Is there any tape or foam that I can use to seal leaky pipes?

Question

I have some plumbing / piping (for an above ground pool) that I've had to adapt somewhat due to non-standard fittings on various pieces of equipment. One of my (somewhat dodgy) mods involved putting a rubber ring round a pipe and ramming it into a piece of pipe and glueing with PVC pipe cement. This seemed to be a good seal when I first tried it without the glue; but when I pushed it in with the glue the rubber moved and it didn't feel as tight. The cement sets fairly instantly though so there wasn't anything I could do.

Of course - it leaks.

Is there any watertight stick tape I could wrap around the joint to seal this small gap? I tried putting excessive amounts of the PVC cement into the gap which dried hard and looked pretty good, but its brittle and it cracked when I've moved the pipe and it leaks again.

What about maybe a foam I could squirt in that would harden? I used something like that for another job (exterior roof gap) but it doesn't bond to plastic apparently...?

Answer 1

If you can dry the joint enough to put glue on it then you could put caulk around the joint seal.  I have had to do this on low pressure (waste) joints on a rare occasion and it seals well and remains flexible.

They do make an epoxy tape that is advertised to be able to be wrapped around a pipe and stop the leak.  I have seen them at the hardware store but never used them.

They also make clamps that can me put on 1/2" and 3/4"  supply lines that have a rubber gasket and will stop a leak, but I do not think they will work in your described situation.

Answer 2

Never seen a quick fix that worked any where as well as a proper repair. I`m quite certain the time and money spent on the "bandaid" is probably equal or more than the real repair!

Do it once! do it right!

Answer 3

a pool supply/installing place will have the connectors you need

Answer 4

I have tried a lot of those ideas myself. So far I have not found anything that works on PVC that will stay after the water is turned on. You could try a rubber boot. Maybe your leak is different from mine. You can purchase the boot in a home improvement or hardware store. Know what size your pipe is. The boot is a piece of black rubber with adjustable clamps on each end. If there are two sizes of pipe there are reducers and enlargers that fit different sizes. Choose the one that has the right sizes for your pipes. Be sure to s***w down the adjustable clamps as tight as you can get them because the water pressure is extreme and can blow them off if they are not tight enough.