How to patch a hole in buried PVC?


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Old 06-21-17, 04:08 AM
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How to patch a hole in buried PVC?

I am likely going to need to cut a hole in the outlet pipe that leads from my septic tank to (somewhere unknown), for the purposes of fishing a locate antenna in there. After I'm done, what's the easiest way to repair this hole?

The guy at the county office said this is easily repaired with a "coupler". But the only kind of couplers I know of for PVC have stops in the middle which I don't think would work. For copper pipe they have repair couplers without stops, but even then you need to be able to move the tube on one side of the cut to get the coupler on there. So even if I found a PVC coupler without stops I still wouldn't be able to get it on there with the pipe mostly buried and fixed in place.

Do you just saw up a regular coupler into a half-circle and sorta paste it over the hole with PVC solvent?

P.S. What's the cheapest kind of wire that works well as an antenna underground? Ideally I'd like to go several hundred feet at a time before having to dig a new hole. Unknown about corners in the pipe at this point. I have plenty of galvanized bailing wire around the farm, but I've never tried an underground locate with that stuff.
 
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Old 06-21-17, 04:29 AM
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Would a Fernco work for reconnecting the drain line? https://www.lowes.com/pd/Fernco-4-in...ngs/1000075325
 
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Old 06-21-17, 05:53 AM
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You can also install a T, sanitary T or Y fitting with a riser and screw on cap so you can have easy access in the future in case the line needs to be jetted or routed out.
 
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Old 06-21-17, 05:58 AM
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Your going to use an active sewer line for a chase for an antenna wire
So many things just sounds so wrong about that whole plan.
At this point you do not even know where the line is run, how do you get from point A to point B that way?
How do you snake the line if it plugs up with a wire in it?
I'd be trenching a new hole to put the wire in after calling Miss Utility to make sure there was nothing buried where I was working.
When I make a midline repair I dig out all around the pipe enough so I can cut out about a 2' section and use two repair couplings or Fenco's and a short section of PVC in the middle.
I premark the old pipe so I'll know when the Fernco will sit on far enough, slip the Fencos on the piece I've cut to make up for the 2' section I removed, then slide the couplings in place.
 
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Old 06-21-17, 07:41 AM
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How do you snake the line if it plugs up with a wire in it
No, no. I think my use of the word "antenna" was confusing. The wire doesn't stay in there. I only need to figure out where my leach field is, or if I don't even have a leach field, I need to know where the pipe goes.

My 70's era underground locator just needs a wire that it can send an RF signal through so the receiver can pick it up. That's what I mean by "antenna". The wire will be totally removed as I mark off the location of each section of pipe and move on to the next.

So the wire is just in there for 10 minutes. Plus it's not an "active" sewer line because the whole works is 100% blocked up.

But thanks guys, the bit about cutting out a 2' section of PVC answered my question. I was sitting here thinking of how to do it with only one cut. (Or better yet, no cuts at all, just a drill hole for my wire.) But cutting out that section and 2 couplings is definitely straightforward. Those Ferncos underground seem dicey to me, but hey it looks easy.

Pilot Dane- I love your idea about installing a T. Brilliant. That I'll definitely be doing.
 
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Old 06-22-17, 05:48 PM
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Where were you guys with your sage advice when the previous owner had the same question? I dug up the tank and especially the outlet today, and here's what I found:



Apparently the previous owner had the exact same idea as I did: Drill a hole in the output and locate from there. Unfortunately he didn't come here and ask what to do afterwards, and his hillbilly solution was somewhat lacking.

End result: That paper-thin piece of plastic to the left was on top of the hole and was promptly displaced by my shovel. Dirt/clay entered my output line. Not good. I was able to Shop Vac some of it, but then I got water coming out of my tank which saturated the dirt and carried most of it to whereabouts unknown.

Fun stuff!

Edit/P.S.: The white stuff to the south of the drilled hole is plastic sheeting. I don't know how many mils, but I do know that my shovel tore it up. Why would it be there? This small concrete structure was off to the side of the tank, maybe 8" deeper, and obviously that's where the output connects. Looking into the hole it looks like a couple of stairs. Should I dig up and replace all the plastic sheeting?
 
 

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