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Question about copper pipe insulation - the foam type. We have copper pipes that measure 5/8" on the outside. I only see 1/2" and 3/4" insulation at Home Depot. Did I measure wrong? Does 1/2" refer to the inner diameter? Which should I use?
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Dec 29, 2012 23:38
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Veinless posted:Question about copper pipe insulation - the foam type. We have copper pipes that measure 5/8" on the outside. I only see 1/2" and 3/4" insulation at Home Depot. It does refer to the inside diameter, get the 1/2" insulation. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/copper-tubes-dimensions-d_357.html
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Dec 30, 2012 01:20
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SolidElectronics posted:It does refer to the inside diameter, get the 1/2" insulation. Awesome. Thanks!
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Dec 30, 2012 03:53
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insta posted:Municipal water, I installed at the same time I installed my softener because we were getting bits of sand in our faucets. The pleats generally turn a brown color after 6 months and my wife eventually sees it and goes "eww gross" then I have to replace it. I don't know if we have iron or not. It's tough to say what's in your water but if the pleated filter is working then stick with it. If you were changing it monthly I would suggest a different solution.
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Dec 31, 2012 21:58
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Does plumbing cover natural gas lines, like for cooking stoves and clothes dryers? We're moving into a new house which has natural gas for the furnace, but I'd like to get an idea of what it would cost to have gas lines ran to the kitchen and then there's the laundry room right on the other side of that wall. There are no appliances in the house yet so we're thinking of going with a gas range. I'm almost thinking about buying an electric stove because that's what we've been living with for the last couple years and they're not THAT terrible and they're easy to clean up. Then again, I wouldn't mind being able to fire-roast vegetables and heat up flour tortillas without having to use a stupid cast iron pan. I imagine it's just a T from wherever the gas comes in, run it with the rest of the pipes in the basement and then it comes up and there's some sort of valve, right? I am comfortable doing regular plumbing but I'm afraid of having a leak and blowing up the house or killing my family instead of just a wet floor. A quick google shows people paying $500-$1200 for this, that can't be right. I really don't want to spend over $200, I'd rather spend the extra money on a fancier electric stove with two ovens, for instance.
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Jan 9, 2013 04:08
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Consider doing it yourself. It's easy to find leaks, just use a spray bottle with some soap and spray it on the junctions to see if any bubbles come out. You should probably have a carbon monoxide detector in your house anyway (if you don't most places require it and I would recommend buying one anyway). Make sure to install a shutoff valve somewhere so you can work on that branch if you find a leak. I paid someone $500 to route a gas line which was a really short run (15 feet) and they did it in 2 hours..the worst part was that I smelled gas and there happened to be a leak anyway that I found on my own. Running gas lines can be stupid expensive, mostly because people are too scared to do it, and that it can be difficult to route pipe in tight places. This is all from watching someone install it in my house, so if there's someone more knowledgeable please chime in.
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Jan 9, 2013 06:57
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I'm all for doing gas lines yourself but if you gently caress it up and blow up the house. The home owners insurance wont cover it since you weren't licensed to do the work. So just remember to keep that in mind.
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Jan 9, 2013 15:28
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Before you do anything, take a good look at how the gas line to the furnace is assembled. If it's cast iron you'll probably have to disassemble a good portion of it to get back to the spot you want to install the T, because once a section of pipe is threaded in on both ends it's not going anywhere. I wasted an entire weekend getting mine apart and back together because someone lacked the foresight or courtesy to install a union or extra T where the line came inside from the meter. However, it's not hard to do and you can get all the stuff at Home Depot. Make sure you've got two good pipe wrenches, and natural-gas listed pipe dope and valves.
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Jan 9, 2013 16:22
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SolidElectronics posted:Before you do anything, take a good look at how the gas line to the furnace is assembled. If it's cast iron you'll probably have to disassemble a good portion of it to get back to the spot you want to install the T, because once a section of pipe is threaded in on both ends it's not going anywhere. I wasted an entire weekend getting mine apart and back together because someone lacked the foresight or courtesy to install a union or extra T where the line came inside from the meter. You mean black iron? And the reason they didn't put a union is because a union can't be covered by anything. It has to be accessible. That's why most appliances have them but nothing else. You can also use tracpipe but the unions of the pipe can't be hidden in a wall. Sadly it's not a cheap tool to buy but a hand threader can save you a ton of time.
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Jan 10, 2013 05:46
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Make sure your piping is up to snuff on the size... Don't just keep T-ing off a 1/2" line to run your furnace, dryer, stove, etc because the gas flow won't be enough when all the appliances are on. Some places allow the flexible gas lines so that might be an option and its a lot easier to run (it usually has a bright yellow outer jacket). Also on my previous posts about faucet issues, so far no further information and the cold side is still really touchy. Plumbers don't seem to have any idea why it is messed up. I'm resolved to having to open the wall to replace it, anything I should deal with while I have the chance? The master and main bath back up against each other right there and I need to renovate the master to make it functional anyway; I haven't used the master bath/shower in the 7 years I've lived here. They slapped some plastic surround on the tub to get the house sold, its a real piece of crap. I want to put in a glass shower instead.
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Jan 10, 2013 19:56
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Ender.uNF posted:Some places allow the flexible gas lines so that might be an option and its a lot easier to run (it usually has a bright yellow outer jacket). Most places allow flexi lines for appliance-to-rigid line hookup. Have you checked if there is a blockage in your cold line somewhere? I'm thinking there might be one just ahead of the cold valve, or between the cold and diverter. Try these steps. You may need a helper. Wear something you can get wet and leave your phone on the vanity: 1. Turn off the main water shutoff for your house. 2. Pull out the cold valve stem. 3. Pull the curtain shut inside the tub and open the drain. 4. Slowly turn on the main water shutoff (preferably with a helper) 5. Watch the hole at the bottom of the valve. See if there's pieces of anything trying to escape: hard water, a old rubber washer, anything. A flashlight may help. 6. Free any blockages with needlenose pliers or a small flathead screwdriver. The sucky part is that you will have to try to free this blockage at pressure... Turning the water off may make the blockage fall back down the piping. You could also try removing the valve seat. 7. If there is no blockage in the cold valve or if you think that there may be 2 blockages, put the cold valve back together and try these same steps with the diverter cartridge.
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Jan 10, 2013 21:18
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Alright, I tried to look this up on the internet, but haven't found the answer. Apparently, people have problems with their shower drains smelling like urine, but what about the shower head? At least, I've never noticed the smell when I run the bath, but as soon as I turn on the shower-- BAM!-- pee smell. I feel dirty using the shower. And if that weren't enough, the drat thing drains so very slow. Five to ten minutes into a shower (or just running the water) and it's ankle-deep. We've tried drain-o, we've tried to snake it, we've even tried taking a plunger to it. Nothing seems to help. Can't remove the drain cap thingy because it's like it's part of the tub. The pipe also seems like it bends a few inches from the drain? Man, I dunno what the gently caress. Help?
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Jan 12, 2013 02:00
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That sounds suspiciously like the bouillon-cube-in-the-shower-head prank... Post a pic of your tub's drain, please. We will tell you how to take it apart. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 09:20 on Jan 12, 2013 |
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Jan 12, 2013 09:16
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foxatee posted:Alright, I tried to look this up on the internet, but haven't found the answer. Apparently, people have problems with their shower drains smelling like urine, but what about the shower head? At least, I've never noticed the smell when I run the bath, but as soon as I turn on the shower-- BAM!-- pee smell. I feel dirty using the shower. How long has this been happened. Do you get the smell anywhere else in the house?
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Jan 12, 2013 21:04
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kid sinister posted:Most places allow flexi lines for appliance-to-rigid line hookup. I was referencing this sort of thing: http://www.proflexcsst.com I don't have a ton of experience with it, but was told that some inspectors don't care but others freak out about it so YMMV. quote:Have you checked if there is a blockage in your cold line somewhere? I'm thinking there might be one just ahead of the cold valve, or between the cold and diverter. Try these steps. You may need a helper. Wear something you can get wet and leave your phone on the vanity: New baby is 2 weeks old but as soon as things are less crazy around here I'm going to try this. I just discovered the kitchen sink has standing water in the pipe, slightly above the level of the copper drain line coming out of the wall. I can already see grease/dirt/etc starting to build up because if it. It looks like it takes a right-turn, so I'm guessing the sink was moved and improperly sloped. It never ends.
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Jan 13, 2013 03:12
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Ender.uNF posted:I was referencing this sort of thing: http://www.proflexcsst.com Grease shouldn't be in your sink. If you are pouring grease down it that's the problem. Which can be a pain in the rear end to get rid of. Use hot water when snaking it. Hopefully it's just caught in the trap and you can just remove that and clean it out.
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Jan 13, 2013 09:40
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So my water heater sprung a huge leak last week. I figured it'd be easy to replace, but here's the thing. I live in a mobile home, and apparently you may or may not need specific water heaters for those? My question is, for an electric water heater do I need a special heater? The Internet seems torn on this question. It's basically the difference between being able to do this in the next few days, or waiting for 15 days for a special order from Lowes.
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Jan 20, 2013 14:55
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From what I understand for an electric water heater you don't need a special one for the mobile home. You can always ask a local plumber.
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Jan 21, 2013 02:47
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A Fancy Bloke posted:So my water heater sprung a huge leak last week. I figured it'd be easy to replace, but here's the thing. I live in a mobile home, and apparently you may or may not need specific water heaters for those? For electric, you'll only need a special one if one of the ones from Lowe's doesn't fit through the tiny doorway most mobile homes give you for access to the heater. Double-check the amperage on the old and new heaters, make sure the new one will physically fit, and go to town.
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Jan 21, 2013 17:05
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I have radiator heating in my house. Below is a picture of the radiator in our master bedroom. The problem is that it gets too hot while the rest of the house stays fairly cool (otherwise I would just turn the heat down). As you can see in the picture there is what I believe to be a shut off valve. I've turned this to the right as far as it goes - it stops at a definite position. However, the radiator is still putting out heat. Any suggestions? Thanks! 
Lump Shaker fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Jan 21, 2013 |
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Jan 21, 2013 20:18
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The valve sounds like it's bad to me, You could replace it yourself but it depends on how confident you feel on bleeding your boiler of excess air so you dont gently caress it up.
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Jan 22, 2013 15:13
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I attempted to take pictures of the stupid drain, but it's covered in white (paint?), so you don't actually see anything. The pictures don't really show anything. I'm afraid to chip away at whatever the white stuff is since I don't want to risk having white stuff just flake away every time I take a shower or bath.Rd Rash 1000cc posted:How long has this been happened. Do you get the smell anywhere else in the house? As for the smell: this has been happening on and off for about four or five months? I noticed it a while back, and then it seemed to disappear. Now it's come back. The smell only exists in the shower, which made me think there was something wrong with my shower head. But I took the shower head off and replaced it with another we had stashed away, and the smell remained.
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Jan 24, 2013 03:25
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I got an email from my HOA (townhouse development) saying that our 7 year old homes were built with PEX piping and brass fittings. A homeowner did some testing and found that dezincification was occurring and that we should be "Prepared to make decisions regarding our plumbing". What the hell? Do I need to replumb my house? Secondary concern... my toilet makes a dripping sound about .75 times a second. Doesn't appear to be any dripping in the tank or bowl, and it sounds like it's dripping underneath the floor or somewhere in the bottom third of the toilet. Is there a high possibility of it being anything in particular or should I start wiki-how-ing toilets and take that son of a bitch apart?
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Jan 24, 2013 22:52
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:I got an email from my HOA (townhouse development) saying that our 7 year old homes were built with PEX piping and brass fittings. A homeowner did some testing and found that dezincification was occurring and that we should be "Prepared to make decisions regarding our plumbing". What the hell? Do I need to replumb my house? Sounds like who ever did the plumbing used poo poo quality brass fittings to save on costs. I guess I would check to see if the same plumber did your house also. Would the HOA even know that info? Assuming the pex was installed in a single run from manifold to fixture you would only need to replace the brass fittings that connect to your fixtures. Which in itself would be a huge pain in the rear end but less so than ripping out all of your pipes. "stolen stuff" posted:When brass pipe fittings are manufactured, zinc is added to the copper alloy to increase the strength of the brass. Because the corrosion of brass is dependent on increasing amounts of zinc, it is recommended to keep the zinc content low (15%-19% of the total alloy). To reduce cost, manufacturers have been turning to high zinc levels (35%+) in the alloy. (Snyder 2011)
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Jan 25, 2013 02:53
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Recently the tank on one of our toilets started leaking water into the bowl, due to a badly deteriorated valve. As it is a very old model (still uses 3.5 gallons at least), we decided to replace it altogether rather than try to retrofit the tank with modern parts. So the supply valve is shut off, the tank has drained as much as it is going to, and now the only question I have before removing the old toilet is: how do I drain the water out of the bowl? Stupid question, but this is my first time doing something like this.
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Jan 25, 2013 06:33
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Meaty Ore posted:Recently the tank on one of our toilets started leaking water into the bowl, due to a badly deteriorated valve. As it is a very old model (still uses 3.5 gallons at least), we decided to replace it altogether rather than try to retrofit the tank with modern parts. So the supply valve is shut off, the tank has drained as much as it is going to, and now the only question I have before removing the old toilet is: how do I drain the water out of the bowl? Stupid question, but this is my first time doing something like this. Flush the toilet to get as much water out of the tank as possible. For removing the rest of the water, you have the following options: - use a shop vac to vacuum out the rest of the water - use a cup to scoop it out - use a sponge to soak up the water - leave the water in the bowl. When you pick up the bowl, slide a garbage bag underneath it to catch the water as you carry it. Don't forget to install a new wax ring, and if you are not installing the new toilet right away, stuff a damp rag in the drain to prevent sewer gas from coming out of the drain.
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Jan 25, 2013 12:04
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Also use a marker to denote which part of the T bolt has the flange. This way when you seat the toiled you know that your T bolt hasn't turned (in which case tightening it would just pull it up through the wax.)
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Jan 25, 2013 19:32
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What's it mean, and how can it be fixed, when a toilet is very...unforgiving? My wife and I are both fairly experienced at this, you'd think, but the upstairs toilet has a hell of a knack for getting clogged no matter how careful we are. I'm just wondering if there's something we can do to fix this, or test it to see what the problem is... Any ideas?
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Jan 25, 2013 23:42
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jackpot posted:What's it mean, and how can it be fixed, when a toilet is very...unforgiving? My wife and I are both fairly experienced at this, you'd think, but the upstairs toilet has a hell of a knack for getting clogged no matter how careful we are. I'm just wondering if there's something we can do to fix this, or test it to see what the problem is... Any ideas? Replace the toilet, Most likely its the toilet. Usually if somethings clogging it its all or nothing. My work has a toilet that you have to be careful about. It's not the drain line, its just the toilet itself. And the lead in pex fittings was common in prior years. Cheapest fix with out replumbing your house is just install a carbon filter near a tap you drink out of. Or a brita pitcher is about the same.
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Jan 26, 2013 10:05
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I thought PEX was fairly new. Who the hell approved lead in fittings made anytime in the last 30 years?
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Jan 27, 2013 07:01
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Ender.uNF posted:I thought PEX was fairly new. Who the hell approved lead in fittings made anytime in the last 30 years? Pex has been in canada for a lot longer then the usa, And I know pex has been in the usa before 2005." There was a class action lawsuit about the lead fittings. But I am not sure what it covered. Or what they'd do about it.
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Jan 28, 2013 06:22
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I'm trying to figure something out - I asked this in the "Fix it Fast" thread and someone suggested I ask here. I remodeled my kitchen, and as part of the remodel, we moved the sink from one wall to another. We hired a plumber to do the rough plumbing work, as it involved moving the drain and supply about 10 feet and I didn't want to deal with that. As part of the work he did, he also ran 1/4" PEX line for the icemaker. Well, to make a long story short, he did really lovely work that didn't meet code and I had to call the company back to re-do it. My wife and I finished the rest of the remodel ourselves. But now I'm stuck with 1/4" PEX that I can't seem to find connections for. I want to connect one end of it to my refrigerator's icemaker, obviously. Under the sink, I've got one of these, to which I want to connect the other end of the PEX line. Clearly, the plumber had some way to make the connection, but there is no way in hell I'm calling him again and I don't want to re-run the line with plastic tubing - for the simple reason that the walls are closed up, the cabinets are installed and it'd be a pain in the rear end. I've looked at the compression fittings that you can use with polyethylene tubing, but those don't seem to fit with the PEX. Any thoughts?
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Jan 30, 2013 18:52
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King of the Cows posted:I'm trying to figure something out - I asked this in the "Fix it Fast" thread and someone suggested I ask here. I'm on break at work so sorry for the quick reply. But it looks like sharkbite has 1/4" fittings for pex. http://www.pexsupply.com/Cash-Acme-U244-1-4-x-1-4-Elbow or you may have to get an adapter that fits your icemaker and shutoff valve. http://www.pexsupply.com/pex/control/search/~SEARCH_STRING=pex%20adapters Since I don't really have the time to find the actual adapter you need here is this. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/Water-Supply-Line-Kit-6CMZ7?Pid=search That kit should have what you need I think.
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Jan 30, 2013 19:34
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Hey, thanks! EDIT: PexSupply doesn't seem to have what I'm looking for. That icemaker kit at Grainger seems like it might work but it's only got one 1/4" compression fitting so I'd have to buy two to actually hook it up. $60 seems pretty steep just to get $5 in parts. Still, thanks for trying! King of the Cows fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 19:57
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King of the Cows posted:Hey, thanks! here is one with both ends. For example: http://www.amazon.com/LDR-509-5175-25-Foot-Connector/dp/B004CR4OBS Be careful when you buy the ice make line. Some of them have the ferrules built right into the line and can't be removed. Which wouldn't be good in your case since you already have your line in the wall. Oatley I believe is one of the manufactures that does that. EDIT: I think you could use this. http://www.pexsupply.com/Cash-Acme-U3523-1-4-x-3-8-SharkBite-Compression-Stop-Valve-Connector?gclid=CNGBz_LnkLUCFQqk4Aod6yEAqw Farside fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 20:12
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Farside posted:here is one with both ends. For example: Yeah, I'd be afraid I couldn't remove the one at Amazon. The Sharkbite you linked to I can't use because I need 1/4" x 1/4".
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Jan 30, 2013 22:53
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Am I missing something? You can just use normal brass compression fittings for PEX. Here's a video example. It even shows 1/4" PEX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQGL8MBLlaE As it shows, you need a brass compression nut. For 1/4", manufacturers recommend a plastic ferrule/ring and a brass tubing insert. At the stop valve under your sink, you may need a brass 3/8" to 1/4" compression adapter. edit: if you have enough slack, maybe cut off a few inches of your PEX and take it with it you so that you can try on the different parts in the store. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Jan 31, 2013 |
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Jan 31, 2013 17:07
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King of the Cows posted:Yeah, I'd be afraid I couldn't remove the one at Amazon. The Sharkbite you linked to I can't use because I need 1/4" x 1/4". The reason I showed you that one was because of the valve you said you had stuff posted:BrassCraft 1/2 inch Nominal Compression x 3/8 inch OD Compression x 3/8 inch OD Compression other stuff posted:1/4" x 3/8" SharkBite Compression Stop Valve Connector The bolded parts looked like what you were looking for for the compression connection, with the 1/4 being the pex line. But looking under the description it doesn't look like that's what it means, sorry about that. I second what kid sinister said. If you can cut a small section off, Home Depot, Lowes or even a local plumbing supply house will be able to get you the correct adapter, or sets of fittings to accomplish what you need to do.
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Jan 31, 2013 18:31
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Thanks. Sorry, I thought I showed you the 1/2" x 3/8" x 1/4" (3/8" goes to faucet, 1/4" goes to icemaker). At any rate, I wasn't sure if I could use the regular brass compression fittings - I don't know anything about PEX (and not much about plumbing, really). The guy at Home Depot wasn't really any help. I did lop off a piece and take it with me. The little brass insert wouldn't fit inside no matter how hard I tried. Nevertheless, I think it might work without the brass insert. I presume that the brass insert is used to prevent the tubing from being crushed - the PEX is so rigid I think the risk of that is probably minimal (as opposed to polyethylene which is fairly flexible by comparison). Thank you both for your help. I'll let you know if it works or if I flood my kitchen (again).
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Jan 31, 2013 22:02
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The insert is what takes the connection from a compression fit to a swaged fitting. It'll work without it but isn't a terribly great idea.
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Feb 1, 2013 02:26
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