Is there a way to make dry fitting insertion easier so I can mark them? Perhaps using a temporary lubricant so the pipes go in easier, mark them, and clean the temp lubricant prior to gluing them?
Hi there, in terms of using lubricant, you would want to avoid anything that will attack or soften the plastic - we would suggest perhaps one of the WRAS approved ones used for rubber seal pressure and drainage fittings as these do not attack the plastic in any way and can be easily washed off. Whether using a lubricant or not, the taper inside the socket makes it hit and miss whether you will be able to get the pipe right into the socket as far as the landing/stop. When cementing, the pipe cement "melts" the plastic and helps push it to the landing / stop. If you are using a lubricant to dry fit, by the time you have pulled the pipe out, cleaned it and added cement, the mark is usually wiped away. You could of course mark the pipe an exact distance away from the socket edge (25mm / 1") and use that as a guide, but from experience I have always found that more hassle than it's worth. If marking for socket depth, the best way is to measure the socket depth and mark the pipe after you have cleaned it, being careful when applying cement that you don't go over that part. Lubricant could also be useful when you need to make sure that a join is cemented at a specific angle. It's very useful to mark the sides of the two fittings so you can line them up when you cement them, as any twisting to position once the pipe is fully in the socket can compromise the integrity of the cemented joint. This could certainly be done with a lubricant as the pipe doesn't have to go in the full depth of the socket to enable you to line it up and mark it.
Is there a way to make dry fitting insertion easier so I can mark them? Perhaps using a temporary lubricant so the pipes go in easier, mark them, and clean the temp lubricant prior to gluing them?
Hi there, in terms of using lubricant, you would want to avoid anything that will attack or soften the plastic - we would suggest perhaps one of the WRAS approved ones used for rubber seal pressure and drainage fittings as these do not attack the plastic in any way and can be easily washed off.
Whether using a lubricant or not, the taper inside the socket makes it hit and miss whether you will be able to get the pipe right into the socket as far as the landing/stop. When cementing, the pipe cement "melts" the plastic and helps push it to the landing / stop. If you are using a lubricant to dry fit, by the time you have pulled the pipe out, cleaned it and added cement, the mark is usually wiped away. You could of course mark the pipe an exact distance away from the socket edge (25mm / 1") and use that as a guide, but from experience I have always found that more hassle than it's worth. If marking for socket depth, the best way is to measure the socket depth and mark the pipe after you have cleaned it, being careful when applying cement that you don't go over that part.
Lubricant could also be useful when you need to make sure that a join is cemented at a specific angle. It's very useful to mark the sides of the two fittings so you can line them up when you cement them, as any twisting to position once the pipe is fully in the socket can compromise the integrity of the cemented joint. This could certainly be done with a lubricant as the pipe doesn't have to go in the full depth of the socket to enable you to line it up and mark it.