Fernco rubber coupling leaking

[Roger Feeley]

The main sewer line in my daughters cellar suddenly started leaking. The house was built in 1860 and has a ‘hung sewer’. That is a sewer line that exits the house just a couple of feet below grade level. The coupling in question is 4” and is part of a clean out that was added. Someone removed a section of pipe. Installed a new section with clean out and fastened it together with a pair of rubber couplings.

yesterday, I did what I usually do and just tightened the hose clamp. Today, there’s still enough of a drip to maintain a 1.5” puddle on the floor.

One big question I have is why after many years, the fitting started dripping. I have no answer.

without taking it completely apart, I can think of two courses of action:
1. Add another clamp.
2. Loosen the clamp and work some plumbers grease in there.

suggestions?

[roger wiegand]

Take the fitting off and check the pipe. Had a similar problem in my son's house where I was blaming the fitting and the problem was that the cast iron pipe had rusted through. Once I knew where to push I could put my finger through it even though it looked perfectly sound on the outside.

[George Yetka]

Slowly open cleanout before taking the clamp off to make sure its not full.

Rubber will get hard and brittle and shrink over time. I would replace the rubber and make sure both ends of the pipe/fitting are cleanso they can make a good seal.

Look for a product called black swan(no hub sealant) if the pipe is not perfect this will help seal it up

[Bill Dufour]

"Hung Sewer" why would a sewer line be more then a few feet down at the start? When did they add plumbing and tie into city sewer lines.
Bil lD

[Roger Feeley]

In most modern homes, the lateral going to your house is deep enough that you can have a bathroom in the basement. In this house, you would have to have a sump and pump for your sewage.

It’s safe to say that there was no sewer line when the house was built (Lincoln was President). When we were excavating for our house (Obama was president) I kind of hoped we would hit the old outhouse pit. Archeologists love those. We wanted ground work for a bathroom in our basement. That had to include a sewage sump. Since the basement is my shop, I built a little platform over the sump and that’s where my slop sink is.

I was told that they dug the trench for the lateral by hand in those days and they didn’t want to dig any deeper than they had to.

[Roger Feeley]

I should have added that the pipes are pvc.

[Roger Feeley]

George,
checking to see if pipe is full is interesting. The lateral is about 120’. I think you are suggesting that there may be a downstream blockage. In that scenario, the rubber gasket leak may have been there for a very long time but the water came and went quickly enough that little or no water ever leaked out. Hmmmmm... That one would be for a plumber or Roto-Rooter.

which black swan product?ntheres a pipe dope, a plumbers grease and others.

[roger wiegand]

OK, not rust. I have also seen hairline cracks develop in PVC, so I'm not ready to give the pipe a free pass just yet. ;-)

First thing I'd do in that situation is replace the rubber fitting. Make sure the pipe is clean and smooth, new rubber, new band clamps, you cover a number of possibilities at once for a few dollar fitting.

Yeah, don't stand directly under the fitting when you take it apart. DAMHIK.

[Roger Feeley]

Problem solved. It turns out that they have a drippy bathtub valve. I don’t mess with those. So a plumber is coming out tomorrow to look at both. Given that I hate, hate, hate plumbing, I’m more than happy to pass the responsibility on.

[Frank Pratt]

Take the fitting off and check the pipe. Had a similar problem in my son's house where I was blaming the fitting and the problem was that the cast iron pipe had rusted through. Once I knew where to push I could put my finger through it even though it looked perfectly sound on the outside.

Ugh, that's one hole I wouldn't have stuck my finger in.

[Tom M King]

Hose clamps are one thing on the long list of items that have deteriorated in quality over the years. I've gotten to the point that I use T-bolt clamps on a lot of things. There was one return line in the hydraulic system of one of my tractors that had a leak that regular hose clamps, and new hose wouldn't stop. This is part of the non-pressurized system, supposedly, but t-bolt clamps solved the problem.

They're the same type of clamp used on turbo hoses on cars, and trucks, but come in all sorts of sizes. You have to be particular about getting exactly the right size, because they don't have the range that regular hose clamps do.

https://www.buyfittingsonline.com/stainless-steel-t-bolt-hose-clamps-sae-j1508/?gclid=CjwKCAiAi_D_BRApEiwASslbJ4Xfy5c9utvq3VTKwOB Eh4kxszePNbk3vegrC7vA_AyFAyReWXZ1UBoCVBAQAvD_BwE You can get them from Amazon, but that was the first link that Google brought up.

I'd see how much the plumber would charge to do away with the no-hub fittings. At the very least, do away with one of them, even with t-bolt clamps.

[George Yetka]

George,
checking to see if pipe is full is interesting. The lateral is about 120’. I think you are suggesting that there may be a downstream blockage. In that scenario, the rubber gasket leak may have been there for a very long time but the water came and went quickly enough that little or no water ever leaked out. Hmmmmm... That one would be for a plumber or Roto-Rooter.

which black swan product?ntheres a pipe dope, a plumbers grease and others.


https://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Mfg-Co-04085/dp/B008KOIQEA/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=black+swan+no+hub&qid=1610396857&sr=8-1

but mentioned that when i thought it was cast. Its like a super tacky rubber cement. And if you ever use it in the future watch out it grows(as in you get a bit on your glove then the glove touches something else then that touches something else, next thing you know its covering everything for miles.)

[Ole Anderson]

Never forget when my dad removed a cleanout 6' up our basement wall to clear a blockage and got a full blast of poo right in the face while I was watching. I was probably six at the time.

[Ronald Blue]

[QUOTE=Tom M King;3087732]Hose clamps are one thing on the long list of items that have deteriorated in quality over the years. I've gotten to the point that I use T-bolt clamps on a lot of things. There was one return line in the hydraulic system of one of my tractors that had a leak that regular hose clamps, and new hose wouldn't stop. This is part of the non-pressurized system, supposedly, but t-bolt clamps solved the problem.

They're the same type of clamp used on turbo hoses on cars, and trucks, but come in all sorts of sizes. You have to be particular about getting exactly the right size, because they don't have the range that regular hose clamps do.

https://www.buyfittingsonline.com/stainless-steel-t-bolt-hose-clamps-sae-j1508/?gclid=CjwKCAiAi_D_BRApEiwASslbJ4Xfy5c9utvq3VTKwOB Eh4kxszePNbk3vegrC7vA_AyFAyReWXZ1UBoCVBAQAvD_BwE You can get them from Amazon, but that was the first link that Google brought up.

If you look closely at the "turbo" hose clamps they also have no slots exposed to the hose. That's why they have such a limited range. They are designed for the silicon hose. It's used on many things now. Coolant lines, turbo aftercooler hoses etc. I'm sure most of us have "cranked" a conventional hose clamp down and watched the hose "ooze" out the slots in the clamp. What a feeling of power!
I use a lot of hose clamps in my job and really haven't noticed a quality issue. I carry a good assortment of clamps on my service truck. Air intake connections almost always use the heavy duty clamps with a stud through the barrel and a nut you tighten. Much more clamping power than a conventional hose clamp but usually only in larger sizes. Here's a link for some if you're curious. They work well on hydraulic suction hoses. The wire reinforced hose that really doesn't work anywhere else for anything else. It's not very flexible. Especially the large sizes.

grainger.com/product/1XGU5?gclid=Cj0KCQiArvX_BRCyARIsAKsnTxMTLjmh8tgJL_ O7tEZ4yZlHv96r7A41huPqBlwwLEWPp7rkpU-3wUcaAg9rEALw_wcB&cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA&ef_id=Cj0KCQiArvX_BRCyARIsAKsnTxMTLjmh8tgJL_O7tEZ4 yZlHv96r7A41huPqBlwwLEWPp7rkpU-3wUcaAg9rEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!281698275813!!!g!469967173900!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231