pet peeves in piping

Bob Vennerbeck

Doing a fair amount of re-renovation work, I've seen a lot of nicely fitted and fastening piping of all kinds, carved right through whatever beam, sill, post, stud, joist or rafter was foolish enough to be in the way.....

Vbob

Phil_17

pet peeves in piping

a lot of people have been beating the same dead horses over and over again --why i hate..X
what i really hate..
to see in the airport mens room lots of high quality and high cost plumbing fixtures all marked with wrench marks on the chrome plated flats.haven't these people heard of the crescent wrench whose flat jaws marketh not?
any other pet peeves??nbc

Rob Blair

Or a Stilson (sp?) wrench.

I have a few antique ones in my bag. OOPs, I just looked them up and that is not what I think I have. I have some old wrenches that were my grandfathers that look like pipe wrenches with no teeth. Anyone know what they were called.

Rob

PS: No smart comments like "Toothless Wrench!" Ha-Ha!!

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

Spud Wrench

Has no teeth. Thanks, Bob Gagnon

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scrook_2

ummm...

a Monkey Wrench?

Actually should be "Moncky Wrench", after Charles Moncky, its inventor. Smooth jawed and the lower jaw moves, not the upper as on a toothed jawed pipe or Stilson -- after Daniel Stilson -- wrench.

hot_rod

I agree on the wrench marks

make me shake my head every time.

Also those pesky congressmen sliding their foot under the stall dividers in airport restrooms.

This has got to stop

hr

Chris S

ADA mishaps

How about going into a restroom in an office or restaurant that is supposed to be ADA compliant but sort of falls short. I saw one where the toilet was about 22" off the side wall & the grab bars were on the studs- but not where they're supposed to be. Also , how about that scalding water in the rest room sink- who allowed that?

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Uni R_2

Sharpies

Not quite piping but closely related is marking up pipes, circs, ZVs, circuit breaker panels, switches, expansion tanks etc with Sharpies instead of making it look professional with a labeling tool like a Dymo. Most hand printing looks like graffiti.

S R Denny

"Most hand printing looks like graffiti", especially my chicken scratching.
A hex wrench is a definite plus when having to deal with Sloan, Zurn, Delaney valves, not to mention old style toilet flush el nuts.

[Deleted User]

purple pvc cleaner

sloppily, runningly applied. and if i could show you a recent ad i saw; a guy proud of his work/x product, and the pvc looked like a 4th grader applied the purple pvceple eater to it

ddlong1286@yahoo.com

sharpie

I'd rather have graffiti sharpie writing than none at all. But I agree my writing is almost unreadable!

Don in Mo

MikeL_2

Peeves

How about plumbing system venting.....we find horizontal vent piping below the flood level of most bathtubs we uncover during remodeling or repair work........

mtfallsmikey

Another way...

Smooth-jawed Channellocks

John Starcher_4

I have lectured...

...more than one employee over the years about using channel locks instead of open end wrenches. Especially on pilot tubing nuts!!! I hates that!!!!!!

Unknown

+1 on the purple primer...

I usually use clear. So one day I get a message from a GC that the inspector wanted to know what kind of guy doesn't use primer on his PVC. I asked the GC what kind of inspector never heard of clear primer. LOL...

MY other pet peeve(s)? Crooked pipes and excessive pipe dope.

Rob Blair

That is it!!!!

Can you still purchase such items?

Rob

Wild Rover

Drill your own holes

How about when the electrician tries to run his wires in the same hole as your pipes.

Unknown

about you drivers

About you drivers that don't use the turn signals when turning or changing lanes , while on the phone or not !
Another pet peeves, throwing cigerette butts outside and on customer's property.

Rich L.

butts

Big agreement on the cigarette butts outside and at customers. Also my big one is straight and true piping, it really sets apart the pros. When a guy tells me he doesn't have time to make it look good and the water will never know the difference I can't help but wonder what other corners he's cut.

That and sloppy pex. With just a little extra time it CAN be made to look decent, though certainly not as nice as plumb and level copper or black iron.

MikeL_2

peeves

How about closet flanges installed flush with the finished floor...closet bowls not caulked at the floor......below grade sewage ejectors not vented correctly....shoe box sized ejectors installed without a union or drain; a serious bio-hazard in medical/dental applications.......an air break when an air gap is required..........

Darrell

How about piping boilers so that they can actually be serviced? You know, move the relief valve to a tee on the supply piping of any WMC boiler, put the expanson tank where I don't have to cut piping out to replace it, move the gage to a tee on the supply piping if it would be buried against a wall or water heater in it's factory tapping, oh, and this is a biggie, put a union on the darn relief valve drop instead of soldering it in!

And if I catch you using dielctric unions on one more boiler I'm gonna make you buy me lunch.

Not only does it make it tons easier for the serviceman, it makes the installer look like he was thinking!

There, I do feel better now!

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kev

purple primer

I hate the look of it also. The code book does require purple primer when making PVC joints so you may start to get used to it. The inspectors look for it where I am.

[Deleted User]

dielectrics?

"And if I catch you using dielctric unions on one more boiler I'm gonna make you buy me lunch"

huh?

Darrell

The common di-electric unions that are available in supply houses for water heaters will come apart and leak in a heating system...the rubber gasket won't handle the heat and the heating system does not require the di-electric protection. I know that a brass or iron union is more expensive and the di-electric union makes a handy tansition from screwed pipe to sweat fittings but, many of the air leaks and water leaks in a boiler system can be traced to leaky di-electric unions. And trying to keep glycol in a system with di-electric unions is nearly impossible.

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Darin(in Michigan)_3

PeterGriffin

Pex



My buddy's new place was all done with pex and the toilet shut off comes out of the floor like it was about to start coiling up again, that's got to be my biggest pet peeve.


Rankin

Derheatmeister

Darrell, yes I do not like the Relief on the WMC gold series. I always Alter it ,I do not use Dielectric on boiler other than on the relief valve for easy Access. HM.

rich pickering

Drip tubes on relief valves that are tightened with a pipe wrench. Tightened so that it would hold 1000 psi?

Hand tight will work. Then I can quickly remove the pipe to see if the valve is weeping.

Derheatmeister

And Deburring of the relief valve piping,Why will that be needed? Cavitation of a relief valve Piping? And we need some sealant on that reliefvalve piping! And no boiler drains on low points.for servicing. Also home running all tubing back to the mechanical room(Looks like a octopus) and using different color electrical tape to identify the loop supply/ returns and no one knows were it goes to.Expansion tank?,why? the tube will do the job!. The usage of none oxygen barrier because it is cheaper and in conjunction of cast boilers. Unions on gaspiping Before the shutoff.Piping not supported or by the boiler.and on and on It's interesting what i get it see. HM.

Rich L.

What were they thinking?

Maybe we've worked on some of the same jobs! I've seen that union before the gas valve! Even though it pi$$es me off, I have to laugh. What could they have possibly been thinking???!!!