Tech15002
New Member
I just stumbled upon this thread from Google. I am curious to know how your incorrect cement has held up on your plumbing, 9 years later...
Made a mistake...wrong ABS cement
- Thread starter froddan
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michael Baughman
New Member
BIG MISTAKE THERE..HD..PROS ??? Thats laughable...Very few Home Depots have PROS working at any given time....I know from a looooooong list of experience...The pros dont shop there ..They mostly use your plumbing wholesale stores like KIE...Next time try them...The HD shlub gave you bad advice....
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amm148
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I stumbled upon this site after making a similar mistake to the original poster (using PVC Cement on ABS Drain Pipe). I decided to do a bit of research myself to see if it warranted tearing up the bit of plumbing I had completed.
Similar to one of the previous posters I looked at the chemical compositions of the various cements. One thing I did notice is the composition of Oatey PVC Cement is very similar to the Oatey Transition Cement which is used to glue PVC to ABS. I decided to go a bit further and to a test of the cements. I did this by gluing a 1 1/2" abs 90 degree elbow to about a 2 foot length of pipe on either side, one connection with ABS Cement, one with PVC.
I let the cements cure for about 72 hours, after which I tried applying a relatively equal force (just using arm strength so it's not exactly scientific...) to see if there would be any noticeable damage to the connections. I pulled, pushed and turned both pipes and noticed no issues with the connection.
I then placed the material outside for a day in -12 degree Celsius weather (spring in northern Canada) and using a temperature gun registered 10 degrees Fahrenheit on the pipe. I did the same basic stress tests and noticed no change in the connections.
My last test was to apply heat so I boiled a kettle and poured it down the still cold pipe to bring it up to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There was no noticeable damage to the connections with the same strain I was using on the last two tests. As this was the last test I had planned, I tried my best to destroy the connection by placing the elbow on the ground and pushing down on either pipe with most of my weight. I started to notice the strain as the elbow itself was starting to turn white and crack, also to my surprise the ABS cement connection was starting to stretch and crack (no damage to the PVC Cement).
The main reason I am posting this here is because I did some pretty extensive google searching on this, and this forum had the most comprehensive discussion on the matter that I could find with no real conclusive results other than people stating what is in the code. I realize that my testing is not perfect as I was not using lab equipment, and there is also the matter of time that I could not test (there may be material deterioration over an extended period of time). I just wanted to throw this out there so if anyone is searching like me you can make the decision for yourself if you need to go do rework.
Basically my thoughts on this is, if this is for simple residential drain pipes that are not under pressure I do not see a considerable risk of failure in the piping. I understand that this goes against code and is not recommended, but for a DIY job I'm sure it will be sufficient.
Edit: I tried posting pictures but it doesn't seem to be working, the following link is available for those interested https://imgur.com/a/yzIiG
Similar to one of the previous posters I looked at the chemical compositions of the various cements. One thing I did notice is the composition of Oatey PVC Cement is very similar to the Oatey Transition Cement which is used to glue PVC to ABS. I decided to go a bit further and to a test of the cements. I did this by gluing a 1 1/2" abs 90 degree elbow to about a 2 foot length of pipe on either side, one connection with ABS Cement, one with PVC.
I let the cements cure for about 72 hours, after which I tried applying a relatively equal force (just using arm strength so it's not exactly scientific...) to see if there would be any noticeable damage to the connections. I pulled, pushed and turned both pipes and noticed no issues with the connection.
I then placed the material outside for a day in -12 degree Celsius weather (spring in northern Canada) and using a temperature gun registered 10 degrees Fahrenheit on the pipe. I did the same basic stress tests and noticed no change in the connections.
My last test was to apply heat so I boiled a kettle and poured it down the still cold pipe to bring it up to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There was no noticeable damage to the connections with the same strain I was using on the last two tests. As this was the last test I had planned, I tried my best to destroy the connection by placing the elbow on the ground and pushing down on either pipe with most of my weight. I started to notice the strain as the elbow itself was starting to turn white and crack, also to my surprise the ABS cement connection was starting to stretch and crack (no damage to the PVC Cement).
The main reason I am posting this here is because I did some pretty extensive google searching on this, and this forum had the most comprehensive discussion on the matter that I could find with no real conclusive results other than people stating what is in the code. I realize that my testing is not perfect as I was not using lab equipment, and there is also the matter of time that I could not test (there may be material deterioration over an extended period of time). I just wanted to throw this out there so if anyone is searching like me you can make the decision for yourself if you need to go do rework.
Basically my thoughts on this is, if this is for simple residential drain pipes that are not under pressure I do not see a considerable risk of failure in the piping. I understand that this goes against code and is not recommended, but for a DIY job I'm sure it will be sufficient.
Edit: I tried posting pictures but it doesn't seem to be working, the following link is available for those interested https://imgur.com/a/yzIiG
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