On my last camping trip, noticed a small wet spot under the trailer as we were about to pull out and leave. Turns out- a hairline crack in the grey tank ABS pipe leaving the grey tank.
The crack has gotten large enough that I believe I need to cut the pipe and try to patch with a rubber coupling, as opposed to some sort of jb weld solution. Question is- how to approach that? I'd like to cut the pipe flush with the collar, and have a rubber coupling (a Fernco coupling perhaps) go over the collar on one end, and then into the 1.5" abs pipe on the other end, but- I'm not sure what size the rubber coupling needs to be to fit over the collar...if it's even made in that size.
Or- other suggestions on how I should approach a fix?
The crack has gotten large enough that I believe I need to cut the pipe and try to patch with a rubber coupling, as opposed to some sort of jb weld solution. Question is- how to approach that? I'd like to cut the pipe flush with the collar, and have a rubber coupling (a Fernco coupling perhaps) go over the collar on one end, and then into the 1.5" abs pipe on the other end, but- I'm not sure what size the rubber coupling needs to be to fit over the collar...if it's even made in that size.
Or- other suggestions on how I should approach a fix?
Update:
Applied the fix today. I did opt for socket saver solution. Everything worked ok- socket saver cleared out the hub from what I could tell, but- new pipe was only going in about .5", to which- I was uncomfortable with that. Would have liked a little more pipe into the hub. I bored out the hole quite a few times, and...no new material was coming out. Not sure if there was perhaps a small sliver on the side I couldn't fully see that was causing blockage on the new pipe or not.
In any event, I opted for the Fernco coupling solution at that point. Think it worked well. The coupling was "1.5 hub"/"1.5 pipe". This may have been the best solution anyway, as it provides flexibility at the stress point now. Also added a pipe strap at the elbow.
Thanks to all for your help. I now have knowledge, tools and supplies to make abs repairs in the future if I need to do anything at the campsite- woot!
Applied the fix today. I did opt for socket saver solution. Everything worked ok- socket saver cleared out the hub from what I could tell, but- new pipe was only going in about .5", to which- I was uncomfortable with that. Would have liked a little more pipe into the hub. I bored out the hole quite a few times, and...no new material was coming out. Not sure if there was perhaps a small sliver on the side I couldn't fully see that was causing blockage on the new pipe or not.
In any event, I opted for the Fernco coupling solution at that point. Think it worked well. The coupling was "1.5 hub"/"1.5 pipe". This may have been the best solution anyway, as it provides flexibility at the stress point now. Also added a pipe strap at the elbow.
Thanks to all for your help. I now have knowledge, tools and supplies to make abs repairs in the future if I need to do anything at the campsite- woot!
frisco_dave wrote:
Update:
Below is a pic of the whole grey tank run- just as JBarca said- 2 elbows, and then out into the drain valve.
The grey tank itself is bolted into the frame- 3 bolts on each side, for a total of 6. I didn't really feel any movement in the tank itself. Felt pretty solidly attached to the frame. The more I thought on it, I do think the dips in the road on the last trip caused excessive bouncing of the trailer at 60mph speeds, and- what did the pipe in.
Where the crack is (to the right in the below pic, almost against the "collar"), there is no hub to which the pipe is going into. The "collar" is physically part of the pipe. This leaves out the option of using a boring tool to clean out any pipe in the hub (I did order the tool though. Good to have in the arsenal).
While I'm fairly certain that the Fernco coupling (hub one end, pipe the other) will fit over the "collar", once I cut the pipe, if the Fernco coupling doesn't fit, then I'm screwed.
And hence...going with the "fiber screen mesh with abs cement, 3 layers" solution from JBarca 1st. I'll drill a small hole at each end of the crack, and then go from there. Will also add a Fernco coupling (pipe one end, pipe the other) in the middle of that run to give flexibility.
In another post, saw Gdetrailer also suggested cutting an abs pipe lengthwise for a 1/2 moon, and applying that over the patch (abs cement on the 1/2 moon and the pipe, and then slipping the abs 1/2 moon onto current pipe, thus forming a bond). Potentially a next step down the road if needed.
The "collar" is not physically part of the 1-1/2 inch pipe. The tank has a 3 inch female connection bonded to it. There is a 3 inch male x 1-1/2 inch female eccentric reducer glued into the 3 inch female fitting bonded to the tank. The 1-1/2 inch pipe is then glued into the 1-1/2 inch female socket end of the reducer. You can cut the pipe off and bore the socket out as I recommended with the tool you bought that I recommended.
This is the fitting the 1-1/2 pipe is glued into.
3 inch male x 1-1/2 female eccentric reducer
Update:
Below is a pic of the whole grey tank run- just as JBarca said- 2 elbows, and then out into the drain valve.
The grey tank itself is bolted into the frame- 3 bolts on each side, for a total of 6. I didn't really feel any movement in the tank itself. Felt pretty solidly attached to the frame. The more I thought on it, I do think the dips in the road on the last trip caused excessive bouncing of the trailer at 60mph speeds, and- what did the pipe in.
Where the crack is (to the right in the below pic, almost against the "collar"), there is no hub to which the pipe is going into. The "collar" is physically part of the pipe. This leaves out the option of using a boring tool to clean out any pipe in the hub (I did order the tool though. Good to have in the arsenal).
While I'm fairly certain that the Fernco coupling (hub one end, pipe the other) will fit over the "collar", once I cut the pipe, if the Fernco coupling doesn't fit, then I'm screwed.
And hence...going with the "fiber screen mesh with abs cement, 3 layers" solution from JBarca 1st. I'll drill a small hole at each end of the crack, and then go from there. Will also add a Fernco coupling (pipe one end, pipe the other) in the middle of that run to give flexibility.
In another post, saw Gdetrailer also suggested cutting an abs pipe lengthwise for a 1/2 moon, and applying that over the patch (abs cement on the 1/2 moon and the pipe, and then slipping the abs 1/2 moon onto current pipe, thus forming a bond). Potentially a next step down the road if needed.
Below is a pic of the whole grey tank run- just as JBarca said- 2 elbows, and then out into the drain valve.
The grey tank itself is bolted into the frame- 3 bolts on each side, for a total of 6. I didn't really feel any movement in the tank itself. Felt pretty solidly attached to the frame. The more I thought on it, I do think the dips in the road on the last trip caused excessive bouncing of the trailer at 60mph speeds, and- what did the pipe in.
Where the crack is (to the right in the below pic, almost against the "collar"), there is no hub to which the pipe is going into. The "collar" is physically part of the pipe. This leaves out the option of using a boring tool to clean out any pipe in the hub (I did order the tool though. Good to have in the arsenal).
While I'm fairly certain that the Fernco coupling (hub one end, pipe the other) will fit over the "collar", once I cut the pipe, if the Fernco coupling doesn't fit, then I'm screwed.
And hence...going with the "fiber screen mesh with abs cement, 3 layers" solution from JBarca 1st. I'll drill a small hole at each end of the crack, and then go from there. Will also add a Fernco coupling (pipe one end, pipe the other) in the middle of that run to give flexibility.
In another post, saw Gdetrailer also suggested cutting an abs pipe lengthwise for a 1/2 moon, and applying that over the patch (abs cement on the 1/2 moon and the pipe, and then slipping the abs 1/2 moon onto current pipe, thus forming a bond). Potentially a next step down the road if needed.
