View Full Version : Fernco bushing usage.....
chrisexv6
12-21-2008, 06:59 PM
A local plumber helped me replace the toilet flange in my bathroom remodel. He left it all "roughed together" while I finished the bathroom. Today I went to install the toilet (I finished the flange myself, it was easy enough), but the Fernco connecting to my old cast iron drain leaks a drop or two of water.
I noticed there is a 4x3 bushind installed in the Fernco.......does the elbow going into that bushing get glued into the bushing itself? I didnt glue it, neither did the plumber.......wondering if thats what is causing the leak. Ive tightened the clamps down the best I could, but it didnt stop the leak completely.
Thanks in advance.
-Chris
Redwood
12-21-2008, 07:31 PM
60 in. lbs. is the torque spec on those.
Does it have a metal sheild around it?
kingsotall
12-21-2008, 07:32 PM
Post a picture of the set-up if you can.
Redwood
12-21-2008, 07:55 PM
Yea that would be a splendid idea!
chrisexv6
12-22-2008, 05:01 AM
Pics:
5988
5987
-Chris
The elbow MUST be glued into the bushing, but since he used THAT Fernco and did not glue the elbow, he was not a "plumber". It was just what he called himself.
kingsotall
12-22-2008, 06:27 AM
What's in-between the 4" part of the busing and the cast¿
chrisexv6
12-22-2008, 06:33 AM
The elbow MUST be glued into the bushing, but since he used THAT Fernco and did not glue the elbow, he was not a "plumber". It was just what he called himself.
No, he is an actual plumber :) he's my neighbor. When he assembled it all, the flange hole hadnt been drilled into the subfloor, so he didnt want to glue anything up. He said I could finish it myself, or call him back and he would do it. He was busy yesterday (guessing frozen pipe calls lately?), so I attempted it myself not realizing there was actually a bushing inside there. When I started seeing the drip drip drip, I realized what was up.
So, you can probably blame me for that one and not him.
Any ideas to fix it, short of pulling the toilet back out again?
Redwood
12-22-2008, 06:55 AM
Nope! Might want to use one of these too....
http://www.castlewholesalers.com/media/122P300033
http://www.terrylove.com/images/replace_lead_bend.jpg
chrisexv6
12-22-2008, 07:03 AM
Nope! Might want to use one of these too....
http://www.castlewholesalers.com/media/122P300033
Thanks!
I think the reason the current Fernco is what it is, is because there used to be a leaded elbow to the original toilet. The elbow was cut back to where it was mated with the cast iron (there was a "hump" that was left intact), and the clamp tightened down. To make it over that ring required a bigger fitting that needed to be reduced down to 3" (or 4"....the flange he left was a 3 or 4). The bushing is there to do that reducing. Im not sure the ProFlex would work the same, as I dont know the large size of the current Fernco (Im not sure if its larger than 4" or not). Ill check when I get home, or just have him come out and fix it.
Redwood - you have a PM.
-Chris
I blame him because that is not the proper coupling for your application, and a "plumber" would have removed that lead section, the wiped joint, and probably the brass wiping ferrule inside the hub, since none of these items are proper to attach your new fitting to them. Then he would have inserted either a cast iron closet bend, (my choice), or a plastic stub to continue to the toilet.