Waste ABS pipes cracked

[HandyAndy09]

Hello there,
Went to check out our 2014 Gray Wolf 26RL at the yard we store it and found this









Is this normal? It looks like pipes are drying out and cracking , was there 2 weeks ago and pipe was still intact, didn’t have close look at it back then so is possible the hairline cracks where already there.

[marinerjoe]

I had a pipe like that crack in the crawl space under my house. Discovered it after months of it dumping. Fortunately the break was at the far end from the sewer, and the water was from the deep sink and washing machine, not the toilets at the opposite side of the house (closer to the sewer). Good thing you saw it before you started using it.

[johnbryanpeters]

There's some history of ABS piping crack failures:

https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/ABS-Pipe-Leaks.php

[youroo]

Looks like a easy location for repair! Youroo!!

[HandyAndy09]

Thank you all for responses, if I fix it should I expect this to happen again in 4 years ? Is there a way to protect this pipes to prevent this from happening again?

[cavie]

Originally Posted by HandyAndy09

Thank you all for responses, if I fix it should I expect this to happen again in 4 years ? Is there a way to protect this pipes to prevent this from happening again?

Is it possible that water got left in the pipe over the winter???

[HandyAndy09]

Originally Posted by cavie

Is it possible that water got left in the pipe over the winter???

I’m 100% sure there was no water left anywhere as I always blow everything out after draining with compressed air , it’s possible there was maybe few cups worth of plumbers antifreeze in tanks tho.

[marinerjoe]

Originally Posted by HandyAndy09

I’m 100% sure there was no water left anywhere as I always blow everything out after draining with compressed air , it’s possible there was maybe few cups worth of plumbers antifreeze in tanks tho.

Just remember that you blow out the supply lines, drain lines are normally emptied by gravity. And unless you have a bucket under the opening to catch whatever may come out, you MIGHT have not done the gray or black tanks.

[HandyAndy09]

Originally Posted by marinerjoe

Just remember that you blow out the supply lines, drain lines are normally emptied by gravity. And unless you have a bucket under the opening to catch whatever may come out, you MIGHT have not done the gray or black tanks.

I made attachment for my air hose that kind of blows air backward, similar what HVAC guys use for duct cleanup and I go true the gates and blow water out from gray and black water tanks, I also leave the gates open with the mesh cap installed over discharge port.

[AquaMan]

These are easily (and usually) hit by road debris. You could repair it and break it again tomorrow. Repair and just keep going.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

These are easily (and usually) hit by road debris. You could repair it and break it again tomorrow. Repair and just keep going.

Yep... according to the crack lines, looks like the area where the clamp attaches took a hit of some sort.

Fix it and move on. Easily repaired.

[rlh1957]

Wife on the ground with a some Duct Tape and you're goo to go! OK NOT
At least it is in an easy location to get at, even for old coots that take a nap before trying to get up off the ground!
You can cut it out or saw it out, put new fittings on, maybe some extra supports and you'll be camping again.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by HandyAndy09

Thank you all for responses, if I fix it should I expect this to happen again in 4 years ? Is there a way to protect this pipes to prevent this from happening again?

Remember, the ABS outlet pipe is the lowest point of the gray water system. You can drain the system completely dry, and if you use the trailer in the winter with bottled water but brush your teeth and spit in the sink, that's the spot it's going to collect--in the brittle, fragile ABS pipe, not the somewhat flexible HDPE gray tank.

Ask me how I know.

Hint: Only the largest Lowe's stores carry ABS. Everyone else will try to sell you PVC and a cement that's supposed to be usable on both ABS and PVC. But Amazon has a wide range of ABS fittings at reasonable prices.

Larry

[HandyAndy09]

Thanks again to all of you who spend some time to respond, unfortunately we don’t use our camper in winter , with -40*C even in 4 season one it’s not fun 🤣. Reason I asked here is that I have never seen anything like this to happen before and I have checked other much older campers at the yard and didn’t find one that would have there pipes deteriorated like on our unit. Shouldn’t have problem to find black ABS here in Canada , pretty much any hardware store caries them, just hope they are not some weird sizes used there like on inside of the RVs. Would have to change everything included pipes on black water as all of those included valves have headline cracks on them.
Thanks again [emoji106]

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by HandyAndy09

Thanks again to all of you who spend some time to respond, unfortunately we don’t use our camper in winter , with -40*C even in 4 season one it’s not fun 🤣. Reason I asked here is that I have never seen anything like this to happen before and I have checked other much older campers at the yard and didn’t find one that would have there pipes deteriorated like on our unit. Shouldn’t have problem to find black ABS here in Canada , pretty much any hardware store caries them, just hope they are not some weird sizes used there like on inside of the RVs. Would have to change everything included pipes on black water as all of those included valves have headline cracks on them.
Thanks again [emoji106]

I was amazed at how fragile the ABS pipe is, after working with a lot of PVC. But it weighs less and the cement sets up in 30 seconds (quicker than PVC) so the RV builders would prefer it.

There are lines on the sides of the pipe, probably from the extruder die. My splits (from freezing) were along those lines. The pipes were all standard 1-1/2" pipe. If necessary you can use those hubless connectors.

I lived in Minnesota for 14 years. My kids were born there. And where they went to preschool and elementary, the teacher took them cross-country skiing for an hour at lunch every day for six months out of the year. And then there was the time they insisted on going to the toboggan run when it was -20F....

Larry

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

I was amazed at how fragile the ABS pipe is, after working with a lot of PVC. But it weighs less and the cement sets up in 30 seconds (quicker than PVC) so the RV builders would prefer it.

If you look carefully at an end cut on a piece of ABS drain pipe it's porous. The inside and outside surfaces are solid but the "core" is foam.

PVC is solid and will stand up to a lot more impact from flying rocks or road trash.

If one has a lot of impact marks on his drain pipes it might not be a bad idea to hang a mud flap between the pipe and tire. A piece of angle iron can be fashioned into a bracket for the flap and attached to the frame.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

If you look carefully at an end cut on a piece of ABS drain pipe it's porous. The inside and outside surfaces are solid but the "core" is foam.

PVC is solid and will stand up to a lot more impact from flying rocks or road trash.

This is sort of true.

Both PVC and ABS are available in their original solid form and both are also available in the “newer” Foam Core versions. The solid pipe is made entirely of either PVC or ABS. The Foam Core is made of the same PVC or ABS on the inside and outside with a cellular, light weight PVC or ABS material sandwiched between. The main functional difference between the solid and Foam Core is the Foam Core can only be used for DWV (drain, waste and vent) piping where the solid version is suitable for both DWV and pressure piping. Foam Core is much lighter and more brittle than the solid pipe. Foam Core pipe also tends to sag much less between supports than the solid pipe due to its light weight and rigidity in comparison to the solid pipe.

So, when deciding which of these forms of pipe to use, you need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each for your particular installation. Just because the solid pipe is heavier and more expensive than the Foam Core, doesn’t necessarily mean it is better for everything.

Bruce

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Everyone else will try to sell you PVC and a cement that's supposed to be usable on both ABS and PVC..

Larry

These places will try to sell you the “Multi-Purpose” glue which is not made for transitioning from ABS and PVC. Oatey now makes a glue that is specifically made for this purpose, but you probably won’t find it at any hardware stores. Here it is:

https://www.oatey.com/2371985/Produc...n-Green-Cement

Bruce

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by nomad297

This is sort of true.

Both PVC and ABS are available in their original solid form and both are also available in the “newer” Foam Core versions. The solid pipe is made entirely of either PVC or ABS. The Foam Core is made of the same PVC or ABS on the inside and outside with a cellular, light weight PVC or ABS material sandwiched between. The main functional difference between the solid and Foam Core is the Foam Core can only be used for DWV (drain, waste and vent) piping where the solid version is suitable for both DWV and pressure piping. Foam Core is much lighter and more brittle than the solid pipe. Foam Core pipe also tends to sag much less between supports than the solid pipe due to its light weight and rigidity in comparison to the solid pipe.

So, when deciding which of these forms of pipe to use, you need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each for your particular installation. Just because the solid pipe is heavier and more expensive than the Foam Core, doesn’t necessarily mean it is better for everything.

Bruce

Bruce, that's very informative.

Given that information, I am tempted to conclude that it is a bad design choice to use foam-core, lightweight ABS for a long run from tank to drain valve, because it will always be filled with water which could lead to sagging. Do you agree?

Probably not an issue with segments shorter than a foot or so...

Larry

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Bruce, that's very informative.

Given that information, I am tempted to conclude that it is a bad design choice to use foam-core, lightweight ABS for a long run from tank to drain valve, because it will always be filled with water which could lead to sagging. Do you agree?

Probably not an issue with segments shorter than a foot or so...

Larry

Well, both types are supposed to be supported, at minimum, every 48” which will minimize sag in both types, but if you are wanting to stretch that support distance, the Foam Core will sag less because it is more rigid and lighter. Even at a support distance of 48”, PVC and, especially ABS will sag if they are subjected to direct sunlight for just a few hours — both Foam Core and solid pipe.

ABS pipe is much lighter than PVC, so if you have access to ABS, you should use that, and for your purposes, from what I see, either type of ABS will be fine.

Bruce