Best Way To Cut 4" Iron Sewer Pipe??? Plumbers.....

[TURBOPOWERED68]

I am with Turbotroy 1000000%

BTW if you can't get a chain cutter, use a sawzall with a few good good wood blades and it will speed up the cutting time.

 

[Bruce Urie]

Portable compressor, air hose, cut off tool with 4cfm, cut off wheel from Harbor Freight,, then finish the area where the cut off tool won't fit with a hacksaw...... Just an idea for you.

Or you can borrow my "Do this" gun, the .44 magnum.

Bruce '87 Grand National

 

[Pronto]

I'd dump that system.

 

[salvageV6]

I just wanna be able to dump IN the system when I'm done.

 

[TURBOPOWERED68]

pick up a section of NO-Hub cast iron, two MG couplings and be done with it.

 

[34blazer]

Digging into my memory of my Roto-Rooter days...

To cut the pipe, the absolute best way to get the job done is find a snap-cutter, as previously mentioned. Maybe HD rents them? I wouldn't use fernco's to couple the pvc to the old iron pipe, a couple of low-flex 4" banded couplers properly torqued is what I used. Schedule 40 pvc, iirc. Im sure it has something to do with code as well.

 

[salvageV6]

I may test run a piece of PVC with our hot water, I'm sure it will melt sooner or later.

Got a carbide and a diamond blade for the sawzall, perfect for cast iron so the package says.

Gonna check to see if there's any way to mate NEW cast iron or new CPVC pipe into an OLD STYLE cast iron hub fitting which is the best access point for me to work at.

I already have the stainless banded "support" Ferncos not the cheap PVC ones.

 

[34blazer]

I may have missed it, but.... Are you trying to avoid replacing the WYE? I've only had to replace a portion of iron pipe into a hub once, and I was just an apprentice at the time. Instead of "leading" the pipe the old fashioned way, we used shredded lead. IIRC, we used burlap(?) packing and then took a small handful of the shredded lead and rolled it up with our hands. Then wrapped it around the hub and used a long drift punch to pack the lead in(giggity). I think we had to pack three layers total before we were satisfied.

To couple PVC to the iron hub, a rubber bushing can be used, but I have never done it that way since it takes a lot more time to remove the old iron and lead from the hub, and I don't know if that is acceptable under code.


*edit*

replace burlap with "oakem" and shredded lead with "lead wool"

 

[salvageV6]

Thanks for the reply so I guess it can be done that way, with iron to iron.

Yeah it has packed lead and the wool or burlap inside.

The WYE is good and all metal so the hot water which drains there won't affect that area, until it rots.

Far less room to work in there than at the hub of it which is good pipe.

The rotted section goes into that hub so it can come out.

 

[salvageV6]

I've been looking at mixing valves and if I install one set at 145 degrees I can use regular cheap PVC sewer pipe and fittings for that project.

If I install it near the burner it feeds the whole house, including dishwasher and clothes washer, so the temp. must be at least 140 for cleaning, otherwise more plumbing would be needed to isolate those two devices and feed them hotter water.

That wouldn't be that hard to do but we are used to good hot water anyway so 145 should suffice for the whole house.

I guess they need cleaning a lot so 3 shutoffs would be used for ease of cleaning/rebuilding.

Any advice as to a well made mixing valve would be appreciated.

 

[turbotroy]

The watts lf1170 mixing valve will do the trick, can be set from 95F to 160F, and has adapters to solder to copper, threads for screw pipe, etc. Right about $150.00.

 

[salvageV6]

Cool, looked at a bunch that didn't have the correct range, I will check that one out.