Trying to remove lateral pipe stuck in filter head

[Onslow]

Hi all. Trying to remove the remaining 5 or so inches of a broke off lateral standpipe from the filter head. We've had several attempts at pulling and twisting. Also drilled holes to run a bar trough for leverage but the pipe material breaks up around the holes.

My worry is I'll break off the remaining pipe that I can leverage and all there will be is pipe inside the filter head. Asking for any advice on dealing with this.


Thanks.

 

[Texas Splash]

That MUST be frustrating. :brckwall: Not sure if you have it resolved by now, but wanted to bump this thread for some more visibility. Sounds like you are doing exactly what I would do given the circumstances. No special tools or tricks at this point other than some good old-fashion "persuasion". Have a good day.

 

[Onslow]

Thanks for the response! I can now provide a quick summary of how this was resolved:

1. Try pulling really hard: No joy, even with two people. Maybe a slight amount of twisting but it sounded like some sand was crevassed in between adding to the tightness.
2. Drill two holes perpendicular through the end of the pipe, run a metal rod through it to provide leverage for twisting and pulling: Nope. The pipe material is apparently very thin and soft compared to regular PVC - just chewed up what little pipe I had remaining.
3. Saw it off close to the filter head's entry collar and pull with channel locks: Next
4. Saw four parallel slits corresponding with the slits in the filter head collar: Should have provided some relief on what was holding the pipe in but still way too much remaining length inside. Next
5. Insert a new 1 1/4" PVC pipe and secure it to the section to be removed (very little left exposed by this point) using an O clamp: This had potential. 1 1/4" PVC fits very snugly inside and a new "longer" length could have restored some lost leverage. Apparently not. Even did a repeat of the bar-though technique described above. Nuthin.
6. What finally worked: I thought if I could get a long thin (but not flimsy) saw to make an inside cut along the length of the stuck pipe section, then that would allow me to "collapse" enough of the pipe's pressure against the filter head collar to work it out. I tried using a hacksaw blade but no real leverage and teeth too fine to make a clean linear cut. The next day I went to Harbor Freight and located a "compass saw". This had somewhat jaggier teeth which make quick work of the soft pipe. The saw's handle shape and angle gave me a lot more control than holding a hacksaw blade (and a drywall saw probably would have been too jaggy). I could control the cutting to where I didn't do (too much) damage to the inside collar of the filter head as the cutting separated the pipe.

If using this for reference - make sure you stop, dust off, and evaluate - frequently - what remains when sawing inside the collar!

 

[Texas Splash]

Wow. Not sure I would've had the patience for that one. Nice work.