I just (painfully) removed a chrome pipe + solder bushing from a cast iron hub. I bought a Desanco fitting to transition between the cast iron and a chromed brass tailpipe (this is for a wall-hung lav).

The problem is that the hub (I don't know if that's even the right word for threaded cast iron) is set a little too far back -- with the Desanco in, the slip coupling connection would be behind the wall, and that can't be good. If I take the coupling connection off the Desanco, leaving male threads, and then put a female Desanco on top of that then it sticks out enough... but stacking fittings like that seems like a bad idea. Although I guess it's really just turning the Desanco into a brass nipple.

What should I do? The possibilities I came up with were

1) Stay with it stacked
2) Add a galvanized steel nipple... would look less odd, but I can't see why it would work better than the brass -- and don't laugh, but honestly I don't know how to get a secure fit with a round nipple, there's nowhere to grab it with the wrench!
3) Put a PVC adapter into the hub and solvent-weld a pipe into that to make a stub out. I've avoided this answer because it will be exposed, but maybe I could just cut it off pretty short and then transition to the brass (compression?).

I don't know if it matters, but I'm also concerned that I nicked the cast iron threads a bit while getting the bushing out. Not badly, but I wonder if one of these answers would be the most forgiving to imperfect threads.

Here are two pictures to illustrate; the first is a closeup of my current solution, the second shows where the wall will be.

http://i17.tinypic.com/3zc2vfc.jpg
http://i19.tinypic.com/2vhy7g0.jpg

Thanks very much for any opinions or ideas!

-Nina

Well I would chose door No. 3, sort of... Use ABS (black pipe) in the following order. 1 1/2 inch Male adapter, bonded joint to pipe, to male adapter, tight fit flush to wall, then thread on a 1 1/8 th (or 1 1/4) compression ring for your final chrome plated p-trap assembly. You will need to slide a chrome Beauty ring over the ptrap arm before it gets put into the wall adapter compression ring. That should work. BTW, that electrical receptacle is in a very awkward location if this is in the bathroom. Who is your electrician? :D nm

Can you explain a bit about "bonded joint to pipe"? Does that solvent weld like PVC? I've never worked with ABS, why would you prefer it to PVC in this situation? Thanks very much!


Who is your electrician? :D nm

Same joker who's my plumber, of course. She's not good, but she's cheap.

Don't worry, there's a real receptacle up by the basin. That's essentially a junction box, but I thought since I had to put in a box I might as well have an extra outlet for things that are plugged in all the time, like electric toothbrushes. I always think a blank junction box on a finished wall looks kind of dumb. I did think of putting a dummy switch there instead, just to confuse future generations.

-Nina