Lead connected to cast iron waste

[jmcdowall]

Hi
Here is what I have in my basement:

The lead pipe is adhered to the inside of the cast iron, or adhered onto the second pipe material which is adhered to the cast iron.
My guess is that the lead/whatever is soldered into the cast iron fitting

Does anyone know what exactly is going here?
And how do i get the other materials out of the cast iron?

Thanks

 

[Reach4]

Sounds about right. A small magnet will help distinguish the lead from the cast iron.

And how do i get the other materials out of the cast iron?

You will find descriptions where people drill most of the lead out.

The lead does not adhere strongly to the cast iron. The gap is not filled with lead. Below the lead, there is a softer material called oakum. Once the lead is off, pick the oakum out or even just wiggle out the inside pipe.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[jmcdowall]

Thanks for the reply Reach4

After a bit of wrangling I managed to remove some of the lead and i get this:

The inner pipe is not lead
Could it be galvanized steel?

so it appears that there is the outer cast iron, then an inner layer of lead and the innermost layer of what could be steel.
It looks like the steel has the same internal dimensions as the cast iron which is a "4 inch" pipe.

Is there a way to attach PVC without removing the steel?
something like this
http://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/4-schedule-40-pvc-pipe-inside-connector-s0302-40.html

Thanks again

 

[Jadnashua]

You really should clean out that hub for a proper seal with new. The more common way to transition to PVC or ABS is to buy the properly sized 'donut' for the size of the pipe you want to connect. Fernco makes a bunch of them in incremental sizes. You need to ensure you get the proper sized one to both make a good seal, and to be able to physically insert it (if too large, it will not seal well and you may not be able to get the plastic pipe in - if too small, it will not make a good seal...sort of like Goldilocks...it has to be just right).

 

[jmcdowall]

Thanks jadnashua
After thinking about it, that would be the best way. I'm just hesitant to open that potential can of worms

But I'll take a rotary cutting tool to the inner pipe tomorrow and see if I can't get the hub cleaned out.

 

[jmcdowall]

Success!
Here is what I was dealing with:

It was a brass fitting with a flange at the bottom, lead soldered into the cast iron hub.
I tried the rotary cutter but I couldn't get the right angle.
In case anyone comes across this same situation here is how I got it out.

Tools: sawzall, hammer, chisel, pry bar
I cut as much of the lead pipe off as far as I could, then cleaned up the top of the cast iron flange so I could see where the different materials were.
Using the sawzall I cut vertically into the brass, slightly angled towards me so it cut through the brass and most of the way into the lead at the top.
I used hammer and chisel between the lead and the brass to see if the brass would break away, which it did with some elbow grease.
Once I had cut out a small section of the brass pipe using the sawzall, chisel, and pry bar, I saw where the lead solder ended and the oakum started. I removed as much oakum as I could.
After repeating this process several times, the seal between the cast iron and the lead solder became loose. Then after some further wrangling the whole thing came out as you see above.


Question: am I allowed to edit the title of this thread? and if so how?

 

[Reach4]

Nicely done.

Your search term for the next phase is fernco donut , spelled that way.

 

[Jadnashua]

I think that only a moderator can change the thread's title...