Pressure Testing

[tylerharm29]

Looking for some recommendations on pressure testing. My local plumbing inspector requires 50psi of water or air to hold for 15 minutes. I’m using water and was having problems blowing out cheap rubber plugs (Sioux Chief Test Titan brand) at 30psi that were in my main drains. Since these are end of pipe plugs they don’t fit inside a 1.5” male threaded coupler fitting very well. The more I research, the plugs I’m using aren’t rated for 50psi so my question is, can I just use a schedule 40 pvc threaded plug to test at 50psi for my returns and skimmers? I’ll need to figure out something for my main drains still so I’ll take any recommendations on this.

Also, I finally got everything to hold at 30 psi last night but when I got up this morning, the gauge read 15 psi, plugs still holding. I noticed all of my returns and skimmers had water dripping near where the threaded coupling meets the skimmer or return fitting. Before I cut these out and reapply thread tape, is there any recommendations on how many times I should go around the fittings with thread tape? I believe I went around twice and screwed them in all the way so I’m a little baffled at how they would be leaking. I recharged the system to 30 psi this morning and could see water dripping at these locations.

 

[ajw22]

can I just use a schedule 40 pvc threaded plug to test at 50psi for my returns and skimmers?

Yes.

Also, I finally got everything to hold at 30 psi last night but when I got up this morning, the gauge read 15 psi, plugs still holding. I noticed all of my returns and skimmers had water dripping near where the threaded coupling meets the skimmer or return fitting. Before I cut these out and reapply thread tape, is there any recommendations on how many times I should go around the fittings with thread tape? I believe I went around twice and screwed them in all the way so I’m a little baffled at how they would be leaking. I recharged the system to 30 psi this morning and could see water dripping at these locations.

PVC Repair - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

The "Do's and Don'ts" of Assembling Threaded Plastic Fittings from Lasco Fittings, now Westlake Pipe & Fittings, provided a great explanation of the Do’s and Don’ts not to have threaded fittings crack.

From the Lasco article:

• Don't over-tighten joints by giving them "one more turn to be sure.”
• Do finger tighten plus one or two turns - No More.
• Don't use "stronger" Schedule 80 threaded fittings, assuming they may solve the problem of splitting through over-tightening.
• Use only Schedule 40 threaded fittings with Schedule 40 pipe and fittings.
• Don't wrap Teflon tape, paste, or pipe dope to add bulk or lubricate the joint.
• Do use a sealant for threaded joints.
• A sealing compound must be compatible with plastics. Many brands of pipe sealant contain oils, solvents, or carriers that can damage plastic. A proper sealant must be certified by the manufacturer to be harmless to the fitting material and not to contaminate fluid in the pipe. Finally, a sealing compound must not lubricate the joint to encourage over-tightening. Several sealants on the market meet all these requirements.

Pentair has the label below on some MPVs saying to use Plasto-Joint Stik only and not Teflon paste or pipe dope on the threads. Take the Plasto-Joint Stik and drag it across the threads as you rotate. Pentair also says to tighten hand tight, plus 1 1/2 turns maximum.