[Shop-talk] Fw: Cast iron to PVC soil pipe adapter?

[Karl Vacek]

Well, HD isn't much of a plumbing supply - you'll have to go to a real 
plumbing
supply for this one.

80 years old, there's a chance it's XH (extra heavy) instead of S
(service weight).  That may be a problem to mate to Service, which is 
probably all you'll find available most places today, but your supplier can 
advice you how to mate that.  If you have service weight in there now, it 
should be easy.

As far as removing the old lead, just drill holes in it pretty much the
entire distance from the bell to the pipe.  A few bug holes and you can
begin to pry out chunks of lead.  Once you get started you can wiggle the
pipes a little and pry the rest loose.  Don't worry - the lead is NOT tinned
onto the iron - it's just poured into the joint, and as it cools it pulls
away a bit.  The final step in leading a joint is to peen the lead in - to
expand it out to contact the iron to fully seal.

Once you get the lead out, pick the oakum out (it'll probably be pretty
nasty towards the bottom).  Clean everything, slip in the rubber, and pop
the fittings together.

Or, if you don't want to pour the lead yourself, you could either use oakum
and lead wool (just pound it in like oakum, and it suffices OK), or maybe
make up the connections, put in the oakum, and have a plumber with a pot and
ropes come in to lead it for you.  Shouldn't be too expensive for just that.
I've tried the "no lead" gook that's supposed to set up and seal the joint,
and I've had NO luck at all.  Reminds me of Plastic Wood, which has never
worked for me either...

Your plumbing supplier should be able to offer lots of advice and
alternatives.

Good luck !
Karl


>I was in HD yesterday and the only cast iron I saw was a toilet
> flange. Actually I saw about 12 different types of flanges. Oy.
>
> I tore up the slab a bit and what I have is a wye and a 45 in the
> bull to make it vertical. This stuff is 80 years old. What are the
> chances the lead will come undone nicely without cracking the cast iron?
>
> ObShop: This bathroom is for the shop :-)
>
> jim