Imperial or metric!

[bert large]

We get all sorts of odd sized pipes masquerading as 1/2" & 3/4" here in Plymouth. It is said it all originated from the Naval dockyard over the years.
It can make life interesting as regards getting an adapter to fit 😉

 

[Hump1]

Good tip Bernie, I shall keep that one 'under my hat'. I think the worst pipes I ever worked on was cast iron waste.There was no hope of any 'discreet' bending of that stuff. Your measurements and angles had to be spot on and it was hard as hell. As an apprentice back in the 60's I was left to do the cutting ( no power tools then ) just with a hacksaw. That is until this old guy showed me how to scribe round the pipe with a hacksaw then smack it on the right place with a mallet, 'wow' a clean break without much effort. He saved me a lot of sweat and grief. Thankfully cast iron is a thing of the past!

 

[mack22]

Very apt that Hump1 mentioned cast iron, I discovered last week why a friends kitchen sink in her early 1950s flat has always been a problem, the main 6'' waste down pipe has a 4'' tee piece coupling for the kitchen waste pipe connection, I found that the hole into the main stack at the end of the 4'' pipe tee connection was only the size of a 50pence piece, there's no way other than a very long big drill or bashing it with a chisel to open up this long standing restriction, perhaps a fault in the casting that was not spotted at the time..

 

[Mike Jackson]

when I have not had any imperial olives, i just use alot of ptfe around the olive and alot of paste, works so far.

You've not worked down this way have you. I had a flood a couple of years ago due to someone doing that. I swapped a boiler, controls etc and overnight a fitting in the airing cupboard blew apart. When I checked someone had used a 22mm compression on a 3/4 pipe and lashed it up with ptfe and boss white.

 

[GQuigley67]

well I've done it in my own house, only time will tell eh ? lol, seems solid enough to me

 

[Hump1]

Hi mack22, I remember similar problems with poorly casted fittings causing partial blockages. It was usually caused by spillage when pouring out the moulds at the foundery or sometimes leakage from the hot lead which was poured into the joints to seal them during installation. As an apprentice in the 60's one of my jobs was to check all new cast fittings when they were delivered to the yard or site and hammer out any obstructions that I found. Although cast iron was a real bugger to work on at the time it has certainly stood the test of time as can be seen by the amount of cast iron still around today.

 

[mack22]

Thanks Hump1, I thought much the same, I worked at a small foundry at one time and you would find flashings where the iron had run a bit wild in the mould, I also encountered a big lump of lead at the bottom of a down pipe blocking half the pipe, I suppose it was where the plumber had not sealed the joint properly and the lead ran down as he was filling it, he must have wondered why he used up so much lead!

 

[Hump1]

I dont know if any of the older members remember the jointing methods for cast iron waste pipes. I remember you had to pack the joint first with a type of rope impregnated with tar, (this was to prevent the hot lead from leaking inside the pipe) this was done with a caulking tool (cant remember the name for it) but it was shaped like a blunt chisel with an offset so you could hammer down the rope between the pipe and faucet. Then you had to form a kind of wet clay around the joint with a lip for pouring the hot lead in. Then came the dangerous bit (h/s would go mental nowadays) especially if it was up a ladder like sealing a soil stack, the molten lead was poured from a ladle into the joint with the odd splash falling down missing the apprentice if he was lucky at the bottom of the ladder! Finally the clay was removed and the now solid lead was hammered with the caulking tool to swell it and complete the seal. Who said plastics was easy to work on?

 

[tamz]

You had caulkers in 2 different types. One type was longer and thinner and was called a yarner. This was used to pack the rope yarn into the joint. The other called a staver was short and blunt and was used to caulk the lead.
My tradesman had a badly scarred foot he got when he tripped while carrying the lead pot and the molten lead went down his boot. Bet that was a sore one!

 

[Hump1]

Hi Tamz, your right, now I remember the 2 different caulkers. As an apprentice I remember getting a bollocking for using the wrong one (the yarner) for caulking the lead! And yes it was a hazardous task walking around and climbing ladders with molten lead. I got one or two small burns on my arms but your tradesman getting molten lead down his boot must have been agony. Health and safety nowadays would go mental.

 

[tamz]

your tradesman getting molten lead down his boot must have been agony.

Seemingly they never found the pot or ladle again :lol:

 

[Hump1]

Seemingly they never found the pot or ladle again :lol:

They don't know what they's missing nowaday's !!