PVC Male - Brass Female Coupling

[Dean Erger]

A pipe broke at the inlet side of the cut-off valve for my house. As can be seen in the photos, the PVC doesn't appear to have been screwed very far into the brass valve. Is that normal?

 

[Dj2]

I doesn't look out of the ordinary. Some valves have a short thread.

- Turn off the water.
- Remove the rest of the PVC male thread out of the shut off valve, without damaging the thread.
- Install a new male adapter. Use tape only, no plumber's dope.
- Cut the PVC pipe, install a coupling and finish to the valve with a piece of pipe cut to size.
- Let it bond (read the instructions on the cement label) before turning the water on.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

If there's any movement, that will break again. Keep in mind that PVC expands and contracts quite a bit with temperature changes, and that can put a lot of stress on things. Having a loop or arrangement to allow for that may be required to prevent that from happening again.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-expansion-pvc-d_782.html

 

[Dean Erger]

Thanks for the help.

We have a well supplying water to two houses. There's over 1/2 mile of pipe running through dirt, clay and sandy soil. It's not unusual to get a broken or leaking pipe. Over the course of wet and very dry times of a year, the ground sifts and breaks usually happen at a coupling/joint. I assume that that is what happened in this case. In this case, about 18" from the valve is an expansion coupling like the one shown below. I don't know if that expansion coupling would help, but it didn't prevent the current break.

I'm not sure what I can do to help avoid a recurrence of the present problem. However, I already repaired the break pretty much as dj2 advised.

 

[Smooky]

Threaded PVC is thin and can easily break where it is threaded. Another type of connection might work better.
Transition Adapter
http://www.zoro.com/spears-transition-adapter-1-in-mpt-x-cts-hub-tms-1000/i/G2959993/
Male Iron Pipe Thread to Pack Joint for PVC Pipe
http://www.fordmeterbox.com/products/productview.php?catSec=J&subSec=Straight%20and%20Ell%20Couplings,%20Compression&heading=Compression%20(PVC)&table=C87_L87

http://www.fordmeterbox.com/documents/flyers/pack_joints.pdf

 

[Dean Erger]

Smooky, that Transition Adapter looks like it would have been a much better choice than the PVC adapter that I used. I'll know better next time.

I'm just a home owner with limited plumbing experience. Lack of knowledge about available plumbing parts, like those you mentioned, is always a handicap.

Fortunately, forums like this one are a big help to DIYers like me.

 

[hj]

A male PVC thread snapping off is a common occurance. Sometimes I encounter it several times a week. I repair them by screwing a brass nipple into the valve and connecting to the PVC with a compression coupling.

 

[Dean Erger]

Thanks for the advice. I haven't filled in the hole yet. Before I do, I'll redo my repair with a brass nipple/PVC compression coupling like hj and Smooky advised.

 

[Dean Erger]

I'd appreciate any advice about using a SharkBite 1" brass PVC male adapter, model UIP140. I assume my valve is brass, but I don't really know. Here's the SharkBite.

Am I correct that my valve is likely brass and that the SharkBite adapter will work, or am I better off going with an adapter like Smooky mentioned?