New Vanity w/ Funky P Trap "bottle trap"

DC Newbie · May 27, 2013

So I'm replacing an old vanity with a new one, and I'm a bit perplexed by the P trap that comes with the vanity sink - see pages 5-6 here:

I'm not sure this will even line up with my existing waste pipe, but more importantly, this doesn't look like any of the P traps I've seen online. Is this less crazy/out of code than I think?

thanks

Matt

Terry · May 27, 2013

That is a bottle trap.

The drain from the wall needs to be centered perfectly for that style of trap.
A typical p-trap with swivel has some swing that will allow for off center drains.

Sponsor · 2022-01-29T12:20:58-0800

DC Newbie · May 27, 2013

thanks Terry. My current drain pipe is nowhere near high enough to line up with this P trap. Imagine a plumber will need to get into the wall and extend it somehow? Sigh. Oddly, as I look at the parts that came with the sink, I seem to have an extra tailpipe part that fits with the P trap but doesn't line up with the tailpipe itself. I guess it's an extender of some kind, but darn if I can figure out how.

Jadnashua · May 27, 2013

IF the drain tubing is US standard size (and not metric), you could substitute a P-trap for that bottle trap and gain some flexibility. A p-trap is less likely to get plugged up than a bottle trap as well. BTW, a bottle trap is not a p-trap, but if constructed with the right internal materials, is allowed most places in the USA (it can't be all metal inside). It is a trap, though.

DC Newbie · May 27, 2013

Thanks Jim, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear. So if things fit properly, I would just use the sink pop-up, and its associated silicone rings and brass washer, and then run either PVC or metal tail pipe + P-trap to existing drain? It appears that the outside diameter of the pop-up tail is 1.5 inches.

The bottle trap I have does include a plastic insert, for what it's worth.

Edited to add: attached is a pic of the existing drain pipe with some sort of adapter on the end. Is this (hopefully) something I can reuse with a new P trap? Or would I need to remove it?

DC Newbie · May 27, 2013

So I did some more googling, and it would seem that the easiest solution is just to remove that metal piece on the end of the drain stub, and then I can put on a new P trap and tail pipe (providing I can find something that will work with the sink pop-up).

Terry · May 27, 2013

Install the drain that came with the sink first. That will give you an idea of what comes next.

The pipe from the wall will be cut shorter and a new trap adapter glued on.

DC Newbie · May 28, 2013

Terry said:
Install the drain that came with the sink first. That will give you an idea of what comes next.

The pipe from the wall will be cut shorter and a new trap adapter glued on.

Thanks Terry. You don't think I can unscrew that elbow, and then thread a new connection onto the wall stub?

hj · May 28, 2013

That 'elbow' is part of the old trap. Unscrew it and then see if the remaining pipe is short enough for the new connection. Otherwise, remove it also and use an appropriate nipple into the wall.

DC Newbie · May 28, 2013

Ok, so a lunchtime trip to Home Depot yielded progress...maybe? The elderly man working the plumbing section told me to use a 1/2 x 1/4" reducing washer to secure the sink's metal tail pipe onto a 1/2 inch "accordion" style extender, which could then be run into a P-trap and into the drain. This accordion seems kinda flimsy though. The metal tail pipe seemed to fit pretty snug with the reducing washer, although once I tightened it by hand I could still pull it free if I tried pretty hard. Is that normal?

Jadnashua · May 28, 2013

Do not use anything accordion in your drain lines! Yes, you can part the tubular pipe when you only tighten it by hand...it needs pliers or a wrench to tighten it enough where you cannot (easily, anyways) pull it apart.

DC Newbie · May 28, 2013

Great, thanks Jim! This offers a ray of hope then - the sink's tail pipe can work with other commonly sized plumbing supplies. I'm going to install the sink's pop-up and tail pipe tonight, which should give me a better of sense of how much vertical and horizontal space I have to line a p trap up with the drain pipe.

DC Newbie · May 29, 2013

Terry said:
Install the drain that came with the sink first. That will give you an idea of what comes next.

The pipe from the wall will be cut shorter and a new trap adapter glued on.

So I loosely attached the sink drain assembly, and per the attached picture, it's about 3.25" from the bottom of the tail pipe to the middle of the PVC drain pipe. The tail pipe is about 4.5" away from the drain pipe, horizontally, although the depth is hard to see at this angle.

I'm planning to visit a plumbing supply store over lunch today, so any advice before then (or after) would be appreciated. Would seem that I need a tail pipe extender of some sort, which would feed into a p trap.

Jadnashua · May 29, 2013

You can buy extensions. As noted, the curved piece in the wall needs to come out as it's part of the old trap.

DC Newbie · May 29, 2013

jadnashua said:
You can buy extensions. As noted, the curved piece in the wall needs to come out as it's part of the old trap.

So I pulled the elbow out, and ran into a new problem. The nice shiny new 1.5" p trap I picked up at a plumbing store today does not fit with the adapter on the drain pipe...which is odd because it clearly says 1.5" too. I can tell there are a few very slight aberrations in the circular opening of the drain pipe, but it just seems like the two pipes are the exact same circumference. So, cut it off and replace with a new trap adapter that's glued onto the drain pipe?

Terry · May 29, 2013

The pipe from the wall will be cut shorter and a new trap adapter glued on.

Didn't I say that already?

DC Newbie · May 29, 2013

Terry said:
Didn't I say that already?

Yep, you did, I just wasn't sure why I couldn't reuse the adapter if it was the same size as the new p-trap.

Jadnashua · May 29, 2013

The adapter in the wall, depending on where you live, may be called a Desanko, or another name. You may not have all of the old one out, but it should fit with the new trap arm. The tapered washer and nut tighten down on the tubular trap arm, and it should fit inside the Desanko. They come in various sizes, but the more common ones for a vanity are either 1.25 or 1.5". What's the inside diameter of the piece in the bottom picture?

DC Newbie · May 29, 2013

jadnashua said:
The adapter in the wall, depending on where you live, may be called a Desanko, or another name. You may not have all of the old one out, but it should fit with the new trap arm. The tapered washer and nut tighten down on the tubular trap arm, and it should fit inside the Desanko. They come in various sizes, but the more common ones for a vanity are either 1.25 or 1.5". What's the inside diameter of the piece in the bottom picture?

Unfortunately I could not get the tubular trap arm inside the old trap adapter, not matter how hard I tried. So I cut it out and am now attempting to replace with a new 1.5" trap adapter. Problem I've run into is the darn thing fits so tight on the wall drain that I can't push it all the way on so that its flush (sticks out about 1/2" or so). Is this a problem, providing it is cemented securely onto the wall drain?

I've added a photo to help clarify the issue. It should show that the lip of the drain pipe is not flush up against the interior neck of the trap adapter. It required a lot of effort to get it that far.

Terry · May 29, 2013

Until the glue is applied, you won't be able to push it on. The Glue is a solvent that melts the plastic together. Glue both pipe and fitting, and push on with a slight twist motion.

New Vanity w/ Funky P Trap "bottle trap"

Users who are viewing this thread

Member

The Plumbing Wizard

Paid Advertisement

Member

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx

Member

Member

The Plumbing Wizard

Member

Master Plumber

Member

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx

Member

Member

Attachments

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx

Member

The Plumbing Wizard

Member

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx

Member

The Plumbing Wizard

Similar threads