Thread: disconnecting PVC fittings

Mick you could try a bit of heat from a heat gun on the outside of the fitting. Go easy and keep the heat gun moving. Don't linger in one spot for too long.
I have a quick change fitting on my DC that stopped being quick when I had to bash the bits apart a few times. Some paste wax (Ubeaut of course) seems to be doing the job ok. slide on and off easily now.

I had thought of heat but do not have a heat gun - I think I will add to my 'bunnos list as a number of things I have been doing could have been 'solved' with one. My partner suggested baby oil. I might try spraying wd-40. Some wax before fitting sounds like a reasonable idea but grease is cheaper so I may experiment.
cheers
Mick

Some hints.

1: round cut ends with sand paper or a file and make sure they are square as you can get them.
I have a chuck on my WW lathe that can hold up to 800 mm long pieces so I can slightly taper/round the outside ends

2: When pieces get stuck, tapping (hard) on opposite sides with a rubber mallet and pushing one piece back and forth seems to ease then out. This nearly always works.

3: An oil filter gripper of the type that has a steel or Al handle and a thick rubber strip that you can wrap around up to 12" ducting will allow you to rotate the ducting.
Ideally you need two of these but of these one is enough

4: If they get really stuck, drill two 1/2" holes opposite each other and stick a piece of 1/2" steel rod through the holes and that will give you a great handle to tug on the offending piece - holes can be patched later or often they end up hidden behind junctions.

the dust on the pipe and fitting are what make the joint tight, also pipe made to maximum diameter tolerance and fitting made to minimum tolerance can also be a factor. Buy "clear" priming fluid (bunnies, plumbers etc) and with a rag or even a paint brush clean both the pipe and the fitting before assembly. You will find this makes it much easier to separate joints.

Originally Posted by Wrongwayfirst

the dust on the pipe and fitting are what make the joint tight, also pipe made to maximum diameter tolerance and fitting made to minimum tolerance can also be a factor. Buy "clear" priming fluid (bunnies, plumbers etc) and with a rag or even a paint brush clean both the pipe and the fitting before assembly. You will find this makes it much easier to separate joints

Wrongway, the OP hasn't even got his DC connected so it's not the dust. This stuff is just ornery to deal with.

Originally Posted by BobL

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Wrongway, the OP hasn't even got his DC connected ....

Hence the dust over everything

If you ever need to salvage a fitting that has been glued I saw some plumbers do it one day. This was big pipe, 300 or 400mm and they had left one piece a bit long. The fittings at that size are expensive so they cut the pipe off, ran a line of pvc glue around the inside of the piece of pipe left in the fitting then set it alight. It burnt for about 10 secs, softened the piece of pipe and melted the glue holding it in the fitting. They just grabbed the piece of pipe and pulled it straight out. A quick wipe with priming fluid and the fitting is good to go again. I've used that trick on smaller stuff with great success.

babysitting today so will attempt some of the methods tomorrow. I will be attempting BobL's suggestions. Also, I had let the straight mail pipe get dirty before attaching so I will be much more careful in the future.
thanks
Mick

I got an early relief from babysitting. I tried BobLs first method of 'tapping' it out. It took some time but worked - thanks Bob (once again).
I did a search on using lubricants but I could not find any good recommendations so I am still investigating this.
cheers
Mick

Originally Posted by BobL

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Wrongway, the OP hasn't even got his DC connected so it's not the dust. This stuff is just ornery to deal with.

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sorry bobl, i realised that it wasn't connected. I meant the dust you can't see collected from sitting on a shelf or rolling around on the floor. That's the trouble when you help late at night after many bottles of red, too lazy to type all the words so it makes sense ha ha

I've never tried it but I heard talcum power works. It's a bit messy till you fire up your DC and then it all gets swept aw a a a y y y