# pvc to cast iron hub using fernco-can't get it!



## What have I done (May 28, 2006)

Ok I thought the hard part was going to be getting the cast iron seperated. I drilled the lead and got the cast iron seperated at the Bell, I got a Fernco that goes inside the cast iron Bell and the pvc goes inside the fernco.

I can Not get it to go in, I tried putting the fernco in 1st then the pvc. this just pushed the fernco in further.

put fernco around the pvc and tried "tapping" it into the cast iron. Couldnt get it in past the 1st ridge of the fernco. Still had at least and inch to go.

Tried lubing everything up with dish soap. No better.

What am I doing wrong or better yet HOW CAN I make this connection from Cast iron to PVC.

thanks


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## Plumber101 (Feb 25, 2009)

What I do is take a short piece of pipe say 12" and taper the end. Lube the dough-nut (fernco) inside and the pipe outside. Insert the pipe into the dough nut and place a short piece of 2x4 over then end of the pipe. Then use a hammer and strike the board to drive the pipe in. Use a PVC coupling to reconnect the pipe end

Try this link..page 63

http://books.google.com/books?id=xS...esult&ct=result&resnum=9#v=onepage&q=&f=false


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## What have I done (May 28, 2006)

Yes thats how I was doing it. I had a 5" piece of 4" PVC figured I could get that locked in place with the fernco then go to town on PVC connections. It just wont go. The donut I got is a ferncop44u-405 "for sewer and drain use only". I was using dish soap as a lube is there something better?

Thanks for the quick reply also


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## Plumber101 (Feb 25, 2009)

I use faucet grease.

Sometimes one or two hits and slips right in other times I really have to pound to get it to go in. (That just sounds so wrong)

I had on one time where I had to hold the 2x4 and have my helper swing the hammer.

If you make a 30 to 45 deg tapper on the end of the pipe it really helps. Also 5" isn't long enough. Use at least 8-9"


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## What have I done (May 28, 2006)

not sure what the last message was about??? Sultini?

Anyway the fernco I was using came from A box store. It was fernoc brand but I could not get it to accept the PVC

I went to a plumber and the donuts he had were beefier and he said to do exactly what I had been trying

The donut was $20 as compared to the box store's $9.. BUT IT WORKED

had to wack the PVC good with a BFH but it went in...on to the next project!

thanks for your HELP


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## Plumber101 (Feb 25, 2009)

Glad to hear that you get it done. :thumbsup:


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## VADesigner (Jan 22, 2014)

*Just add (hot) water!*

Found this thread while looking for a solution to the same problem of having to replace the 4" adapter inside the 6" bell, on 80 year old pipes. ... I know it's ab older thread, but thought I'd add this info for others who may be seeking advice.

After many hours spent getting the lead and okume out (the okume was much harder than the lead in some places) using any combination of drill bits and chisels, the inside of the bell was clean and the Frenco in place and greased. Could not for anything get the new 4" PVC adapter in. Sledge hammer and 2x4 was NOT working, and I was a bit concerned about breaking the cast iron bell. 

I took a break.

Thinking about it, I thought perhaps I could shave off a bit of the Fernco. Didn't like that idea, as I was worried about jeopardizing the integrity of the connection. Hardware store was closed at 1 AM, when I read that I could use a donut instead. So... "I wonder if heating the Frenco would do the trick?" 

Next problem: How to heat it? Microwave?! Don't like the thought of that...

Then the idea of soaking it in boiling hot water came to mind. Off to the kitchen, and then to basement and the open sewer drain, yet again.

I poured boiling hot water over the Fernco and let it soak for 3-5 minutes. Pulled it out of the water, dried it off, added grease to the inside and in went the 4" PVC like cutting butter! :thumbup:


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

That sure was a helpful post----boiling water---Hummmmmm


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

So much easier to cut the pipe and use a hubless connector, not go to all the extra work of drilling out the bell whenever possible.


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

I use to install a lot of Tyseal pipe when doing ground roughs- several times we would have bucket of hot water on the burner with assorted gasket sizes heating up.
We also had pipe pullers that made joining pipe a breeze. We could do a joint almost as fast as no-hub


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## plummen (Jan 10, 2010)

TheEplumber said:


> I use to install a lot of Tyseal pipe when doing ground roughs- several times we would have bucket of hot water on the burner with assorted gasket sizes heating up.
> We also had pipe pullers that made joining pipe a breeze. We could do a joint almost as fast as no-hub


As somebody who had to pour a lot of lead early in my career I was really happy when push joints and no hub pipe became readily accepted around these parts! Hahaha


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## ASDUNBAR90 (Mar 25, 2020)

Gentlemen, and any lady plumbers out there, I have great news!
Created an account just to post this in hope it will help others out there.

TL;DR: put the rubber donut in the cast iron fully. Get some wax from a toilet wax ring and lube the pvc end, preferebaly chamfered. Shove it in the rubber donut. The wax is hard enough to not be totally pushed aside by the rubber donut as most other lubricants are.

The story:
I had this same issue with my pvc to cast iron connection. My cast iron is 4" XH, so the box store variety donut didnt work. I ordered a "Jones Stephens Corp - 4 Xh Multi Tite Gasket" and it seemed it would fit well.

Now the issue was that my female cast iron piece was horizontal, and flush with the subfloor above it, and theres a stud next to it.

First I tried putting the donut on the PVC and hammering it in the female piece, I could get 60% of the donut in 90% of the way. but I couldn't reach the top or left side of the donut to whack it in. I considered this not good enough.

Then I chamfered the end of the pvc and lubed it and the donut with a ton of dish soap. I put the donut in the cast iron first and tried to shove the pvc into it. No dice. After cursing for a few hours i sat down and put on my thinking cap. Looking at my pvc pipe, I realized it was foam core pipe, not solid pvc. The 45 deg chamfer i had created with a disc grinder was not a smooth surface. Even after sanding with 220 grit it remained rough to the touch. What I believe was happening was, when i was using dish soap, and tried to shove the pvc into the donut, the donut pressed right through the lube to the pvc and then there was friction!

Trust me, I tried every lubricant i had in the house, even knowing most of them would eventually cause the neoprene donut or pvc to fail. I was desperate. I tried white lithium grease, petroleum grease from the grease gun, teflon lube, silicone lube, and more dish soap. All were too thin. I even tried boiling the dam rubber ring to soften it.

Looking around the basement i spied a box of candles. I recalled candle wax being used to lubricant old wooden sliding drawers that had no wheeled tracks, just wood on wood. I grabbed the candle and started rubbing down the pvc chamfer. But the candle was just too dam hard.

Finally it dawned on me. I grabbed the wax ring i just bought to re-set the toilet on the flange. There was some spill over from mfg on the packaging. I balled it up and rubbed in on the chamfered area, being sure to leave a thick layer, maybe 0.5-1mm thick, all the way around. With the donut still set in the cast iron, I placed the pvc in the mouth of the donut and gave it a good shove, and it slid in like butter.

I haven't been this satisfied in a long time.


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