Broken water supply to house

[PKO]

From the water meter, I have a 1" PVC pipe which is connected underground to a copper pipe leading to our house. The PVC male thread which attaches to the copper female thread has cracked causing a leak. The male connector is gray leading me to believe it is schedule 80. I would prefer not to use another threaded connection and have read several posts on this subject. I am interested in a Dresser-like connector with bolts to tighten but am not sure which specific one to purchase.

1) Are the brass or plastic compression couplings available at Home Depot good enough or should I try to find a Dresser type one with bolts?
2) Can anyone recommend a specific coupling to purchase?
3) Would it be better to attach a brass threaded nipple to the copper female to allow connection, per HJ, or would it be better to just cut off the copper female and connect to the copper pipe?

Thanks,

Pat

 

[hj]

If you want to make your job DIFFICULT, cut the female off and try to connect the PVC to the copper pipe. Make you life simple and use the brass nipple and almost any compression coupling to join the brass and PVC.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[PKO]

I went to Home Depot, Lowes, Ace and Ferguson's. Because the OD on the PVC pipe and copper pipe are not the same, I could not find a compression coupling that would work. If it fit on one side, it wouldn't fit on the other. None of the employees had any other ideas but to go back to the PVC male adaptor. Does anyone have specific names of couplings that would work?

 

[MACPLUMB]

You need to reread the part about using a brass nipple then the pipe is the same as the pvc pipe and use a brass "g" coupling to connect

 

[PKO]

Oh yes. Forgot about the nipple. Back to the store.

 

[hj]

quote; If it fit on one side, it wouldn't fit on the other.

THAT is what would have happened if you cut the female off the copper. That is also why I said doing that would make your life miserable.

 

[PKO]

hj & MACPLUMB 777,

That's why we're here on the forum to get help from pros like you.... To keep from shooting ourselves in the foot.

Thanks for your help.

 

[hj]

quote; To keep from shooting ourselves in the foot.

Unfortunately, many people ask the right question AFTER they have shot themselves in the foot. It is caused by not stopping before you reach your "level of incompetence".

 

[PKO]

Here's the finished product. No leaks so far. The plastic thread broke in the copper female. It looks like they used PVC cement to screw in the male fitting. I used a torch to heat up the PVC, got a small screwdriver to wedge between the PVC and the copper female. Then I stuck needle nose pliers into the space and gave it a few turns and it came out.

 

[hj]

quote; The plastic thread broke in the copper female.

They ALL do, well maybe not ALL, (yet), but a great many do. That is where I expect to find leaks, either at the house or at the meter. A plastic male adapter is the "weakest" fitting made. Threading reduces the wall thickness so they have ZERO tolerance for stress or flexing, and therefore they crack.

 

[Terry]

A plastic male adapter is the "weakest" fitting made.

Imagine if they spent a few pennies more, how much labor every year would be saved. You almost never see PVC broken anywhere else but at the end fittings.
Would consumers spend that little bit for a stiffer fitting. I know I do for other plumbing supplies. For instance, I don't carry galvanized nipples on the truck, it's all brass.

 

[Wraujr]

Do you think its a coincidence that 1"PVC and 1" Brass Nipple both have an identical OD of 1.315"????

 

[PKO]

Imagine if they spent a few pennies more, how much labor every year would be saved. You almost never see PVC broken anywhere else but at the end fittings.
Would consumers spend that little bit for a stiffer fitting. I know I do for other plumbing supplies. For instance, I don't carry galvanized nipples on the truck, it's all brass.

Well, I can assume our tract home builder didn't want to spend more pennies than they'd have to. Our home is 25 years old. Makes me wonder what else is going to go wrong......

 

[Terry]

You can't blame the builder on that. It's just what it is. They "don't" make a better PVC male adapter.
I built a few homes, and found that the profit margin was very slim. Nobody is going to pay 20% to 30% more for the same home with quality upgrades that they don't see or understand. I did that one the first one, and nobody understood what I was doing. I was just thinking out loud about what if they did make say a $3 male fitting instead of the 79 cent one. Would the plumbing shops stock them?

 

[Big2bird]

A plastic male adapter is the "weakest" fitting made. Threading reduces the wall thickness so they have ZERO tolerance for stress or flexing, and therefore they crack.

We have the same issue in electrical. I never use them in poured in place concrete work. The finishers walk around spreading concrete, and if they step on one, it's broke.

 

[hj]

quote;

Do you think its a coincidence that 1"PVC and 1" Brass Nipple both have an identical OD of 1.315"????

It is NOT "coincidence" it is because they are both made to pipe standards which means ALL "schedule" pipes have the same outside diameter to make them compatible with fittings. The various pipes will NOT necessarily have the same internal diameters, however. The same applies to "CTS/copper tube size" PEX, CPVC, PE, PB, etc. which means their o.d. is the same as copper, even if the i.d. fluctuates according to the wall thickness.​

 

[hj]

electrical

quote: We have the same issue in electrical

I was doing the plumbing, a friend was doing the electrical, and another friend was doing the brickwork on a warehouse years ago. The electrician installedl the boxes and conduit between them as the brick courses were laid. After so many courses, they dropped rebar into the block cores and grounted the cells. Every so often the rebar would get "stuck" so they bounced it and then it dropped in. When the electrician tried to fish the wires through the conduits, it would not go. It turned out that the rebars were hitting the conduits and when they bounced it, they broke off the PVC pipe and filled the conduit with grout.

 

[Big2bird]

quote: We have the same issue in electrical

I was doing the plumbing, a friend was doing the electrical, and another friend was doing the brickwork on a warehouse years ago. The electrician installedl the boxes and conduit between them as the brick courses were laid. After so many courses, they dropped rebar into the block cores and grounted the cells. Every so often the rebar would get "stuck" so they bounced it and then it dropped in. When the electrician tried to fish the wires through the conduits, it would not go. It turned out that the rebars were hitting the conduits and when they bounced it, they broke off the PVC pipe and filled the conduit with grout.

Yep. Been there, done that. Have to run it surface mount to repair it. Best to use female adapters with chase nipples. Almost as strong as the pipe.