Plumbing and Piping - 12 times trying to fix leak

O.k., I give up trying to figure this one out. We have 350ft. new water pipe connected to a cottage and modular. The problem is after it Y's off to cottage. The 90 connecting PVC to PVC will not glue without leaking. We've tried 12 times!! And still the leak....

Pipe is 1". PVC throughout then to copper above ground. We've done everything but stand on our heads,no,come to think of it that too. Made sure pipes were dry, waited 3 hours to test,have I forgotten anything? How can we get this bugger to work???

Using primer?


What is the water pressure on the incoming line? If it is unusualy high it could cause problems.

Yes,we used primer. I should mention that the water is also connected to primary residence(same meter). Don't know what the water pressure is but if it were a problem wouldn't it have blown the closer pipes?

after applying the primer wait about 1 minute before applying the glue, if the primer is too "wet" the glue will just push out the joint when assembled.

Make sure you are using the same type fitting that the pipe is. Sch 40 pipe, sch 40 fittings, not PVC WDV fittings.

Fitting will be marked on it's end as to what it is.

if the pipe is schedule 80 it requires a heavy bodied glue (schedule 40 is white, schedule 80 is blueish grey)

Pipe is schedule 40. Going to try again and wait longer for primer to dry.Wish us luck.Perhaps 13 is our lucky number?

This is a longshot but be sure that all of your pipe, fittings, glues are PVC (white) and not CPVC (tan). Once in a while I see the two mixed with poor results.

Are you using old glue? the stuff loses it sticky powers when it gets old. Maybe try some fresh glue. I love a brand called "Christie's Red Hot" for PVC. I would leave the glue to dry overnight if you could.

better luck!

Check your fittings and pipe. Pipe should be absolutely round, +/- a thousandths or so - measure the diameter in several places around the end where you want to place the fitting. I have seen egg shaped pipe. Check the engagement in the fitting. For PVC and CPVC pipe and fittings under 2 inch diameter, there should be an "interference fit" - you should not be able to bottom the dry pipe into the fitting.

I assume you are not trying to reuse the same fitting. Sometimes you can get lucky but usually in the end, you'll have problems

Do not mix PVC pipe and CPVC fittings or vice versa. (I know there will be a lot of guys come on here and say you can do it but, I won't allow it on my jobs)

Overnight dry is recommended - dry time depends on temperature, humidity, and the pressure you will subject the pipe to.

Use fresh pipe glue - actually, Glue is a misnomer here - the joint actually depends on the disolution of the pipe material. The solvents (primarily THF and MEK evaporate quickly, even from closed cans of "glue"

Always chamfer the ends of the pipe to remove any burrs left from the cutting process. These burrs will clean off the glue as you insert it into the fitting.

Thirteen was the charm!!!
Many thanks to all for great info! Yes, we learned a lot including some stores carry better quality fittings than others.
A better surface and longer waiting time between primer and glue did the trick.Thanks again:D