repair leaking 3" PVC joint on vent top of sani tee

**kmuddzy** · 09-25-2012, 03:59 PM

Hi. I have a 3" PVC Sani-Tee in Vertical position on the 2nd story floor. The middle hole is downstream from the toilet and the top hole is used for a vent and has a 3" to 2" reducer. When doing my DWV water test I found a leak where the 3" Tee meets the 3" reducer (a 3" length of 3" pipe was used to join them). Just to be clear, the leak is on the top of the vertical Tee, which is the vent and will not have fluids running past it or be under pressure, unless there is a huge clog.

Unfortunately, I cannot remove the Tee without a tremendous amount of time and cost (removing HVAC rough in, a bunch of PEX and framing/flooring). I guess I should've air tested that section before the other stuff was installed but I didn't and I took my time gluing it. Murphy's law strikes again but this is the only joint, out of over a hundred, that leaks in the whole house! Since the Tee and 3" reducer are butted tight I can't cut out a section of 3" PVC even if I could get to it.

Is there a way to seal that joint? I will be getting this inspected and I'm in NJ.

Thanks!
Keith

**Terry** · 09-25-2012, 04:24 PM

If you had access to the top of the santee, you could have drilled out the pipe from the fitting.

Reed makes a nice one.
http://www.reedmfgco.com/index.html?...itting_reamers

Pipe fitting reamer

**kmuddzy** · 09-25-2012, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by Terry

If you had access to the top of the santee, you could have drilled out the pipe from the fitting.

Reed makes a nice one.
http://www.reedmfgco.com/index.html?...itting_reamers

Pipe fitting reamer

That might be the lesser of 2 evils. still a lot of work but if I can't seal it then it might be my only option. Have you ever tried to put a vacuum on the vent and suck glue in the leak?

**kmuddzy** · 09-25-2012, 06:26 PM

Or maybe this is a better solution than the vaccuum (not hard to be better than that one):

has anyone tried to cut a 2" or 3" section from a 4" PVC pipe, then cut that section in half and prime/glue those two halves over the leaking joint of the 3" PVC fittings (maybe secure those halves against the leaking joint with a large stainless steel clamp to hold it until it dries). The SS clamp can then be removed. The only issue I see is making sure the outside of the fittings, next to the leaking joint between the fittings, is smooth. This will require removing the index marks with sandpaper or utility knife.

Thoughts?