To keep my cleanouts from leaking during my DWV test, I put pipe dope on the threads. Solved the problem, but now they feel like they're stuck shut. I probably cranked them down too much. I want to loosen them back up before we start using these new pipes, rather than find myself in a jam years down the road in the event of a blockage.

I used Oatey Great White compound, which said it is suitable for PVC. Is it possible that they're stuck shut, or should I just have someone hold back on the fittings while I try a bigger wrench?

A larger wrench will take them off and Teflon tape on the threads will ease removal down the road.
A good quality plastic friendly thread sealant like Hercules Megaloc® will also do the trick.

e-plumber
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"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

Thanks. I'm sure I'm being paranoid here, but just how much force does it take to snap 3" PVC at a fitting? Last thing I want to do is try too hard to get this cleanout off and wind up snaping the tee fitting right off.

It takes quite a bit of force to 'snap' a PVC fitting, most likely it would split or crack while screwing the plug in if you went too much rather than when removing it. You really don't need to go ballistic when tightening it up.

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

If you do not get them out, they could create outward pressure on the thread and crack the threaded portion.

I'm going to try and remove it tomorrow. If I can't get out I might have to cut out the tee that I put the female end of the cleanout in. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Thanks for the answers.

Before doing any cutting, you might try heating the hub with a hot air gun and see if it will expand enough to loosen the plug.

or just cut the plug and peel it out

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Get a bigger wrench. If the fitting breaks, it was already compromised anyway.

Or simply unscrew the plug. I have used Oatey Great White compound on cleanout plugs and it does not lock the plug in place. It makes it easier to overtighten, but they should back right out.

It would be easier to use a Cherne Clean Seal test ball.

Only if that is where the test ended, otherwise it would seal off a section so it could not be tested.

Yep, your right hj, I forgot the poster didn't specify cleanout tees or end of the line cleanouts.
On most of my multi-story buildings, I have my guys install cleanout tees on each floor on every stack. I can't tell you how many times we filled the stacks on the upper floor once, and used the same water to test all the way down. A BIG time saver!

Lots of good info. I didn't get to this yesterday, have put it off until Saturday. Even though these aren't active drain lines yet, I figured if something broke and I had to replace, it's always better to do that when you have more time.

This was purely a cleanout fitting, not a test plug. This was in a spot where the 3" stack comes down into the basement before picking up some additional fixtures downstream, so I put the cleanout tee on the vertical section in case the vertical to horizontal transition ever got backed up. For my end of the line test valve, before all this new work hooked into the sewer, I used the fernco-type end cap with the hose bib.

Next time glue a plastic ipo test cap on the back side of the clean-out body before glueing into the tee.Then knock it out after test

Sometimes tightening it just a little first will loosen it up



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And usually when it is as tight as it can go and will not unscrew easily, there is no way to tighten it a bit more. If I have a wrench big enough to tighten something, even a little bit, it is also big enough to take it apart.