Leak Advice

[Daniel Erlandson]

Looking for some advice on a leak on a 2000 D1 California. Have traced it down to a sort of PVC junction area near the back right corner. There is a big PVC pipe (2 inch?) that leads to a PVC junction that has 5 small outlets (3/4 inch?) with small corrugated pipe that leads out of each of these outlets. Pictures are not so clear, but might give you a sense

Uploaded with ImageShack.us and . I can't quite see the leak/crack but know it is amongst this monstrosity. What is the best way to tackle this? Cut out the whole beast and redo it? Will I still find this part from D1? yes I can...http://easyspaparts.com/filterscreen1.asp?id=608&currentpage=4&cid=20 If I do cut it out how do I splice together the small corrugated pipe....just PVC couplers? I know the type of cement (weld-on) I should be using (don;t have it yet, but have seen posts about it), I know there is the PVC repair stuff...do i try that? Help!! I'm inclined to cut the whole thing out...just have to figure out how to get everything back together...looking for some advice...

Thanks,

dan

[brettnolan]

Absolutely NO FUN!

Before you go cutting anything, make sure you remove all of the foam and other insulation and PINPOINT the leak. Water travels funny and you always want to be sure that you know EXACTLY where the leak is (i.e. - see if actually seeping from a fitting or a crack in the plumbing). I always have a towel or napkin or something to dry up the water around the area that way if it's running down from somewhere else I can keep looking.

When removing the foam, make sure and remove plenty from either side of the plumbing fixture that is leaking to make room for the repair. Then just find the necessary parts and glue back together.

[Daniel Erlandson]

right...thanks. I will move more foam out of the way...agreed, NO FUN... I think I have narrowed it down to somewhere in the recesses of that 5 port manifold. I'd love to find a source for that locally instead of having it shipped from CA to NJ! anyway, I guess my question is still... do I use a regular old coupler to attach the flexible corrugated pipe I have onto more flex corrugated pipe and back into the manifold?

dan

[brettnolan]

yes, just regular schedule 40 pvc fittings and flex pipe.

[Daniel Erlandson]

yes, just regular schedule 40 pvc fittings and flex pipe.

Thanks...Can I get that flex pipe at a Home Depot or other store? I have seen some flex stuff there that looks similar, but wasn't sure if it had the right specs.

dan

[Roger]

yes, just regular schedule 40 pvc fittings and flex pipe.

Thanks...Can I get that flex pipe at a Home Depot or other store? I have seen some flex stuff there that looks similar, but wasn't sure if it had the right specs.

dan

If you can cut all the smaller tubing the same lenght and just add to the 2" tubing to move the whole manifold closer to the smaller tubing.

[Daniel Erlandson]

If you can cut all the smaller tubing the same lenght and just add to the 2" tubing to move the whole manifold closer to the smaller tubing.

right, makes sense, although the 5 pieces of smaller tubing go in slightly different directions and it might be tough to get them all to bend into the manifold piece if I move it closer. My preference would be to lengthen those smaller pieces. Also looks like someone has done some work in this area before...wonder if this current leak is the result of someone not quite cementing it all up well enough.

Home Depot as a source of that smaller tubing?

dan

[david_bilton]

if you can see the leak and it's easy to get to you could try to heat up the manifold with a heat gun and sweat the 2 parts apart (this can be a bugger some times)make sure all the foam is gone if you try this use primer and glue for flex to hard pvc i would try that before i would cut and glue if you warm up the pipe it will bend easy(sometimes) good luck