Tapping into PVC pipe

Stillleaking · Aug 19, 2008

Im eliminating my lawn and going to Southwest landscape. I would like to utilize the existing sprinkler grid to provide bubblers throughout the landscape. Is there some type of saddle type tap system that would allow me to connect to the pipe? The pipe is 3/4" PVC but unfortunetly the installer used the thin walled pipe. If I use regular tees I have to dig a lot in order to spring the pipe after its cut and slip it into the tee.

MaintenanceGuy · Aug 19, 2008

The "thin walled" stuff if fine for irrigation. Regular fittings will fit it. Use a regular 3/4" 'T' with a couple of PVC unions. By using unions, you won't have to worry about slipping pipe into the fittings. Unions can be slid together and joined with zero gap in the pipe.

There are also adjustable couplers that telescope together and can be adjusted for length after the fact. These eventually leak. Avoid them.

Sponsor · 2022-01-29T12:20:58-0800

Bob NH · Aug 20, 2008

Stillleaking said:
Im eliminating my lawn and going to Southwest landscape. I would like to utilize the existing sprinkler grid to provide bubblers throughout the landscape. Is there some type of saddle type tap system that would allow me to connect to the pipe? The pipe is 3/4" PVC but unfortunetly the installer used the thin walled pipe. If I use regular tees I have to dig a lot in order to spring the pipe after its cut and slip it into the tee.

PVC fittings are not expensive. You could use a 3/4" PVC tee and a 3/4" street el which would allow you to end up with a horizontal outlet in the run of the tee.

If you use a tee and two street els you can orient the tee with outlet up.

You could experiment with boring out the stop in a tee to make it slide over the pipe and try to get a satisfactory joint with lots of cement.

I would also try boring out a tee to make a tight fit. Then saw out about 120 degrees of the side opposite the outlet. Apply lots of cement to both parts and snap the tee over the pipe. After the cement sets you can drill a small hole in the pipe and proceed with the plumbing.

hj · Aug 20, 2008

tee

Get a tee and a "slip fit" repair unit. Glue the tee and the slip fit and collapse the slip fit to its shortest dimension. Then measure how much pipe to cut out. Put glue and primer on the pipes and both ends of the tee/slip fix. Push it onto one end of the pipe, then pull the slip fit out and onto the other pipe.

Wet_Boots · Aug 20, 2008

There are also clamp-on saddle tees, and glue-on ones as well. Lots of ways to get there.

Stillleaking · Aug 20, 2008

Wet_Boots said:
There are also clamp-on saddle tees, and glue-on ones as well. Lots of ways to get there.

Does the glue on saddle simply require drilling a hole into the side of the PVC pipe? I don't think building centers sell such a part. That would be ideal if all I had to do was remove enough dirt to expose a few inches of pipe then glue a saddle onto the top of the pipe and then drill a hole in it.

Msgale · Aug 21, 2008

glue on taps suround about 3/4 of the pipe diameter...

you load it up w glue, snap it on , hold it in place for aminute or so, then after curing , drill thru the hole already inthe tee, and make a new hole in your (old) pipe. the tee is alradythreaded for you new pipe to connect to

Stillleaking · Aug 21, 2008

msgale said:
you load it up w glue, snap it on , hold it in place for aminute or so, then after curing , drill thru the hole already inthe tee, and make a new hole in your (old) pipe. the tee is alradythreaded for you new pipe to connect to

Okay sorry for endless questions but plumbing is foreign to me. I think what I do then is simply buy some 3/4" tees and hacksaw off the bottom of them just below the halfway point so that it snaps onto the pipe with the glue.

Wet_Boots · Aug 22, 2008

Stillleaking said:
Okay sorry for endless questions but plumbing is foreign to me. I think what I do then is simply buy some 3/4" tees and hacksaw off the bottom of them just below the halfway point so that it snaps onto the pipe with the glue.

Just buy the clamp-on saddle tees, and forget about trying to make your own glue-on tees. You are bound to find saddle tees at a home center.

Alectrician · Aug 22, 2008

Just dig it up wussy

You only need about 30"

In a pinch you can 90 it up, tee and back down in about 10"

Just dig it.

Get down on your knees and it takes about 3 minutes with a sharpshooter.

Mike Hansen · Aug 25, 2008

Snap Tees are the ticket for this project

We sell a lot of pvc snap tees for just this purpose. They just snap over the existing pipe and then you drill open the outlet side after it is set. Here is a link to the detail page for the 3/4" size: Snap Tee I hope this helps!

Stillleaking · Aug 30, 2008

Mike Hansen said:
We sell a lot of pvc snap tees for just this purpose. They just snap over the existing pipe and then you drill open the outlet side after it is set. Here is a link to the detail page for the 3/4" size: Snap Tee I hope this helps!

Yes I see them on your website but $15 to ship these. I found them at Lowes but they don't sell the 3/4" snap on.

GMrules · Aug 31, 2008

Street El???

Bob NH said:
PVC fittings are not expensive. You could use a 3/4" PVC tee and a 3/4" street el which would allow you to end up with a horizontal outlet in the run of the tee.

If you use a tee and two street els you can orient the tee with outlet up.

You could experiment with boring out the stop in a tee to make it slide over the pipe and try to get a satisfactory joint with lots of cement.

I would also try boring out a tee to make a tight fit. Then saw out about 120 degrees of the side opposite the outlet. Apply lots of cement to both parts and snap the tee over the pipe. After the cement sets you can drill a small hole in the pipe and proceed with the plumbing.

Whats the Purpose fo street el? how did they get their nanes? why would you use them?

Stillleaking · Aug 31, 2008

Bob NH said:
PVC fittings are not expensive. You could use a 3/4" PVC tee and a 3/4" street el which would allow you to end up with a horizontal outlet in the run of the tee.

If you use a tee and two street els you can orient the tee with outlet up.

You could experiment with boring out the stop in a tee to make it slide over the pipe and try to get a satisfactory joint with lots of cement.

I would also try boring out a tee to make a tight fit. Then saw out about 120 degrees of the side opposite the outlet. Apply lots of cement to both parts and snap the tee over the pipe. After the cement sets you can drill a small hole in the pipe and proceed with the plumbing.

Okay your method is the ticket. The OD of 3/4" PVC is supposed to be 1.05" so a 1" drill threw it should be close enough if I use lots of cement. If Home Depot or Lowes stocked these in 3/4" they'd sell like hotcakes because everybody in my area is getting rid of lawns and putting in plants and rocks yards. Perhaps they don't sell them because people might use them behind walls and they can't be code approved for hidden applications?

Alectrician · Aug 31, 2008

The OD of 3/4" PVC is supposed to be 1.05" so a 1" drill threw it should be close enough if I use lots of cement.

1. You could have dug it up by now.

2. Cobbling things together never works.

3, Using lots of glue is pointless, The glue doen't really "stick" the fittings together. Even on a new installation if the tolerances are off more than a few thousandths, the fitting won't hold under pressure.

Stillleaking · Sep 1, 2008

Alectrician said:
1. You could have dug it up by now.

2. Cobbling things together never works.

3, Using lots of glue is pointless, The glue doen't really "stick" the fittings together. Even on a new installation if the tolerances are off more than a few thousandths, the fitting won't hold under pressure.

Digging in New Mexico is almost impossible. The 'dirt' here is somekind of wierd volcanic stuff with 0 organics. At least this is what my yard has near the Sandia mountains. It turns into something close to concrete so that is why this tap it so important.

It turns out they have every size at Home Depot so bought a bucket full of them today.

Tapping into PVC pipe

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