# Threading PVC pipe



## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Yes. Isn't that the one giving you trouble?


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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

Not really, it's the red 4" test plug I can't keep in with pressure on it. Was hoping to be able to fill it with a bucket through the top if need be...

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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

You know you can buy a portable shower, right?


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Well what fun is that?


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

Leo G said:


> Well what fun is that?


.......When you can make a potato gun in your garage without the potato??


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:


> You know you can buy a portable shower, right?


and they are dark colored to heat the water and fold up nicely for storage


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

You will need to leave some air space in the pipe, you can't compress liquid.


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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:


> You know you can buy a portable shower, right?


Yup. I should have been involved earlier in the planning for this, with the parts and time I have invested, I could have easily bought a commercially available rooftop shower/water storage. I looked before I started, and what she wants is back ordered for who knows how long.


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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

rrk said:


> and they are dark colored to heat the water and fold up nicely for storage


This is getting painted flat black in the next couple days.


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## nickko (Nov 11, 2012)

when plumbers pressure test a sewer they use a rubber Blatter that they put in the pipe and inflate


mrcat said:


> Not really, it's the red 4" test plug I can't keep in with pressure on it. Was hoping to be able to fill it with a bucket through the top if need be...
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


with a compressor. They come in all different sizes to fit the pipe diameter. Around here they put 5 pounds of pressure on them and they have to hold the pressure for 15 minutes to pass. They rig a pressure gauge up and it cant loose any pressure at all to pass


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

Took a look at your pictures.

On the discharge end, why didn’t you just get a couple bushings to get down to size, instead of drilling and tapping the cap?

On the other end, that Oatey test cap is what I use for pressure testing systems. The inflatable ball goes in the main sewer line, and one of those caps goes in each lav and WC line.

Only thing is, they are fitted to the inside of a pipe, not the inside of a fitting. At least the ones I use. And they will hold pressure.


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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:


> Took a look at your pictures.
> 
> On the discharge end, why didn’t you just get a couple bushings to get down to size, instead of drilling and tapping the cap?
> 
> ...


I wanted the threaded plug there to be able to clean the pipe out if necessary. 

On the other end, I have a pc of pipe glued into the fitting, there was no way the test plug would seal in the fitting. 
It held 25 lbs without a problem when it was dry, but as soon as the inside of the pipe got wet, it wouldn't even take 10lbs



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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

What about another clean out fitting on the top end?


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## Half-fast Eddie (Aug 21, 2020)

In the first 2 pictures, is that the discharge fitting coming out the end of the pipe? Whatever it is, it looks vulnerable to getting hit and breaking off.


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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:


> What about another clean out fitting on the top end?


I thought about that, but it would be a pain to have to seal up every time we used the top end to fill. 
Idea was, to be able to either fill with a garden hose through the discharge fitting via a double female adapter, or fill through the top with buckets.

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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

Half-fast Eddie said:


> In the first 2 pictures, is that the discharge fitting coming out the end of the pipe? Whatever it is, it looks vulnerable to getting hit and breaking off.


Yup, that's the discharge. Once it's mounted on the vehicle, it'll be out of the way.

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## Ed Corrigan (Jul 18, 2019)

I had to circle back for this pic.

Who needs a shower when you can have a tub?


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## G&Co. (Jul 29, 2020)

If it's for a shower, I would use black ABS so it gets warm from the sun.


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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

I got the pipe installed on the roof rack Sunday.
Ghettoed a couple of steel pipes I had in the shop across the factory rack to secure it. It should stay, we'll find out next week...
















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## Big Johnson (Jun 2, 2017)

Watch out for Legionnaires


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

So with all said and done, how practical (or not) did this turn out to be?


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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

Never did use it for showering, but was really nice to have water with us for dishes and the occasional sponge bath. Neither of the spots we camped had water near by.

Our average water use was about 1 1/2 -2 gallons a day, camped a total of 7 nights, so only had to re-fill once. Filled at rv dump stations both times. 

It rode up there really well, even survived an emergency stop at one point. 
The biggest problem was, I never got the time to secure the discharge from moving, so the bulkhead fitting loosened up a couple times. 
I was able to re-tighen the first time, couldn't get it totally sealed the second time without taking the clean out plug off, so it leaked a few drops an hour for the last week we were out. 

I think I'll try gluing a pc of PVC in instead of the bulkhead fitting for the next trip, probably won't ever pressurize it anyway.

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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

Big Johnson said:


> Watch out for Legionnaires


We camped for 3 nights the first stretch, then got a hotel for the weekend. Over that time, I bought a quart of vinegar and dumped it in with the leftover water. 
Flushed it all out when I re-filled before we headed back out camping, and then did the same thing when we were done camping the second time.
Not sure if the vinegar helped or not, but never seemed to start to grow anything in there...

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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

mrcat said:


> For which one the discharge?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


Were you in NJ last week?
I saw a white Yukon with the same setup, Thule container on the roof rack and 2- 6" ABS pipes with a boiler drain on one and a pex pipe between the 2 pipes on the bottom side


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## mrcat (Jun 27, 2015)

rrk said:


> Were you in NJ last week?
> I saw a white Yukon with the same setup, Thule container on the roof rack and 2- 6" ABS pipes with a boiler drain on one and a pex pipe between the 2 pipes on the bottom side


Nope, not us. 

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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

mrcat said:


> Nope, not us.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk


looked like a nice setup pipe looked to be about 7 ft long, they had a regular boiler drain on the drivers side rear cap, I saw no other fittings or nuts between drain and cap. They used regular DWV clamp straps with rubber insulator attached to their roof rack


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