Help, confused about ABS & Cement...

[tkdcal]

Hello all,

I'm putting in an ABS drain to my new garage. After reading the excellent advice here, I've become confused about the proper ABS cementing procedure. All of the purple primers I've seen at the big box store are for PVC and I don't see any primer at all for ABS. Must ABS be primed before cementing for proper code compliance? I want to do this right so I'd appreciate your advice. Thanks a million and kudos for the great forum.

[HayZee518]

All of the solvent cleaners "clean" or remove the surface glaze from both the pipe and fittings mating surfaces and slightly soften the plastic. The cement has tiny particles of the same plastic as the base plastic suspended in its own solvent base. The solvent dissolves part of the plastic and through evaporation bonds the two surfaces. Universal cleaners and cements might work equally well on different surfaces but a cleaner/cement meant for ABS PVC or CPVC is meant for its own base substance.

[LazyPup]

ABS Pipe(Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene)does not require the use of a primer However you MUST use a glue that is specifically formulated for use on ABS pipe & fittings and the glue MUST BE labelled as suitable for ABS in compliance with ASTM D-2235.

PVC PIPE(Poly-Vinyl-Chloride)requires the use of both a cleaner/primer and Glue that is labelled as suitable for PVC in compliance with ASTM D-2564.

While there are some glues and primers on the market that are said to be "Universal" it must be remembered that the Plumbing Codes expressly prohibit glueing dissimilar plastics together. (Some local jurisdictions will permit a maximum of "One" glued transition joint from ABS to PVC or vice versa but once the transition is made all pipe from that point onward must be the same type of material. In all cases a glued transition joint between dissimilar plastics requires the expressed approval of the local governing authority)

The purple primer is fundamentally the same product as the clear primer, however in many jurisdictions we are required to use cleaner/primer with the purple dye so that an inspector examining the job after it is completed can be assured the primer was used prior to glueing.