When to Redo a PVC joint

TedO

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I made a PVC joint in between a 3'' 45 degree elbow and a piece of pipe where I'm reasonable sure that the pipe is only about 3/4'' into the socket. The parts were primed and I believe there was a sufficient amount of glue involved. The location made it tough to get leverage and I just didn't get it together all the way.

It doesn't leak in use, but it hasn't been filled up all the way with water, either. Because of where it is and how everything fits together, it would be a pain to redo, but if I'm going to, now would be the time. Opinions?

Also - when fitting PVC into existing plumbing, and it isn't possible to get things perfectly aligned before gluing, is there any rule of thumb on how much of an angle between fittings can be before gluing? Or is it basically that if you don't have room to put the parts together perfectly straight, you should use a repair coupling, such as a Proflex.

Thanks in advance.
 
Ideally the pipe should have been bottomed out in the fitting, but if you have the pipe 3/4" into the socket, it isn't going to leak and it won't come apart. It's more important that you joint was not moved while it set up. It's often pointed out on this forum, that PVC glue is not glue at all. It is a solvent that melts to top surfaces of both the pipe and fitting for a few moments. When the surfaces are joined, the liquid surfaces fuse together creating a weld. This is why you apply solvent to both the fitting and the pipe and make a 1/4 turn when seating the pipe. This is confusing since we all refer to the solvent as "glue". ABS pipe works the same way as PVC but uses a different solvent.
 
I would ask myself what the damage may be if the joint does fail.
If it passes the 10 foot stack test, I wouldn't worry about it.
If it fails the 10 foot stack test, it's only water.
 
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