Changing out a Sprinkler Drain and How to Get Stuck Pipes Out

Over the years, I have had many situations when I had a plumbing problem and couldn't remove a pipe. They get stuck due to minerals, rust or sometimes they are glued in. 
 
Many years ago, I had a metal portable dishwasher piece get stuck in the tip of the faucet in the kitchen and I couldn't get it out. I went to the plumbing supply store and they sold me the yellow handled T tool above which is a pipe remover tool. I tried and tried to get the piece out but the tool stripped the metal and the metal piece that was broken wouldn't come out. 
 
I thought to use a piece of rubber on the tip of the tool and place it into the piece of metal and it actually worked to get the metal piece out. I used part of one of the advertising rubber bottle openers but a piece of tire would also work. 
 
That was my first try at creative plumbing. I have used that trick a few times over the years. A few years later, we moved and bought our home. The faucet in the kitchen needed replacing and I couldn't get it out. The minerals dripping down had welded the nuts on and I ended up having to take the Dremel tool out and cut off the faucet in many little pieces. 
 
Once I started learning about sprinkling systems, I would regularly pull out the dremel tool to cut pieces of pvc pipe out when an inline pipe would crack or break. 

Here is a post from 2012 where I mention that.  


The times I have used it over the 20 years we have lived here are too numerous to count. I had a new experience this week. A metal pipe on a sprinkler drain. One of the sprinkler drains in the yard needed replacing. I thought I had replaced all the drains in the yard. Some I have replaced twice over the years. 
 
This particular drain is on the fence line so it may have needed it before now but wasn't leaking enough for me to notice as I live next door to a field so if it were flooding, it would have been into the field next door and I may not have noticed it. 

It had a constant leak so I ended up having to turn the water off at the main to get it to drain so I could get to it without water. I actually tried several times with a rubber grip glove on even with the water and in the end, it took me hours and hours to get this off. 

I didn't want to have to dig under it and get out the dremel to cut it but in the end, they used a gas iron pipe for the elbow. I am not sure why the did that but it was rusted and wouldn't come out.

I used a sanding / cutting disc and cut off the elbow section and then cut four lines equally into the metal just to the edge of the pvc as I didn't want to cut into the pvc pipe that was holding the pieces. 
 
Once it was cut this way, the pipe removing tool easily removed the threads that were left. 

To make it easier in the future to replace drains, I cut both ends off a soup can. I placed the can just under the drain. DON'T fill the can with anything. 

I then placed a plastic bag over the top of the drain and the can so that no dirt would get into the can or obstruct the drain. Once that was done, I placed a cut up plastic whip container upside down over the entire thing and then filled in the hole and buried the container. Next time that drain fails, I will just have to dig a few inches down, remove the plastic container, unscrew the drain and fill again. 
 
It would probably take me 10 minutes to replace the new drain. I did this with my last two drain repairs and neither of them have needed replacing. I think because there isn't dirt and roots growing right up to the drain, it keeps the drain working longer. 

Hopefully, I was clear enough in my description to give you the instructions needed, or, my video will give you the information. If not, feel free to ask any questions that may come up.