Fixing a toilet drain

[us3rnotfound]

I have a leak in a 3" copper drain line, serviced by a rear-outlet toilet. It's in the pipe that is covered by the sleeve. I made an MSPAINT diagram too. The problem pipe is probably too small in the diagram too. How can I fix this without pulling the toilet from the wall flange or disturbing the rest of the system? My concern with a Fernco fix is that the pinhole leak is so close to the brass T. So can I de-solder that connection and solder in a shiny-new 3" copper pipe? Then how would I complete it to the main drain system? After the 45 degree bend, would you Fernco it? What would you do to remedy this cheaply and sufficiently?

 

[paperfist]

Wow 3" copper pipe... That's got to cost as much a gold

They used to have silver solder sticks that could be used to repair pin holes. Not sure if that stuff is still around.

BTW, kudos on your mad MS Paint skills!

PS. Edit, n/m. I've never seen a 1.5" vent before. Codes sure have changed...

 

[us3rnotfound]

Wow 3" copper pipe... That's got to cost as much a gold

They used to have silver solder sticks that could be used to repair pin holes. Not sure if that stuff is still around.

BTW, kudos on your mad MS Paint skills!

PS. Edit, n/m. I've never seen a 1.5" vent before. Codes sure have changed...

Haha, yeah it's surprising.

I think I know of a fix. I'll just put a 3" Fernco at the T and a 3" Fernco at the Wye, and in between those, I'd glue two 3" PVC pipes to a 3" 45° PVC coupler.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[NetWareHead]

You can definitely de-solder copper. Apply enough heat to the joint to melt the solder. Grab the end of the pipe with a set of pliers and pull until the heat lets go of the joint.

Thats a 3 inch joint and a small torch tip is not going to do it. You will need to solder a short stub of copper pipe after you removed the pinholed pipe to give the coupling something to grip on to.

 

[Greenman]

Where the hell do they plumb with 3" copper and use wall mounted toilets? 3" copper pipe is right around a hundred bucks a foot.

 

[Greenman]

Wow 3" copper pipe... That's got to cost as much a gold

They used to have silver solder sticks that could be used to repair pin holes. Not sure if that stuff is still around.

BTW, kudos on your mad MS Paint skills!

PS. Edit, n/m. I've never seen a 1.5" vent before. Codes sure have changed...

IBC doesn't require any vent on a toilet.

 

[paperfist]

You can definitely de-solder copper. Apply enough heat to the joint to melt the solder. Grab the end of the pipe with a set of pliers and pull until the heat lets go of the joint.

Thats a 3 inch joint and a small torch tip is not going to do it. You will need to solder a short stub of copper pipe after you removed the pinholed pipe to give the coupling something to grip on to.

Man, I admit to not being a wizard with a torch, but on a 3" pipe that would be hard to de-solder I would think. I always have difficulty doing that with 1/2" since there ends up being excess solder left and trying to fit a new piece into the old one requires more heat and flux to remove said solder.

IBC doesn't require any vent on a toilet.

They are self venting?

 

[Greenman]

Man, I admit to not being a wizard with a torch, but on a 3" pipe that would be hard to de-solder I would think. I always have difficulty doing that with 1/2" since there ends up being excess solder left and trying to fit a new piece into the old one requires more heat and flux to remove said solder.



They are self venting?

I'm not sure what the thinking is behind it. I would assume that after a flush the little "wall washer" feed is enough to refill the trap.

 

[NetWareHead]

Man, I admit to not being a wizard with a torch, but on a 3" pipe that would be hard to de-solder I would think. I always have difficulty doing that with 1/2" since there ends up being excess solder left and trying to fit a new piece into the old one requires more heat and flux to remove said solder.

I use enough heat to melt the solder and then immediately hit the interior of the pipe with one of those copper cleaning brushes. That brushes out any molten solder and cleans the walls of the pipe at the same time.

\
With something as large as three inch, maybe a gloved finger (one of those heavy leather gloves) or a rag swabbed inside the pipe could remove all traces of solder.

 

[Micrornd]

I have a leak in a 3" copper drain line, serviced by a rear-outlet toilet. It's in the pipe that is covered by the sleeve. My concern with a Fernco fix is that the pinhole leak is so close to the brass T.

From your pictures it appears you have the room to loosen and slide the Fernco/No-Hub down and expose the leak. If it is a truly a pinhole, you should be able to clean and surface solder it and then put the Fernco back in place.

What I don't understand (and no one has asked about) is that if the leak is "in the pipe that is covered by the sleeve", why is it leaking? The Fernco shouldn't allow a leak if it is properly tightened

 

[us3rnotfound]

It wasn't a pinhole leak now that my lazy self went down there to investigate. It's a 1-inch long slit in the bottom of the pipe. Idiot Roto Rooter is trying to screw me obviously. I've put Oatey Fix it Stick on it. Should have just sliced off the pipe and Fernco'd a 3-inch PVC pipe.

I hate corporate America!