Do the pipes under your kitchen sink keep coming apart? You’re not alone and in my experience it always ends up being an auxiliary or secondary sink farthest from the “P” trap. I’ll generally use a 24″ watse bend that is connected to a dual inlet “P” trap that is commonly found here in the big apple.
When I’m called in to make repairs under kitchen sinks I’m amazed at what some people keep under their. Just trying to get to the leak is a job in itself not mention the customer never empties out the cabinet before I arrive. I find electrical tape, duct tape, wooded supports trying to hold everything together and it all eventually fails.
When I work with thin gauge tubular waste pipes I like to use either the supplied rubber or beveled nylon washers. I’ll apply some mega lock pipe joint compound the to male end threads, and after I make the up the nuts with my channel lock pliers or pipe wrench. they’re pretty darn secure. I test for leaks by filling and draining the sink a few times and all is good to go. Right? Not so fast!
It doesn’t happen often but on some jobs I ultimately end up getting a callback because the pipe came loose or fell which frankly could not have happened unless stuff was getting thrown around. The kitchen base cabinet seems to be the place where all the misc. junk seems to find a home. You open the door throw everything in and close the door and eventually it all piles up in, around and on the drain pipes.
So I return re-set the job and I’m on my way. Weeks or a month or two later I get the same callback for the same problem and realize soon the this is not a workmanship problem but a people problem! Plan B – I don’t generally like using wood supports that I’ll notch out so the pipe can rest in because it just looks horrible and if they’re throwing stuff under the cabinets without looking, chances are they’ll knock the support out as well.
I make my final trip (fingers crossed) looking into the cabinet saying to myself there’s no way I’m coming back here again and it dawns on me that one simple technique could end this insanity once and for all. Why I didn’t think of it sooner is beyond me but this is how I connect all my auxiliary sinks that run close to 24″ from the primary sink. It’s worked out quite well for me and if you can get the technique down, I know it will work for you. Check out the video below to see exactly how I make this work and as always if you have questions you can email me at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.
Regards & Happy Plumbing
Bob