and fittings and ideal situations. What the man is asking here is practical information about joining a PVC pipe to a store bought iron pipe fitting or ******........ practical, real world, how do I do this............ and that dictates certain things. Things like, in my experience, no matter how tight you put that PVC male iron pipe thread fitting into that elbow, its gonna leak, and when I tried thread tape, it still leaks and with pipe dope, it doesn't..... call it whatever you want to call it, lubricant, sealer, whatever you like, the fact is, under the moderate pressures found in a water system, it completes the seal.......................... nuff said.

Charles

 

[MXtras]

If lubrication was the sole function of thread tape or pipe dope, industry would use HP grease on the threads.

The thread quality you find in the field is not made accurately enough to allow reliance on the thread shape and condition to permit proper sealing. I am not arguing the theory of the thread form, nor am I arguing the lubrication properties of sealant.

In the real world folks use sealant for a reason and the primary reason it's used is to seal the connection.

(Sorry, Charles - I said the same thing you did, basically...it just took me longer to pre-edit my post!)

Scott

 

[Uncle Buck]

We are not talking what one might be able to do with perfect dies and taps and uncut pipe and fittings and ideal situations. What the man is asking here is practical information about joining a PVC pipe to a store bought iron pipe fitting or ******........ practical, real world, how do I do this............ and that dictates certain things. Things like, in my experience, no matter how tight you put that PVC male iron pipe thread fitting into that elbow, its gonna leak, and when I tried thread tape, it still leaks and with pipe dope, it doesn't..... call it whatever you want to call it, lubricant, sealer, whatever you like, the fact is, under the moderate pressures found in a water system, it completes the seal.......................... nuff said.

Charles

If lubrication was the sole function of thread tape or pipe dope, industry would use HP grease on the threads.

The thread quality you find in the field is not made accurately enough to allow reliance on the thread shape and condition to permit proper sealing. I am not arguing the theory of the thread form, nor am I arguing the lubrication properties of sealant.

In the real world folks use sealant for a reason and the primary reason it's used is to seal the connection.

(Sorry, Charles - I said the same thing you did, basically...it just took me longer to pre-edit my post!)

Scott

These two covered it nicely!

 

[russlaferrera]

My suggestion would be to use a brass or stainless street el in a water line. I use Teflon tape 99% of the time and have had no problem. I had no problem with the old oil based pipe dope either but Teflon tape is less messy to work with IMO. Yes I agree that in either case (tape or dope) the function is that of lubricating the threads so that the joint is "made up" properly.

I was in a rush and only had a galvanized ell. In 2 years it managed to make a 1/2 hole in the fitting. I am on a well and was wondering why the water pressure was always low, a 1/2 hole will do that.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I was in a rush and only had a galvanized ell. In 2 years it managed to make a 1/2 hole in the fitting. I am on a well and was wondering why the water pressure was always low, a 1/2 hole will do that.

WOW! your water is that corrosive? 2 years! How do you keep faucets or anything metal in the system at all?

Charles

 

[russlaferrera]

WOW! your water is that corrosive? 2 years! How do you keep faucets or anything metal in the system at all?

Charles

The water had something to do with it. We do have a neutralizer that uses crushed marble. But I think it was caused by electrolysis. The house is 30 years old. I have been in this house 14 years and every pipe has been changed to pvc or cvpc.

 

[russlaferrera]

Heres a pic of the fitting.

 

[70RatRocket]

Take it from someone that does this for a living. Use a PVC schedule 80 male adapter not the schedule 40 that is in the pic, and use a brass street 90 ell not the galv. one in the pic or you well be digging it up again to replace. Put something under it so it does not settle down and break also. Use plenty of gravel for your drain back. I always use both tape and paste on all threads, never have a problem leaking. Over kill?, probaly but having to redo it costs money. One last thing, be careful when threading the PVC onto the brass fitting. Easy to get started crooked and strip the threads. Hope this helps.

 

[Splinter]

dammit steve and ratrocket, where were you guys at friday when I finished this up? fittings ended being as pictured, didn't think to do sch80 or brass elbow. Being that I would have to cut through a concrete floor to replace it, I hope that the galv elbow holds forever...

Hydrant ended up being a mofo to put in by myself. Seven and a half feet long was hard to hold on to/keep straight while I was down in the hole trying to hold the pvc together to let the glue set. Had to do it a couple of times before I got a system down where I nailed a board to the shed frame and tied the top off to hold it straight while I worked on the pvc to pvc fitting.

to answer a couple of posts:

I passed on the dope+tape combo on the threads, I can make a mess out of anything, so I just did the dope by itself on the threaded parts instead of messing with tape also.

charles: I didn't run a horiz. piece of galvanized in the bottom because I was told that galv would corrode copper and that would put have run the galv within a foot or so of the copper propane line. What I ended up doing was packing rock under the final 36" of pvc instead, about a foot and a half wide and a foot deep. Between that, and then coming up through dirt, rock, and concrete into the shed, I hope it will be stable, time will tell though I guess...

at the end was a 12"x24" wide x 18" deep pit of rock for the drainback valve.

now that it's in and the concrete is poured, I'm scared to turn it on in case something happens and I would have to tear it out to fix it