90 Degree Elbow 3" x 3" with 1 1/2" High Heel Inlet - impossible to find?!

[alrashid2]

Hey guys. Thanks for your advice here. I'll try to keep this short. We have a cracked ABS drain piece in our ceiling that is in just the worst of spots.

It's a 90 degree ABS elbow, 3" x 3", with what appears to me to be a high heel inlet that is 1 1/2" I think.

• Incoming water comes in through the 1 1/2" high heel inlet - I believe it's all coming from kitchen sink, dishwasher, etc
• Pretty sure it's a high heel inlet as the pipe is higher than the center line of the 3" opening on the opposite side
• I believe it is 1 1/2" inlet, as the circumference was about 6" (is that correct?)
• The vertical 3" opening of the elbow goes up to my main vent stack

It's a nightmare spot because the vent stack goes vertically up into the floor and there is barely an inch of space before the floor, so if I cut this out I'll need to cut into the floor above without knowing what else is up there in order to have enough space to glue on a new piece of pipe. On top of that, right next to this drain pipe is a hydronic hot water pipe as well as a bunch of romex wiring, so space is tight. It's also in a joist bay that is really tight and full of old insulation, and right at the corner of the ceiling/wall. It's hard enough just to get my head up there to find the leak, let alone work on this.

I've got it patched for now with Flex Tape but I know this is temporary. My main problem is that I tried to find a replacement elbow with the high heel inlet with zero luck at the big box stores. I then did some googling and I think I found what I need from Nibco; however, I cannot find anyway to order it. I google the UPC item number with nothing anywhere...

Material Number I445300, 5861 90° Elbow with High Heel Inlet Hub x Hub x Hub - ABS DWV On NIBCO

Browse Material Number I445300, 5861 90° Elbow with High Heel Inlet Hub x Hub x Hub - ABS DWV in the NIBCO catalog including Material Number,UPC Code,Description,Type,Size,Connection Type,*eClass Classification,All Special Application,All Type of Ite

catalog.nibco.com

I also tried to find a PVC version with the hopes of using ferncos to attach it in, but again, no dice...

Is this really that rare of a part? My house was built in 1976. Do you think I'm looking for the right part? I'd hate to special order something, cut this out, only to find that I ordered the wrong size/part type. We'd be without plumbing until I could fix this! I also don't think I have enough wiggle room to buy a low heel inlet version as that would bend the 1 1/2" drain pipe too much and I'd worry I'd cause some stress or damage somewhere up the line where I can't get access.

Any advice? I will add that previously I tried to glue the crack shut with Combination ABS/PVC glue and it didn't last very long. I'm wondering if maybe if I bought ABS-specific glue if it would work better to melt the crack shut? Maybe I could drill a small hole in each end of the crack to stop it from growing? But then I'm not sure what I'd fill the hole with.

Photo of the cracked fitting

https://imgur.com/a/72RxHPG

 

[wwhitney]

I agree with your interpretation of the picture that it's a high heel inlet.

If you want to try to repair the existing fitting, I would suggest thoroughly cleaning the crack and applying multiple rounds of ABS glue. Not sure about drilling the ends of the crack first. Then back the whole thing up with your flex tape. Maybe leave an access panel for when the repair fails.

If you track down a new fitting to replace your cracked fitting, I'd suggest cutting through the top of the fitting just below the hub. Then see if you can remove the hub from the pipe. That shouldn't be possible but maybe it wasn't glued well. You can cut through just the hub in multiple places, and then possibly pry betweeen the hub segment and the pipe (but not so hard you risk breaking the pipe). If you end up cutting into the pipe slightly, as it is a vent connection you probably will still be able to make an adequate glue joint.

[There is a tool that is designed to destructively remove the hub from the pipe in this situation; it's much less common than the "fitting saver" type tools, and I couldn't figure out the name with a quick web search. But I'm not sure it would work well on ABS, which is much harder to cut than PVC.]

You'd likely need two shielded rubber couplings on the two horizontal connections in order to replace the high heel quarter bend. Also, if you can't get enough usable vent pipe below the subfloor, you'd have to open up the wall above and replace a segment of vent pipe.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Fitter30]

www.suppliesdepot.com/product/3-x-1-12-inch-abs-dwv-90-elbow-with-high-heel-inlet?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22859585910&gbraid=0AAAAADrPu5jlc_74fvnE0VB2P4YcrEL52&gclid=CjwKCAjw-svEBhB6EiwAEzSdrrcQ6vikfetNLB69wBe7hKh0yYwqOObnymVH_PnW6LsHd9bndLCh9BoC1UMQAvD_BwE

 

[John Gayewski]

To me it looks like 2" with a 1.5x2 bushing. Have your plumbing supply store order you one.