Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Calling all Plumbers- Gerberit cable tub drain

GW
GW Member Posts: 4,691
My tub drain cable seized up, not a big deal but I’m finishing off the ceiling below and wanted to correct it once and for all.

I bought a whole new drain but the vendor sent me a Gerber. Upon talking the old Gerberit drain out I finally freed up the cable, now it works

Is there a way to lube that cable? Any ideas on keep it from sticking (other than a reminder in my calendar) ?
Gary Wilson
Wilson Services, Inc
Northampton, MA
gary@wilsonph.com

Comments

  • Intplm.
    Intplm. Member Posts: 1,880
    Gary, bud I have never had one stick or jam up. Lube? If you can get at the thing as a preventative maintenance thing, And you don't mind having one more thing to do.

    If you have it all apart, and if it was me. I would replace the thing.
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,572
    Ar you sure it was the cable and not crud in the part of the shoe the plug drops in to?
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Matt yes there was some goop but when I had the shoe in my hand (tee, trap and upper still intact), I had my daughter turning the handle and the whole length of the cable was “kicking” a bit (shoe was dangling in the basement) I poked a long screwdriver to see if the small metal lever was stuck. When I couldn’t move it, I went back up to finally remove the upper round handle. Once that was off I could then put a bit more pressure when turning the upper mechanism. That’s when it freed up.

    Lubing it——you know like your clutch cable on your motor bike

    Ok I guess I’m a magnet for weird stuff happening- my king of bad news was a few years ago when I changed a water heater and managed to clog a tub shower valve—-that was quite the drag.
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,572
    oh it is in a casing? it doesn't just pull up on the plug?
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,572
    I'd just replace the whole thing with the kind where a rod drops down the overflow and is attached to the plug. You still need to leave access to the trap even if you finish the ceiling.
  • STEAM DOCTOR
    STEAM DOCTOR Member Posts: 1,951
    Rubber plugie. Never fails.
    GW
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Yes the cable is in a casing.

    I’m gonna cover the trap- don’t like the look of an access. It’s going to be painted plywood so I can get to it if needed. 2” trap on this tub (I upsized all the stuff, have 4” to the wc)

    I’ll flip a coin- prolly put the new Gerber in since I have the thing mostly apart. Thanks
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
    BillyO
  • I put a new Geberit W&O on my 100 year old tub 13 years ago and it's been solid.
    Like you, I installed a 2" trap and I never stand in water when I'm showering; sucks it in like a vacuum.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
    mattmia2GW
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,572
    hmm..2". Sounds like a great idea. I think the tap in the CI tee is 1.5" though.
  • mattmia2 said:

    hmm..2". Sounds like a great idea. I think the tap in the CI tee is 1.5" though.

    If the tee is easy to get to, I'd replace it for the satisfaction.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
    mattmia2
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,572
    It is the tee-wye that connects the sink, tub, and toilet to the stack and it is leaded in, it wouldn't be easy to replace, but someone did replace the steel from the tub and sink with pvc sometime before I bought the house.
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    I called Gerberit, explained what happened, the man should it should be all set. I’m going to roll the dice and keep the existing drain, now it’s working as it should.

    Here are some pictures since everybody loves pictures LOL. The red foam was acting poorly. Not my best foam job.

    10 points for anybody that can identify the venting set up. You can’t see everything, but go ahead and presume a pro installed at all.(Massachusetts code, not sure if this venting is code elsewhere)
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • The venting is OK, but out here, you have to use a drainage fitting anywhere below the flood rim of the fixture. That tee on its back should be what we call a combination fitting (combination of a wye and an 1/8 bend).

    I hope there are no more fixtures upstream of that vent tee. Worse yet is if that vent is actually a drain. Either way, it would be totally illegal here.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Well then I guess Massachusetts is out to lunch! It’s legit. Nothing but air on the branch of the TY and a shower is up steam of the TY (the left of the ty)
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,042
    For access doors I have used return air face grills.
    That is something that looks like it just belongs there.
    No painting required.
    ratio
  • GW said:

    Well then I guess Massachusetts is out to lunch! It’s legit. Nothing but air on the branch of the TY and a shower is up steam of the TY (the left of the ty)

    Since the shower is upstream of the tee, the shower is wet vented. Our UPC code allows wet vents, but only vertical.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Ok fine, we define “wet vent” as a Lav drain acting as a vent and a drain and it need to be 2”. What looks like a wet vent in these pictures? There’s no sink in this area of the bathroom
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • Is this what you have?


    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Yes, we call it a battery vent, no need for wye and 1/8, nothing but air
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • They want us to vent every fixture separately.


    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    So if you’re doing commercial and you have two or three or more wc and some floor drains you gotta vent each one? All coming off the same horizontal drain?
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • Yes sir.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • ratio
    ratio Member Posts: 3,615
    At least around here, the vents can tie together (up to a limit, I suppose) & rise up as one stack. I am not a plumber however, and subtleties may evade me.
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Ratio yes they can always tie together 6” above the highest floor level rim in that local group of fixtures. Sometimes it’s better and faster to connect even higher (joist bay, attic)
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,042
    WC wall carriers have venting port built in. All re-vented above 2-3' up. So it is busy piping behind that row of WC's.
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Ok cool but we were chatting up the floor connected or floor drained fixtures.
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    2” relief vent in front of the last floor drained fixture or the eighth fixture, whichever comes first
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,020
    Up until about 10 years ago wet venting was limited to vertical piping only, now they do allow horizontal, a bit confusing.


    https://www.pmmag.com/articles/102031-we-might-get-letters-a-horizontal-wet-venting-leap-of-faith
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
    Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Member Posts: 3,977
    edited March 2020
    I was wrong about the horizontal wet venting. They didn't have it in the code when I was active.



    But that tee on its back should be a combo.


    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Alan that doesn't make sense- if you have a 10 foot run to a lav, Kitchen sink, laundry, etc, you need to pull a vent off of the line within 5 feet (6 feet if it's a 2" drain) of the trap, right? That vent needs to be wye-1/8 in CA? Its just air!
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Bob some of those stick figures are a little funky, that's legal where you're at? . Are they sticking a bushing into the end of a 3" y? never happens that way here, we always do a 3x2 y, the 3" runs straight to the wc. The 2" runs the wet vent.
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
    Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Member Posts: 3,977
    edited March 2020
    GW said:

    Alan that doesn't make sense- if you have a 10 foot run to a lav, Kitchen sink, laundry, etc, you need to pull a vent off of the line within 5 feet (6 feet if it's a 2" drain) of the trap, right? That vent needs to be wye-1/8 in CA? Its just air!

    Yes, but if there's a clog and the vent fills up with poop, they want it to drain properly and not leave any debris behind.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
    rick in Alaska
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    I get it, I guess. So a solid piece of goop will flow down the pipe and hit a blockage. Mind you, if there’s a blockage- there’s no flow right? Anyway let’s ignore that and pretend the solid matter will flow anyway. So it hit the stoppage at the spot where the vent is. It floats up the vent. The drain man comes and corrects the issue. Now the goop “won’t” drain back out the avenue of which it came? OK I guess
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • rick in Alaska
    rick in Alaska Member Posts: 1,457
    Dang Alan. I was typing up a great post about horizontal wet venting, and then I went back to look at the picture, and noticed you had re-posted. Guess I need to read all the post first. Still need that fitting to be a combo though, as you said.
    Rick
  • Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
    Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Member Posts: 3,977
    edited March 2020
    Just because it's in the code book, doesn't mean I necessarily agree with it.

    It used to be that double-wall HXs were required in all indirect water heaters. That was a happy day when that was removed.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • GW
    GW Member Posts: 4,691
    Yes I think we can actually use a tee for venting, if it’s on its back. The combo/ wye 1/8 really has me cranked up though!
    Gary Wilson
    Wilson Services, Inc
    Northampton, MA
    gary@wilsonph.com
  • rick in Alaska
    rick in Alaska Member Posts: 1,457
    GW said:

    Yes I think we can actually use a tee for venting, if it’s on its back. The combo/ wye 1/8 really has me cranked up though!

    You are right in that a combo is just kind of stupid to have to use instead of a tee. If the line backs up and gets in to the tee, it is still going to drain out after the blockage is cleared. It sure makes it difficult to get a combo in sometimes when the working room is tight.
    Rick
    CanuckerAlan (California Radiant) ForbesGW