My Bog is a Bog; leaking pipes

[Ross365]

Ugh….I’ve got a leaking pooh pipe. It’s a 4 or 5” diameter grey plastic drain pipe on the exit for the toilet bowl.

The bathroom had a whirlpool bath in it at one time and the toilet has been squeezed as tightly as possible in to the corner (see attached).
I’ve replaced the rubber seal between the porcelain and the end of the plastic pipe once before, but now it is leaking on a joint between the grey plastic pipes. I’ve never got involved with 5” plastic pipes before – have no idea how they seal. I suspect that these may well be 50 years old.

Any advice appreciated.

 

[gaz1]

they have an o ring rubber seal on them

 

[leadpig]

You got a pic of pipes

 

[hunter27]

Could be either pushfit or solvent weld, it's usually obvious by looking at the fittings.

 

[Ross365]

The picture shows the plastic fittings. Until I take the toilet out; access is pretty much nill

 

[gaz1]

there double socket push fits that use a rubber o ring in them

 

[Smallfry]

The bit that joins to the toilet pan is indeed old. I have got one the same, and its just a lipped seal. These should be fitted concentrically if possible, but that one probably has not, hence the leak over time. You will probably find a load of mastic fantastic in there to take up the slack in the distorted seal.

The next grey bits looks like a "bog" standard 100mm Hunter or Osma solvent weld soil fitting. The next one looks like Polypipe or Aquaflow pushfit.

Good luck. You might find a lurking Richard the Third !

 

[Seadog]

You might consider getting rid of the el to the pan and using something like this.

 

[Ross365]

You might consider getting rid of the el to the pan and using something like this.

View attachment 402474

Could tell me what that flexi-fitting is called? Not sure how that fits on the downstream end.

My impression has always been, that when the whirlpool bath was fitted (we took it out), they had a tough time squeezing in the the toilet and the hand-basin (side by side) in the space available. Consequently, they ended up using a slightly odd combination of fittings on the toilet, the latter being one of the Armitage Shanks siphonic units, which I gather were loved by no one?

My own experience of doing plumbing is mainly limited to 1/4" stainless Swagelok fittings.

 

[angellonewolf]

is this where the leak is

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

The picture shows the plastic fittings. Until I take the toilet out; access is pretty much nill

I had one recently where the soil pipe came out the floor at a slightly off 90 angle...it was a nightmare to get it aligned as the pan seal kept seeping.

I wonder if that setup was compromised because to get the pan seal to work it has to be pretty spot on. They do an upgraded pan seal which has a jubilee clip on the pan side....its expensive (£30) but oh boy does it save a whole heap of hassle!

Its similar to the one @Seadog suggested but that jubilee clip means it isn't going to get misaligned on the pan connection.....the pan end can be trimmed to fit too. Seems bloomin obvious the jubilee clip but i've not seen them before.

 

[gaz1]

put a level onto it and i bet that has a slight backward fall

no support around the 2 elbows and that seal will break every time just with the flush alone it will cause wear and tear on the seal until its finally given up

do not use flexis there not good enough should only be used as a last resort

if the fall is wrong way consider highering the floor or changing to a high pan outlet your cost on which one you choose

to be honest the whole pipe works isnt brilliant and is pushing your pan connector off center even as it stands now

 

[Seadog]

Could tell me what that flexi-fitting is called? Not sure how that fits on the downstream end.

My impression has always been, that when the whirlpool bath was fitted (we took it out), they had a tough time squeezing in the the toilet and the hand-basin (side by side) in the space available. Consequently, they ended up using a slightly odd combination of fittings on the toilet, the latter being one of the Armitage Shanks siphonic units, which I gather were loved by no one?

My own experience of doing plumbing is mainly limited to 1/4" stainless Swagelok fittings.

It's a pan connector. There are dozens if different types on the market. The one pictured was from Victoria Plumbing

 

[Ross365]

is this where the leak is
View attachment 402484

Yes; that's it, l. Looks like a black rubber seal?
As said previously, I changed the rubber seal on the toilet about 10 years ago, but have not changed anything else, and we've been here 30 years. I think there must be a backwards fall; will think about support/levelling when it's apart.

What kind of mastic might be useful?

 

[gaz1]

mastic wont seal it neither will silicone

clean it up get it dry then glue it is the better alternative

but if it goes faulty again you will need to replace both elbows again that way

 

[reb78]

Ive had a flexi pipe fitted to one toilet for about ten years. It only has a slight bend in it admittedly and isnt extended but it does the job fine.

 

[Ross365]

Spooky news; that loo has not been flushed for over 36 hours now, but water is still dripping from the leak. It's fairly fast too; a 2 litre ice cream tub filled up in about 8 hours. Is it possible for water to leak past the siphon into the outlet pipe? I don't see how else water can be getting in there when it's not been flushed.

 

[angellonewolf]

Spooky news; that loo has not been flushed for over 36 hours now, but water is still dripping from the leak. It's fairly fast too; a 2 litre ice cream tub filled up in about 8 hours. Is it possible for water to leak past the siphon into the outlet pipe? I don't see how else water can be getting in there when it's not been flushed.

does all the water flush away as normal when the toilet is used ?

 

[brightspark]

a lot of bogs now dont have an overflow pipe on the tank if the float gives the water goes over the top of the syphon down in to the bog

 

[Ross365]

Yes, the toilet flushes normally. The cistern has a separate overflow pipe and is not overflowing.

Looking at the sketches I made last time I had it out (that siphon system !!!) it looks to me like you could easily have leaks that would end up at the outlet of the pan, so even if it had not been flushed for days, you could still have water where the leak is.