Home Depot pipe insanity

SethK

Years ago I tried to buy iron pipe at HD and it was $7 a foot cut. I ended up buying copper for 1/4 the price.

You guys said they were confused about the price and copper was bad with steam, so I'm converting to iron. I went back and the price is $7 a foot, so I only bought one 20" pipe and 10' to try to fit. It didn't fit so I brought it back to cut, damaging my car in the process, and they closed early.

So I did trip #3 today, all the plumbing section people called in sick so someone else cut my pipe, but the threads look wrong. Should I even try to use it? Here it is next to a nipple.

SethK

Attempt #3 to post picture...

SethK

Posting it as a document...

Hilly

Wrong dies in the threader I'd say. I would never even consider considering to use that pipe.

Leonard

Demand your money back

ratio

Take it back & get your money back. That's not usable.

KC_Jones

In general they are clueless at the home center. If I was you I would either find a real plumbing supply or just go to supplyhouse.com order a couple nipples and couplings and be done with it. The only threaded pipe I would even consider from the home center are the pre-made nipples they have in stock. If I need it threaded I either do it myself or find someone I trust to do it.

What pipe size do you need?

GW

Dies somehow aren't aligned in the correct order, the threads should look exactly like the nip. Make it easy next time and grab a fitting off their shelf and you should be able to spin 2 to 3 full turns by hand . That's how you know your thread is good

Jackmartin

Seth make it really easy on yourselfand hire a journeyman I am not being nasty ,so far you have gone half mad from poor quality material and relying on people who do not know the fitting should go on three turns and start to tighten. They have no knowledge, depending on the probem you face ,the thread can be made tight if you have a loose old fitting or loose if the old fitting is tight or hopefully normal threads that tighten on the third revolution. I served seven years as an papprentice in the days when you did not get yelled at if you did something wrong you got a kick up the rear and then you got yelled at. The point I am trying to make is I would not begin to think I knew how to do your profession you really should not try to do mine. I am also always worried when I go in Home Depot and see all the gas products they sell ,I am as part of my trade, an Industrial gas fitter I know how easy it is for me to make a mistake giving people with no idea the chance to be an amateur gasfitter is akin to handing a child a loaded gun something terrible is going to happen. All the best ,look on Dan and Erins website for a tradesman in your area it will be money well spent. Jack Martin Winnipeg Canada

ChrisJ

Yeah, those threads are wrong. It's sad too, because it's so easy to use those machines a 5 year old could probably do it if trained.


I had tried this over and over and finally gave up.

I tried having multiple people at multiple different Home Depots and Lowes thread pipe. I tried having two different plumbing supplies thread pipe.

After having everyone mess up two pieces I needed to repipe a short radiator after we put down a floor, I finally bought my own threader.

The final straw was I needed one length of pipe, I think 23" long or so done and I asked the guy to do it just before he closed for the weekend. I didn't notice until I got home that it was an inch short of what I asked for. Of course he was now closed for the weekend, and I was left up a creek.

I immediately created this meme, and hunted down my used Rigid 65R-TC as well as a pipe vice and a pipe cutter.

This has been censored for HH.

ChrisJ

By the way,
What's the length of pipe you're replacing and where is it?

Many here are against copper with steam. Me, I'm not so sure it has problems in certain areas. For example, straight lengths, especially short runs I feel are likely fine.

I did my equalizer and wet returns all in copper. The drops from the dry returns are also copper.

SethK

It's 1 1/4 pipe. It's only one riser, but it goes through the kitchen and the lady of the house wants it to match the other pipes. Otherwise I'd probably just ignore it and have left it as copper since it seemed to be working.

There is a plumbing store, but they are more expensive and only open during the week and close before I get out of work, so it's harder to shop there. They also charge $5 per cut and thread, and only cut their own pipes, but it might be better just to go there when I can than deal with HD.

Abracadabra

HD - free cuts and threading, but it's all f*cked up
Plumbing store - $5 cut for threading but it's done right.

How much does your time and fuel cost going to Home Depot twice to get a f*cked up thread cost?

ChrisJ

SethK said:

It's 1 1/4 pipe. It's only one riser, but it goes through the kitchen and the lady of the house wants it to match the other pipes. Otherwise I'd probably just ignore it and have left it as copper since it seemed to be working.

There is a plumbing store, but they are more expensive and only open during the week and close before I get out of work, so it's harder to shop there. They also charge $5 per cut and thread, and only cut their own pipes, but it might be better just to go there when I can than deal with HD.

Well,

Your time is worth something right?
Along with the damage to your car, the stress etc.

You'll likely have far better luck with the plumbing store. However be warned, I had two different ones screw up threads. One, used a non-tapered thread which I think is for conduit. The second, as I said above cut it an inch too short.

Now, I'll be fair, the inch short guy made an honest mistake. It was the end of a Saturday, he wanted to go home, everyone makes mistakes. The conduit thread guy tho, seriously?

GW

I suggest parting with the $5.

Gordy

In the end that wrong pipe cost 50 or more in gas, calories, damage to vehicle,mental anguish,pain,and suffering. And it doesn't work. Make it 100.

archibald tuttle

In the NFN department. Of course getting pipe threaded at the Depot can be a crap shoot, but most of the supply houses i dealt with didn't even thread pipe until they faced that competition. just sayin'.

If their dies are not dull and you know how it works you can usually talk and associate through a decent job. They use the multi size threading heads and those have to be set correctly. They probably had the setting not accurately on 1 and 1/4 when that was done.

Because taking stuff apart is a pain its probably not worth it, but with a setting type joint compound in an emergency with low pressure steam, i bet you could probably get that to work.

the other point folks are making is really well taken. what you do is buy a prethread length and a run of nipples and then you can make up the length you need without a custom threaded piece. if the legnth is 8 feet say, you might have to buy two 4 footers and a closenipple or something like that and of course extra couplings. that starts to make taking an hour off to go the supply house look not so expensive, but either way beats trips back and forth assuming you pay yourself anything like minimum wage.

or, given that the complaint is aesthetic rather than functional, HD does sell rust-o-leum copper colored spray paint so you could make the other pipe match the copper (more or less).

Mad Dog_2

You'd be much better off paying a,local plumbing shop to cut and thread you a piece. Mad Dog

ChrisJ

My issue when changing or re-piping radiators in my house was it's never an even length "2 foot" for example, and you need to be very close to the proper length, say an 1/8" or so. This was because some of my runouts are very long and I need them tight to the joists at the very end when cold.

I'm able to do it my self, but not with precut nipples or with someone else threading it.

sparkyspark

what causes that problem, I have had it happen to me randomly.
it will be working great then it does that, then back works good for a while and then does it again.
I am using a Ridgid 1224 I've changed the dies and the oil and still the same issue. currently I am using 1" Allied brand but it has done it on the 4" as well.
any ideas?

SlamDunk

Go to harbor freight and get a hand threader, hand pipe cutter and a vice for a hundred bucks and do your own pipes.

My local Lowe's sells 10 ft, 1-1/4" black pipe but not 1-1/4" fittings.

gerry gill

SethK said:

Posting it as a document...

oh yeah, thats hosed up.

Danny Scully

@ChrisJ, the pic is from lethal weapon 4, but the quote is from leathal weapon 2...you’re just as bad as Home Depot!

DanHolohan

@Danny Scully , that had me spitting my drink.

ChrisJ

> @Danny Scully said:
> @ChrisJ, the pic is from lethal weapon 4, but the quote is from leathal weapon 2...you’re just as bad as Home Depot!

I'm not sure if you're joking or not. His rant about cell phones was in #4...

Gilmorrie

Seth K: you refer to iron pipe. That type is black steel, not iron, grade ASTM A-53. Yes, please hire an experienced plumber - you're in over your head.

Danny Scully

But your caption is from #2 @ChrisJ, when he complains about getting a tuna sub at the drive through. He only starts to say it in #4, and gets cut off by Riggs...come on man!

ChrisJ

> @Danny Scully said:
> But your caption is from #2 @ChrisJ, when he complains about getting a tuna sub at the drive through. He only starts to say it in #4, and gets cut off by Riggs...come on man!

Hmmm

Just watched the clip on YouTube and I have to disagree. Riggs doesn't even comment

Danny Scully

Riggs doesn’t call him from his cell phone and end the conversation @ChrisJ?...maybe we shouldn’t hyjack this thread with our lethal weapon knowledge .

ChrisJ

> @Danny Scully said:
> Riggs doesn’t call him from his cell phone and end the conversation @ChrisJ?...maybe we shouldn’t hyjack this thread with our lethal weapon knowledge .

Nuts..


He still had the rant though

GroundUp

1" SCH40 is $18 for a 10 foot stick at HD.... But on another note, if the dies are worn or loose like the HD ones undoubtedly are, they can fall out of alignment with each other and make the same fine thread you got there. I just did it myself last week after having cut a million threads in my day, and it wasn't the first time nor will it be the last. Threw the dies in the trash and dropped in a new set, good to go. I certainly wouldn't have let the pipe leave the threading station without having tested it, because the size line stamped in the head is never right and they need to be fine tuned every time you switch pipe size- which home store nerds never do. For future reference, if you ever have the HD person cut you another thread, grab an elbow off the shelf and screw it on until hand tight. Note which way the elbow is facing, then screw it out until it falls off, counting the turns. If it's not between 2.5 and 4 turns, ask them to adjust the dies and cut a new one. Make it a 1 stop shop. It may seem ****-ish but the customer is always right ya know! 4 turns is borderline too deep and 2.5 is borderline too shallow. 3-3.5 is dandy.