# Forum Home Renovation Plumbing  PVC primer necessary?

## Capelli84

Hi All, I am pretty sure my plumber didn't use primer (just std PVC glue) when he did my drainage lines. I am about to fit puddle flanges and wondering if a need to use primer? In the basic stuff i have done before (reticulation and storm water) I have never used primer.

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## ringtail

He may have used clear stuff. Definitely use it. I know plumbing inspectors in Brisbane instantly fail any installation without primer. In the case of the clear primers and glues plumbers used to have to leave the pots behind for the inspector to see.

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## Capelli84

fair enough, thanks for that. I was just reading this: Dos and Don&#039;ts of Solvent Cementing Pressure Pipes - Vinidex which i found useful.

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## OBBob

It's cheap, just try it and you won't go back.

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## METRIX

> Hi All, I am pretty sure my plumber didn't use primer (just std PVC glue) when he did my drainage lines. I am about to fit puddle flanges and wondering if a need to use primer? In the basic stuff i have done before (reticulation and storm water) I have never used primer.

  You must use primer, as it gets rid of all the crap (some you cannot see) on the pipe.

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## jjjarrett

I came from the NT originally and use it every time. When I moved to WA no one else I have seen so far uses it.

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## intertd6

If anybody isn't using primer fluid jointing upvc pipes & fittings together then the joint is defective. PVC Pipe Jointing - Vinidex
inter

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## mudbrick

The only thing worse than DIYers who don't follow instructions working on their own places is tradies who think they don't need to follow the instructions when working on other peoples places.! I bet they will be the same tradies who never come back and fix things that go wrong with their bodgy installations...

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## METRIX

I don;t know of any plumbers that don"t use primer, it doesn't surprise me they don;t use it in WA, some of the shoddy work I have seen on here from over there

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## Whitey66

Even though I always use primer, we did a test one day with the green high pressure glue on some 50mm pressure pipe.
We glued 2 pipes into a couple of adapters, one with primer and one without. We cut many longitudinal slots  into the adapters (down to the pipe, but not through it) with a multitool and tried to remove the cut pieces from the pipe.
Both adapters seemed to be stuck equally well as we couldn't separate them.
Then we glued 2 50mm caps on a piece of pressure pipe one with primer and one without, one cap was drilled and  had a tubeless car valve fitted to it.
We connected an air chuck to it and placed it under a large rubber floor mat (a safe distance away) and started turning up the pressure with a regulator. It maxed out at 180 PSI as that's as high as the compressor would go and we left it for about 5 minutes. We dumped the pressure then checked the ends and everything seemed good. Not to be outdone, I filled it with neutral flame gas (oxy acetylene mix) and stuck a long wick in the valve after removing the valve core. We put 3 or 4 rubber mats  on it, lit the fuse and ran out of the workshop. After a god almighty explosion we went back in to find no sign of the pipe or fittings under the rubber mats. They both shot out either end and hit each side of the workshop walls, but the pipe blew out in the middle and the caps were still glued securely to the pipe. We couldn't even find most of the missing PVC from the pipe. I did all this to try to prove a point to a work mate that you should use primer, but I failed miserably and he said "Told Ya ".
I still use primer even after our crazy experiment as I don't like leaving anything to chance and like doing things the right way. 
Oh, and don't try this at home kiddies  :Smilie:  .

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## intertd6

The other very important part is doing everything to ensure the joint doesn't  leak, ever! How many plumbers properly charge & test all the pipe work for leaks before handover.
inter

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## chrisp

> Even though I always use primer, we did a test one day with the green high pressure glue on some 50mm pressure pipe.
> We glued 2 pipes into a couple of adapters, one with primer and one without. We cut many longitudinal slots  into the adapters (down to the pipe, but not through it) with a multitool and tried to remove the cut pieces from the pipe.
> Both adapters seemed to be stuck equally well as we couldn't separate them.
> Then we glued 2 50mm caps on a piece of pressure pipe one with primer and one without, one cap was drilled and  had a tubeless car valve fitted to it.
> We connected an air chuck to it and placed it under a large rubber floor mat (a safe distance away) and started turning up the pressure with a regulator. It maxed out at 180 PSI as that's as high as the compressor would go and we left it for about 5 minutes. We dumped the pressure then checked the ends and everything seemed good. Not to be outdone, I filled it with neutral flame gas (oxy acetylene mix) and stuck a long wick in the valve after removing the valve core. We put 3 or 4 rubber mats  on it, lit the fuse and ran out of the workshop. After a god almighty explosion we went back in to find no sign of the pipe or fittings under the rubber mats. They both shot out either end and hit each side of the workshop walls, but the pipe blew out in the middle and the caps were still glued securely to the pipe. We couldn't even find most of the missing PVC from the pipe. I did all this to try to prove a point to a work mate that you should use primer, but I failed miserably and he said "Told Ya ".
> I still use primer even after our crazy experiment as I don't like leaving anything to chance and like doing things the right way. 
> Oh, and don't try this at home kiddies  .

  Do you work for Myth Busters?   :Smilie:

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## commodorenut

I think you got a clean bit of pipe and fittings.
But what if one of the end caps was one of the first batch made on a Monday, and had a lot of release agent, machine oil & grime all over it?
Or the pipe had been sitting in the warehouse for 12 months, and on the ute for 3 days? 
I've never used PVC pipe for plumbing purposes, but I have made other things from it (no PG, not a spud gun....) and found I always had to use a rag to wipe the mating surfaces before using glue, as they were filthy (and these were sourced from a trade plumbing supplies place). 
The place I work at can test up to 10,000psi.   Doubt the boss would let me try it out on this though.  
Watching a hose burst at that level (from behind multiple shields & outside the cell) is an eye opener.

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## Whitey66

> I think you got a clean bit of pipe and fittings.
> But what if one of the end caps was one of the first batch made on a Monday, and had a lot of release agent, machine oil & grime all over it?
> Or the pipe had been sitting in the warehouse for 12 months, and on the ute for 3 days? 
> I've never used PVC pipe for plumbing purposes, but I have made other things from it (no PG, not a spud gun....) and found I always had to use a rag to wipe the mating surfaces before using glue, as they were filthy (and these were sourced from a trade plumbing supplies place). 
> The place I work at can test up to 10,000psi.   Doubt the boss would let me try it out on this though.  
> Watching a hose burst at that level (from behind multiple shields & outside the cell) is an eye opener.

  Actually it was out of the back of a pool builders ute. The pipe had that grotty looking dust on it you get from transporting pipe in a ute for weeks, the fittings were reasonably clean inside.
We cleaned the primed end only, didn't even wipe the un-primed end with a rag.
We also performed the tests within about 1/2 an hour of gluing them up, you're supposed to leave for 24 hours before applying pressure.
The glue doesn't just stick the joins, it dissolves the PVC. That's why I think the dirty, un-primed joints were so strong.
You have to be careful not to use too much glue as the solvent can weaken the PVC if it pools outside of the jointed area.

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