View Full Version : Fixing an elbow on a pipe against an outside wall?
 
 jkarp
Oct 11, 2005, 07:59 PM
I have a leak on an outside pipe coming from the 90 degree elbow bend (I think). I have wrapped it in that hardening tape, but it still leaks (much less now). I would like to fix the leak completely, but here are my problems. 
The pipe is right up against a wall, so getting around it is pretty hard. Below is a picture of the pipe. What about a 90 degree compression fitting? The problem with that sounds like I would need to cut the pipe with a pipe cutter and I wouldn't be able to do that seeing as the pipe is against a wall, right?
Does anyone have any other ideas? This is driving me crazy!
 
Thanks... josh
 
http://www.jother.com/misc/pipe.jpg
 clukkes
Oct 11, 2005, 08:09 PM
How about chipping the wall around the pipe?
 jkarp
Oct 11, 2005, 08:17 PM
Thanks for the reply. I chipped away enough to get the tape around there, but that didn't fix it completely. I can chip away more, but I want to know what the best method of fixing this would be before I go chip away the whole thing!
 
By the way, I chipped away more wall and wrapped more tape than shown in the picture above. 
 
... josh
 clukkes
Oct 11, 2005, 08:26 PM
To bad you just can't redo the piping... seems like a good time to.
 labman
Oct 11, 2005, 08:30 PM
Is it a water line, a drain, or what?  How big is it?  I don't remember seeing compression elbows meant for iron pipe.  They do make straight unions.  It wouldn't be elegant, but you could cut both pipes and put nipples in a new elbow, and connect both of them with compression fittings.  You could remove the tape wrap and cut the lower pipe.  Likely the other one would swing out a little from the wall, enough to cut it with a recip saw or a hacksaw.  Compression fittings do not need a straight, smooth cut.  
 
If it is a drain, I would be very tempted to try to find big enough plastic tubing to slip over it.  A couple of hose clamps would complete the job.
 speedball1
Oct 12, 2005, 07:52 AM
This looks like a 3/4" water pipe.  If this were my call I'd dig or break out a hole under the pipe on the floor and  cut the bad piece out leaving the unthreaded end bare.  If the elbo was good I would then remove the bad piece of pipe from the elbo.
I would then slip a dresser coupling over the bare end of the pipe and a threaded  nipple,( after first taping the threads with teflon tape) into the elbo.  You may then tighten both compression nuts on the dresser coupling for a solid connection.
If the elbo's bad I would cut the vertical pipe back to the nearest threaded fitting and convert to PVC using a male PVC adapter. You may  then replace the pipe and elbo with PVC if cold and CPVC if hot and connect using the dresser coupling.  Good luck,  Tom