How do the pro's do it? - drained but not empty All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[CanDo]

What procedure do people use to de-solder joints where there is still some water left inside the pipes? Is there a way to remove the water after pipes have been drained as well as possible? Can the water be sucked out using a hand pump? Could this even work and if so how to do it? Or do plumbers just cut the damn pipes and deal with water flow as best as possible, letting most of it soak into the plasterboard?

Any ideas are welcome.

There are many horizontal pipes where some water remains. I have attempted to de-solder joints but it has taken a very long time to get them apart and I think it is due to small amounts of water which is making it difficult to heat the pipe sufficiently.

While attempting to heat the pipes, steam has been coming out of the far end, showing that there is still some water inside. When I have finally got the joint apart, some dirty water has come out which I have attempted to catch in a tray.......not always successfully :(

Thoughts and opinions gratefully received.

[plumbbob]

I use Mapp gas because the hotter flame can sometimes be enough to boil the water away from the joint. If this fails I try to lift the pipe so the water runs away from the joint. The next stage is a hacksaw. Cut the coupling (not the pipe) you are removing so the water can escape.

Generally, opening any pipes will result in water escaping onto ceilings etc. It is an occupational hazard! I use the super absorbent cloths to catch as much as possible. But you might be surprised how much water can end up on plasterboard without harming it.

[CanDo]

[quote="plumbbob"]I use Mapp gas because the hotter flame can sometimes be enough to boil the water away from the joint. If this fails I try to lift the pipe so the water runs away from the joint. The next stage is a hacksaw. Cut the coupling (not the pipe) you are removing so the water can escape.

Generally, opening any pipes will result in water escaping onto ceilings etc. It is an occupational hazard! I use the super absorbent cloths to catch as much as possible. But you might be surprised how much water can end up on plasterboard without harming it.[/quote]
Thanks for the information. It's important that the pipe on the party wall doesn't leak water because next door had a lot of trouble with damp before I moved here. I think it might of been due to leaky radiator values so I don't want to allow any water to leak into the floor. I am expecting a hand pump which I intend trying when it arrives tomorrow to see if I can empty the pipe using it. The small pipe section on the one side I have already done, but that took far too long and the other pipe is considerably longer and will have a lot more water in it as there is no drain off on that pipe like the small one.

[CanDo]

The syphon/pump I received, worked very well and totally emptied the pipe of about 350 ml of dirty water. It's made of plastic and therefore not all that strong but they are quite inexpensive at around £6. Mine is made by Sealey TP50. It wasn't until after that a search shows very similar items by different brands and is available for less than I paid. The narrow tube that comes with it is very rigid so not really ideal to poke into pipes, a more flexible pipe should work better. Putting the tubes into boiling water straightened them out and made it easier to use.

I will try it on some of the other pipes when necessary because it worked very well at emptying the pipe I tried it on.

[Barry Bunsen]

I sometimes use a 20ml syringe with a section of transparent flexible pipe attached
Not 100% effective but worth keeping in the toolkit.

[plumbbob]

I've used my lungs and blown the water out in the past.

[jim the plumb]

I had this problem this week in a kitchen install. I always have my water hoover handy when working on any water pipework/ toilets anyway, so used that to get the water out.

I had to cut the pipe and have the hoover ready to catch the water. I didn't spill a drop.

Sometimes I've had to empty the hoover twice if the pipes have been under the concrete floor. You won't get water out much faster than that.

jimbo

[plumbbob]

I had this problem this week in a kitchen install. I always have my water hoover handy when working on any water pipework/ toilets anyway, so used that to get the water out.

I had to cut the pipe and have the hoover ready to catch the water. I didn't spill a drop.

Sometimes I've had to empty the hoover twice if the pipes have been under the concrete floor. You won't get water out much faster than that.

jimbo

Good one!

I use mine to unblock waste pipes. Sucks all the gunge out of the pipe and you don't have to worry about any of the push fit couplings coming apart under the floor