PVC cement too fast

[treesprite]

Looking for opinions about my conclusion. The PVC cement set the pipe and fittings together before I could push the pipe all the way into the fitting and twist it (it's 3/4" pipe). The pipe is in the fitting maybe a half inch. I imagine it is never going to separate, and I used enough cement that it was dripping off, but still I am worried about a leak because of the short connection without the twist. I put silicone around it, thinking any leak is going to be minor enough that the silicone will stop it.

 

Do you think I'm underestimating Murphy, or that this will be okay? The pipe was already hard plumbed on the other end, so replacing the entire thing is impossible and cut-and-splice is a big pita in such a tight spot (location and plumbing-wise).

[epleeds]

Is it on the drain?  Or on the pump side?

 

if it’s on the drain side you might be okay. But if that end is pressurized you might want to redo it. 

 

pics would help. 

[Origami]

41 minutes ago, epleeds said:

Is it on the drain?  Or on the pump side?

if it’s on the drain side you might be okay. But if that end is pressurized you might want to redo it. 

pics would help. 

Agree 100%. Still, probably a low risk of leaking on either side (pressure or drain), but if it's leaking, silicone's not going to stop it long term. In this case, you're better off just redoing it.

 

Heck, I've seen dry-fit (no cement) drain side plumbing operate for years without leaking on one tank (previously sited at a scuba shop). At the end of its run, I helped to break it down and was floored to see that the drain side PVC was not cemented, but just pressed together.

[Jon Lazar]

The pipe needs to be seated all the way in the socket to get a permanent seal.  Yours is only 2/3 of the way in.  Even for an unpressurized drain line, the pipes in our aquariums are frequently bumped and subjected to vibration.  I'd be concerned that the pieces will separate over time.  It probably won't, but it will cause a lot of damage to your residence.

 

Unless the fitting is somewhere where a leak doesn't matter, like inside the sump, I think it's foolish to take the risk.

 

 

[treesprite]

It is a horizontal pipe on one side of a SCWD, on the SCWD end (the other side is a horizontal elbow). 

 

It isn't on my main pump, it's a mini CL with a non-drilled intake (a pipe with a couple hundred holes in it, painted black). I just have to stick a plug in the return to turn it off, then cut/splice the pipe, but have to go to the hardware store for the connector and the adapter that I ruined. I'm just too tired from spending the last 4 days just working on switching tanks (in my PJs the whole time, haven't gone out, got dehydrated and forgot to eat most of the time... you know how this hobby can be). I tested it out with the pump I need to sell.

 

(FYI, I have my main return on a Sea Swirl, so I needed to use my return holes for something. It is actually a convenient situation, because I wanted flow down low in the tank and can't do that with an open loop return.)

 

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by treesprite

[treesprite]

BTW, when I tested with the pump which I just turned off a few minutes ago, there was no leaking from that joint, but there was a leak in a joint that I thought was well fitted and glued (I have an empty 10g on the floor behind the tank, so no water on the floor). I guess I will have to re-do that joint too.

Edited November 13, 2019 by treesprite

[madweazl]

I wouldnt worry about it much honestly (provided what is sealed is good). I have some on the 150g that goes to the basement that I didnt get seated all the way. 

[treesprite]

Yeah, I can't see those pipes ever coming apart. I don't want a leak that I can't get completely sealed. 

 

Regarding pipes coming apart or joints leaking, is there less pressure in a horizontal run part of a return, or a vertical lift, or are they the same?

[Origami]

Yeah, I can't see those pipes ever coming apart. I don't want a leak that I can't get completely sealed. 
 
Regarding pipes coming apart or joints leaking, is there less pressure in a horizontal run part of a return, or a vertical lift, or are they the same?

If the pipe is full of water (as in the pressure side) pressure depends on the height of the column of water above. Thus, pressure is higher lower in the pipe because of the mass of water above. You feel the same effect as you swim toward the bottom of a pool. Thus, pressure is the same throughout a horizontal run.