How to Repair PVC Using Union Coupler, Tees, and Elbow Fittings

The first thing to understand about using regular Tees, elbows and other fittings to repair a broken pipe is: don’t.  Life is short and holes are wet and dirty. There are too many other products out there that will make your repair simpler and quicker. Take a quick look at these repair parts.

Why do I say not to do it? Because it’s more work. And harder. And rough on the knees. And frustrating. Notice that everything is underground and tightly fixed. This means you’ll be working in a hole and the pipe will have little or no flexibility. It doesn’t want to bend. To make a patch work you have to cut a new piece just short of the size of the broken piece you removed, add couplings, then BEND THE PIPE UP TO MAKE IT FIT INTO THE COUPLINGS. That is no fun. You’ll probably have to dig a much longer hole.

If you are replacing a direction change joint it gets even better. Say you are replacing a three way Tee. Great.  Three pipes.  Cut the pipes either side of the leaking coupler. Cut three pieces of patch pipe. Glue 3 couplings on ends of 3 pipes. Add patch pipes. Bend pipes to fit in Tee. If they’ll bend. Got it in?  What? Replacement Tee not centered where it should be?  Practice makes perfect. We can try again. Or we can use a KwikRepair  Tee. The cuts are simple and the couplings are built in.

Whatever system you use, there are plenty of well thought out repair parts out there that make your life much simpler. Don’t do it the hard way.