I know ABS glue doesn’t work on PVC pipe. But will PVCglue work on ABS pipe? I was just over my neighbors house and he was doing just that. I told him that won’t work, but I don’t know enough about the differences in their chemical make up to give him the answer why PVC glue won’t work on ABS. I suspect that the glue my either break down the abs pipe or just not bond the two together. A friend of his was over who happens to be a chemist. So we looked up the meterials data sheet and found the chemical make up of both glues to be differant. There is however, a PVC to ABS glue who’s chemical make up is very close to the PVC glue. Almost sounds like PVC glue will work. If they make a glue that holds PVC to ABS and that glue just might be the same as the PVC glue.
Anyway my advice for him was to just go down and by the ABS glue and redo what hes has done so far. It sure would be faster than reshearching the chemical make up of the two and of coarse avoid the whole debate between myself and the chemist.
But none the less I would like to hear what you guys think.
Replies
There is a multi-purpose glue that works for both.
Having said that I must also say your neighbor is a moron. This does not require research. You were right. But I must warn you. To expose DIYers as not always being better than the pros is considered sacraligeous by some here.
Thanks for proving what I try to say so often... that many, many DIYers are a danger to themselves, their neighbors, their family, and to their houses. Not all... but a lot more than you would think. Hang aroung Home Depot for a couple hours on a Saturday. SCARY STUFF! Hang out in the water heater aisle. Most of these folks should not be allowed to touch such a project but...
And then study the stories on water heater caused deaths... ever notice how many were installed by the homeowner? Most of the ones I read of were. Interesting isn't it. I know there are bad pros out there too. It is just a sad fact that many people just shouldn't touch this kind of stuff.
I officially relinquish my soap box for 30 minutes.
Hmmmm...
DIYs who cut corners out of ignorance or pro's who cut corners out of greed, lazyness, or some other excuse.
I don't want to live in either house.
In reality DIYs can do a lot of things right, just a hell of a lot slower. Thats not to say a real craft doesn't take time and training to master, but using the right glue? C'mon don't use a moron as an example of all DIYs!
I will not paint all DIYers with the same brush. But I am sick and tired of DIYers insinuating pros like me (and I am expensive) are ripping everyone off because anyone can do this.
I see way too much HORRIBLY SCREWED UP crap done by DIYers to think that more than just a very few are qualified to do plumbing and heating work.
I see so many botched up jobs (any part, not just P&H) that I can document tommorrow that I am about to think this "DIYers can do anything" is one of the biggest lies of the century. (since we are only into it 2 years! Ha!)
There are a FEW good DIYers who do OK work. There are also a FEW bad plumbers who do NOT OK work. Do you see the difference?
95% of the plumbers I know do at least a passable job. 5% of the DIYers I have ever met do a passable job. So don't be putting the pros in the same boat as the DIYers. On the other hand keep up the work. Fixing crap like this makes me lots of money.
PS. I am sure you can find 5 good DIYers and 5 bad PROs to make your point like so many DIYers do. It is a little thing called faulty logic so save your time.
PPS. The very person who think plumbing is anything close to simple has already proven they are totally ignorant about it and are not qualified to do the work. And I have NEVER seen a DIYer installed heating system that was worked well. And most I have seen were extremely dangerous as well.
Thanks guys. Just to clear one thing up. I hope I didn't mislead you all thinking my nieghbor is incomedent. He actualy is quite handy. He does know the differance between the 2 glues. In fact when he put on his glasses he saw his mistake right away. We were all just a little curious to know excactly what the differance between the 2 glues were. Like I said the chemical make up off multipurpose glue and ABS are very close to being identical.
Sometimes it's worth looking deeper into things. You just may find a better solution. Just think about the $5.00 tiny bottle off finger nail polsih remover your wife buys compared to a $10.00 1 galon can off acidtone which happens to be the same product. In my nieghbors case the 2 glues cost about the same but the ABS glue sure dries a lot faster. It would also have save him hours of redoing his work.
Myself I tip my hat to guys like my nieghbor for taking the time to investigate the exact differance between the two. I still haven't heard from anybody who knows or can answer in depth the question I asked. Anyone?
Please believe me when I say my rants were more about a pet peeve of mine in general than a personal attack on you or your friend.
I may be wrong, but I thought PVC glue was simply PVC dissolved in a solvent, and ABS glue was ABS dissolved in a solvent. I have no idea what the "multipurpose" glues are.
My comments were not intended to be about black sheep or statistics, but about attitudes.
A number of jobs can be done well by a first timer if properly researched, prepared for and approached methodically. Using the wrong glue is not specifically a DIY trait, but an example of someone who cannot or will not follow basic instructions.
I have seen pros and DIYs alike approach a new task with too many assumptions and leave the rest of us a mess to clean up.
Just for one example, I had a new HVAC system installed by a reputable established company a few years back. I know enough from experience and basic reading of the code to know they did a terrible job, but as a DIY facing off with an arrogant pro, all I can say is I will never recommend these guys in the future.
I cleaned up the mess they refused to. I brought their wiring up to code and ensured I was not filling my basement up with exhaust gases.
A $25 government publication showed me methodical instructions on how these idiots did not do their job properly wiring my AC. The manual with the furnace they sold me showed me how they installed it wrong, right down to the 'don't do this' section.
I guess some pros don't feel they need to read (their own supplied) manuals and some DIYs can get a few tasks done with proper instruction.
That said, I also know why you get your back up with DIYs that don't respect a professional's skill. I am not in that camp. I fully appreciate, and am prepared to pay for, the value years of experience and training bring to a job.
Cleetus,
There's PVC glue...there's ABS glue...then there's a PVC/ABS/CPVC glue.
Use the right one for the right job. Anything else invites failure.