Repair of Spa plumbing that was cut into by a grinder

[cbrooster]

Hi All,

I have a newly built gunite spa that I scored the top layer of plumbing while creating a channel for a landscape light cable. There is a line cut into the pipe longways, about an inch, by a grinder wheel at the pipe's apex of an elbow. Looking at the attached pictures, is there a way to repair this solidly without removing the encased section of piping?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Do you know which line that is? It may be the air line as the Hartford Loop for the spa’s air jets is typically brought up to the top edge of the gunite just below the coping. The H-loop is to ensure that water doesn’t back up into the air line running back to the equipment pad. If that is the H-loop, then you might get away with some kind of simple epoxy seal as it doesn’t need to handle water pressure, just air flow.

A better question is why are you running a channel for an electrical cable in your spa wall??? Low voltage or not, burying an electrical conductor in your spa wall is huge No-No when it comes to National Electrical Code for pools. Not arguing with you, just pointing out that what you’re doing violates code and exposes you to liability IF someone were to get injured by that installation.

 

[cbrooster]

Hi JoyfulNoise, I do think it is the Hartford Loop line.. Thank you for the name and its explanation - very helpful! After going through my video of the build I found this and took a screenshot (low quality but it can be made out). I'll use this info in moving forward : )

-- Is JB Weld the best for this or do you have a better suggestion for the epoxy fix?

And thank you for the insight on the electrical cable. I was looking at putting a hardscape light for downlighting like Undercover Hardscape Light (Cast Brass) under the spa coping. I didn't think of the codes implications since it was low voltage and the tons of pics I've seen with the 12V lighting at a pools edge. I'll revisit this and come up with a different solution.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Perhaps @bdavis466 or @CJadamec or @pooldv or @JamesW might have more thoughts on how to fix your Hartford loop and the best practices for installing those lights. They are nice (Volt makes great products) but I’m not sure what the best way to achieve your goal is.

 

[CJadamec]

There are definitely specific rules in Sec 680 for how to install those lights around the spa. There will be requirements for the transformer that powers them, and the voltage they run at. Unless the brass housing in crazy small you are going to need to bond the housing. There maybe more but I don't have the book in front of me.

As for the pipe repair its a little tricky. Chipping out the whole area to replace the elbow completely, which would be the most durable repair. If its actually a water pipe or under any pressure that's really your only option in my mind.

If its just and air passage and not under any pressure then a really strong adhesive sealant like 3M 5200 sealant should make a serviceable repair. I would leave as much of the pvc in place as possible and clean all the dust out of it. Wiping it down with PVC cleaner like you would before gluing a joint together would be a good idea before applying the caulk.

 

[ajw22]

I would suck up the tiem and money and chip open the elbow and replace the fitting properly. Trying to seal the crack and then cement over it just sets up for someone, either you or a future owner of your hosue, to try and figure out why things are not working properly when the sealant fails and it is buried. I think it is homeowner malpractice to bury fixes like that.

 

[santacruzpool]

Replacing the elbow sounds like the best long term solution - if you do want to just repair the PVC I would suggest looking at Plast-Aid - the stuff is great as it chemically bonds (melts) directly to PVC and forms a stronger and better repair than say epoxy/JB Weld and other glues.

 

[cbrooster]

Thank you all for your suggestions and warnings. It is indeed the Hartford Loop and after review of the cuts, sidelong, it may work great filling in the seams with a putty weld solution. The cut is on the loop side going into the jets at the elbow. It is all a new install, and it still has the pressure gauge and pipes connected for pressure testing so it's super easy to test effectiveness / results. The pool contractor will be here in a few days to follow up and pressure test the entire system, and, if it does not work then I'm out $7 and gained a lot of insight from everyone here in the process.

I'm the homeowner and will be for the long foreseeable future : ) and also agree that replacing the elbow is the best solution. I almost always go for 'book written' right way, not cutting corners, but after seeing the way the pipe was sectioned, what it was used for (air) and the way the putty worked with, and reacted to the fix - for this type of issue - I'm confident in the results. For a water pressured line I would have to be convinced by seeing pressurized results and then still may want the line dug out / replaced : )

For what I did: I cleaned the area with water, scraping and scanding and possible smooth areas. I wiped any excess off with of rubbing alcohol and let it dry for about 15 minutes. I then used the JB Weld Waterweld, tucked it into every seem, compressed, and tucked some more. The stuff has sealed over like PVC and looks tough and firm, especially for an air supply line.

Thanks again and I'll update what the pool contractor says or does. cheers!

 

[cbrooster]

Update:

Pool contractor came by to install coping. He looked at the before pic of the issue, the after pic of the fix, felt the weld, patted me on the back for the fantastic job, and sat me off to the side with a coloring book while he chiseled it out properly : )
Took about 3 hours to chisel, cut out and repair with new elbows and flex PVC. <edited to include pics of the repair>. Looks like after he exposed the pipe he cut half of the 90 elbow to 45 it, and worked it around via flex PVC into a union with the top run of the pipe.

Thanks all !

 

[ajw22]

Glad you have a good pool contractor who did not allow you to commit homeowner malpractice.

 

[CJadamec]

Also glad to here it was repaired properly.