[brewman70]

Trying to remove the trap under the kitchen sink, I managed to break the pipe. Now the piece right behind the trap is stuck in the pipe that comes out of the wall, I cannot seem to pull it free. What's the best way to get this out?

[hkstroud]

What kind of pipe is it, steel, PVC, CPVC?

[brewman70]

Sorry, it is brass, and the pipe going into the wall is iron.

[hkstroud]

Did the pipe break off inside the wall or did the elbow on the end or the pipe break?

[brewman70]

It broke outside the wall. The brass pipe is stuck inside the iron pipe. I can grab onto it with pliers, but it won't budge.

[hkstroud]

Is the brass in the pipe or is it in a fitting on the end of the pipe?

[KISS]

If it's galvanized, just cut the galvanized pipe and use a Fernco rubber coupling and replace all of the dran stuff with PVC. Lowe's has the J trap to 1.5" PVC. You will need a 1.5" piece of PVC to connect to the galvanized pipe. At least I hope it's galvanized and not cast iron pipe.

Cast iron in normally black and galvanized drains are silver.

Is it galvanized or cast iron?

[massplumber2008]

Brewman70.. I have damn near cried over this type situation! I believe that here you must simply disintegrate the brass pipe that you are talking about. I mean... you must use a screwdriver or small chisel and literally peel this awaty from the walls of the iron pipe. Some people will no doubt disagree with this information... but I am telling you... start with a pair of pliers and work back and forth/in/out as best you can... THEN with a hammer and flat screwdriver start to separate the brass off the iron... be gentle... take your time and you will eventaully collapse the brass enough that you can finally rotate/pull the brass pipe out.

Then you can replace with a brass or plastic replacement and nut. ANd if it is what I think it... I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!

Seriously... will not be so bad if you just take time and be sure not to damage the pipe you are trying to save (damage/collapse the brass! ). Hey let me know if this helped!

[brewman70]

Hkstroud & KeepItSimpleStupid, looking again it does look like it might be galvanized rather than iron. It's rusty, which is why I think the brass pipe is stuck and what made me think it was iron. Massplumber's solution is what I've been pondering, but I was afraid of making the problem worse. If I can just cut the pipe and use pvc, I think I'll be much happier in the long run, and at least it won't corrode like the brass has.
So at Lowe's or Home Depot (both stores are close by), I look for a Fernco rubber coupling? Is there another generic name for what I need? Thanks all of you

[speedball1]

If it's galvanized, just cut the galvanized pipe and use a Fernco rubber coupling and replace all of the dran stuff with PVC. Lowes has the J trap to 1.5" PVC. You will need a 1.5" piece of PVC to connect to the galvanized pipe. At least I hope it's galvanized and not cast iron pipe.

Cast iron in normally black and galvanized drains are silver in color.

Is it galvanized or cast iron?

If you have the room to attach a fitting on the pipe coming out of the wall I would use a Fernco Shielded Coupling or a No-Hub Coupling( see image) in place of the rubber coupling. The reason being is the coupling will give support to the trap and raiser while the rubber coupling will not. Out side of that I support KeepitSimples solution all the way down the line. Good luck, Tom

[hkstroud]

I think I disagree. If the threads on one end are rusted away the threads on the other end are also about to go. I think I would remove the iron and replace with PVC. I wouldn't relish the thought of picking out the threads in the walls should the pipe break while unscrewing the iron but that's no more work than cutting 1 1/2 iron with a hack saw inside a cabinet.

[KISS]

Home Depot has the Fernco. I know, I just did the job. In my case I used the unsupported Fernco because I had a 22 1/2 deg elbow to deal with. With the unsupported Fernco I could give the drain a slight pitch and besides it was a dual sink. I got the parts in both places, but I would start at Lowe's.

I was able to use a Bosch jig saw to cut the pipe and got a nice clean edge. A reciprocating saw would have been ideal. I did use an angle grinder with a metal cutting blade once to cut a similar section of galvanized.

The Lowe's p-trap part you will need is Dearborn Brass HP9738 among other stuff.

[HaigBrown]

Massplumber2008 ("I feel your pain...") is right on the money. I just followed his suggestion and it worked. I erred in not being sufficiently attentive and actually drove the partially-collapsed inner pipe several inches back into the galvanized pipe. It still seemed stuck fast BUT it had moved the other way! Moron! Fortunately, I kept cool and used both needle nose and regular pliers to coax it back out as I was using a very heavy steel screwdriver (probably 100 years old with a wooden handle) which I carefully inserted it into the portions of the inner pipe that had been pried away from the walls. I added some WD40 for lubrication and kept tugging with the pliers and suddenly the whole nasty crushed piece slid out.

Thank you, Massplumber2008, you RULE!

Page Nelson, Oakland CA

[speedball1]

Hi HaigBrow and welcome to The Plumbing Page at AMHD.com.
And we thank you for the update. Glad you're all fixed up, Tom