Solvent for fossilized plumbers putty?

I'd try the tap option because to me that looks mostly like corroded old pipe thread, not crusty putty/dope.

If it comes to replace I'm thinking Sawzall. My experience, albeit somewhat limited, is once you start trying to bust loose very old threads (if they are threads rather than leaded joints) is that either it doesn't come apart or other parts of the plumbing start breaking in corroded, thin areas.

I ran into that doing my own sink job. Ended up breaking a pipe on a branch. Finally gave in to trying to do that, got out the Sawzall, made a couple cuts, replaced back with a couple couplings (the kind with the metal shell as shown above). Took a fraction of the time I had already invested fighting with the old stuff.

Yeah, they're cheap tools but the whole set is probably less cost than one 1.5" pipe tap of big name. And, lets face it, if plumbing is not your business, how often you gonna use a 1.5" NPT tap; a couple times in your life, maybe?

https://m.harborfreight.com/6-piece-pipe-taps-42432.html?utm_referrer=direct/not provided
 
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Those mission couplings are totally fine for drain work. Just make sure the outer surface of the pipe (that the rubber seals against) is clean and smooth, and then tighten as directed. Having adequate 'velocity' on draining water is important so that solids don't settle out.
 
FWIW, when I did my drain pipe I seem to recall our plumbing code said the couplers had to be the type as shown above with the metal shell, not the plain "unshielded" rubber ones.
 
I think you are right about that. I initially assumed that the sealing compound (putty I believe) that I easily removed from the male fitting was the same as what was in the female threads. Now I think that the female threads may have had pipe dope applied sometime before the most recent joint was made. Also, there is damage to the female threads that I was not able to capture with my camera, and that could not have been done by plastic.
You're probably correct. That tee is cast iron and the original nipple was most likely galvanized steel. At some point the steel rusted and leaked, as they often do with dissimilar metals, and someone replaced it with plastic. They actually did the hardest part of the job by getting that corroded steel nipple out.

Looking at the new pic, Chriss is probably right about the poured joints and the solution to replacing the tee. Personally, I'd try to get a plastic or brass fitting into that tee first with plenty of pipe dope before replacing that tee.

BTW what was the original project that started all this work?
 
Doing the dishes is what caused the problem for sure. The drain stopped draining. In the past it had been variable and cleaning out the trap or augering with the trap removed had always yielded at least temporary (months or years) improvement.

But this time it was at a dead stop, not even a trickle. I removed the trap and tried, but could not get the auger through the three 90's in the line. Next I put in a 45 clean-out to eliminate one of the 90's. Still no luck getting the auger where it needed to go.

Could not use an auger through the vent in the attic because that line also has a 90 and then runs over 12' or so to tee into the main vent stack. No way to get an auger in there without cutting metal pipe.

So I cut the plastic line again about 6" from the vertical metal pipe and opened up the tee. Sticking my fingers in I could feel that the vertical pipe was jammed full.
 
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Once you get this corrected and things are draining, use this stuff for a 7-day shock treatment, and once per month maintenance. it will eat organic material, and loosen the non-organic stuff, allowing it to go down the drain.

https://www.amazon.com/Bio-clean-Drain-Septic-Bacteria-lb/dp/B001N09KN4

71nHOXToMGL._SL1500_.jpg


Enjoy,
Rich P
 
I have it working now!

Thanks again to everyone for all of your suggestions and for taking the time to share your knowledge. I learned a lot by reading all of your posts. If you made a suggestion that I did not use this time, know that I have filed it away for future consideration. This plumbing thing is always a learning curve for me, and I have two big houses to maintain. :)

Long story short: I was able to get 4 full turns on the plastic male fitting with tape applied. I used quality teflon tape and it seemed to actually help make turning a bit easier. I would have liked to have gotten more turns. But the joint felt good going together with resistance gradually increasing and at 4 turns, where it lined up with the pipe coming from the sink, it felt nice and snug.

I Fernco'd together the two ends of the PVC drain pipe. Tested and tested again. No leaks.

So I am going to leave it there for now. Will monitor it closely for a while and occasionally going forward. If problems develop in the future I will come back to this thread and try another way, brass fitting maybe, or cutting it out completely. Hopefully none of that will be necessary.





DSC01321 cr rs800.JPG
 
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In order to be effective, Bio-clean needs time to work. It will continue to work, unless the organisms are killed. If you treat your drain system as if it were connected to a septic system, it will work continuously, and you will refresh it once per month.

My drains, in a house from 1951, recently needed a bit of snaking, since they had become plumb full of a sort of accumulated black clay-like material. It did not stink, but plungering only made it worse, until a complete clog of bathroom sink and kitchen sink (shared vent and drain sub-main). Bio-clean was recommended by my friend, a pro plumber (I paid him for his work), and since his snake went in, in the kitchen, and came out the bottom of the p-trap in the bathroom, grabbing the bathroom rugs with black goo, I received my tub of Bio-Clean for free. It is a bit pricey, but will go for several months, including the initial week of shock treatment.

Any chlorine bleach, or other such anti-biotic cleaners will kill the organisms. Consider yourself as attached to a septic system, and act accordingly. Things will improve over time. It has for me.

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
older sinks appear to have been mounted higher than new

I don't know if this is necessarily true or not--it may be for some older homes. In my case, when I renovated my kitchen, the current kitchen sink basins were only 6" deep--the ones that I installed are 12" deep, so right there is a 6" reason to drop the tee height by 7 or 8".
 
I don't know if this is necessarily true or not--it may be for some older homes. In my case, when I renovated my kitchen, the current kitchen sink basins were only 6" deep--the ones that I installed are 12" deep, so right there is a 6" reason to drop the tee height by 7 or 8".

i guess when i say older i meant the old wall hung porcelain kitchen sinks 1900-1940 most of them ive replaced the drain was high on them. but adding a deeper basin like 12 inches could do it on a newer one as well.
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i guess when i say older i meant the old wall hung porcelain kitchen sinks 1900-1940 most of them ive replaced the drain was high on them. but adding a deeper basin like 12 inches could do it on a newer one as well.
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I know what you mean--renovated those houses. The main part of my home is 140+ years old--I don't even know if it had indoor plumbing when it was built--there is still a hand-pump well out back. It has two large additions (basically the size of the original house), and now totals 6300 sq ft. I'm sure it had one of those big ol' honking porcelain wall-mounts, but that was later replaced with an actual counter-top sink--but only 6" deep (and I hate splashing stuff everywhere)--so when I renovated, I went with 12" deep basins.
 
Once you get this corrected and things are draining, use this stuff for a 7-day shock treatment, and once per month maintenance. it will eat organic material, and loosen the non-organic stuff, allowing it to go down the drain.

https://www.amazon.com/Bio-clean-Drain-Septic-Bacteria-lb/dp/B001N09KN4
Thanks for that! I'm going to get some of this for our kitchen pipes. Things are not ideal under the sink (see below), so this will help.

There is very little fall in the drain pipe from the sink, and I have already raised the trap up as high as possible.

i guess when i say older i meant the old wall hung porcelain kitchen sinks 1900-1940 most of them ive replaced the drain was high on them.

That must be why my drain pipe under the sink is too low for the pipe that goes into the wall. Thing is, there is also a disposal under the sink, so that makes matters even worse. The house was built in 1940. I figured it was before disposals became commonplace, but I also forgot about those old fashioned porcelain sinks. (My grandmother's house in Detroit, built in 1924, likely had one--her kitchen was pretty much untouched.) Short of having a plumber come in and do some major work, I can't really think of any way to correct this. As it is, water sits in the drain pipe and even in the disposal at times.
 
Ain't retro-fitting ancient plumbing to modern standards fun? :confused: Done it way too many times on pretty much every home I have ever owned--at a certain point, I just get pissed off enough and end up tearing up walls and floors and just completely replacing it--especially if it is old black iron. I had an upstairs bathroom (with all new fixtures and plumbing), but the hot water supply line running through the wall was so corroded/clogged with deposits that there was near zero water pressure--had to replace it the whole way from the basement to the upstairs bathroom--inside useable diameter of the inside of the pipe was the size of a drinking straw--in with the new copper!
 
Glad you got it sorted out. File it under "its always something". When I have wonky plumbing drain pipe sealing issues I use Ultra Grey silicone. That stuff will seal even if you only caught a couple threads!
 
Glad you got it sorted out. File it under "its always something". When I have wonky plumbing drain pipe sealing issues I use Ultra Grey silicone. That stuff will seal even if you only caught a couple threads!

Hit up your local automotive store/dept--Permatex Ultra Blue RTV seals ANYTHING--it is designed to be used in all sorts of conditions--temp/oils/solvents, and can even be used in place of actual gaskets for automotive applications.
 
Hit up your local automotive store/dept--Permatex Ultra Blue RTV seals ANYTHING--it is designed to be used in all sorts of conditions--temp/oils/solvents, and can even be used in place of actual gaskets for automotive applications.

I know. As a transmission mech I routinely put transmissions together with it. Factory "gasket " quite often. Ultra grey or black is best for automotive. Resists oil better.
 
I know. As a transmission mech I routinely put transmissions together with it. Factory "gasket " quite often. Ultra grey or black is best for automotive. Resists oil better.

I don't think I've ever run across a K-car that actually had valve cover gaskets--I think they were all built with Permatex instead of gaskets--but what do you want for a couple grand worth of brand new "junk"? OTOH--I have seen those little "eggbeater" 2.2's run for hundreds of thousands of miles with the "death rattle" from the valvetrain.
 
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