Manufacturing drain gaskets for sewer lines

Today, a great variety of drain gaskets for sewer lines are available in the market, differing in the type of manufacturing materials, quality, and intended purpose. If we omit the issue of selecting the material and product quality, which we will talk about a little later, all sealing elements for sewer lines can be combined into groups for the ease of discussion, depending on their standard sizes and, accordingly, the intended purpose.

The first group is represented by drain gaskets designed to connect drain hoses from household appliances to the sewer – these are easy to recognize by their marking, where the first digit stands for the diameter of the sewer line for which the gasket is intended and the second one stands for the diameter of the drainage hose. In the MasterProf product mix, the available gasket sizes are as follows:

• 50 х 25;

• 40 х 25;

• 32 х 25.

Interestingly, thanks to the unique in-house developments, we managed to create a gasket that, unlike many analogues, securely holds not only a hose of the standard diameter of 25 mm, but also thinner hoses of 20 mm.

The next group is the so-called "donuts" for bell-shaped polymer sewer pipes, which, thanks to their design, allow two pipes of different diameters to be hermetically connected to each other. These include the sizes characteristic of bell-shaped polymer sewer pipes:

• 50 х 40;

• 40 х 32;

• 50 х 32.

Another group of "donuts" is designed to connect bell-shaped polymer sewer and cast-iron pipes (the latter were very common in Soviet times and can still be found in old houses, although they are gradually being replaced by polymer pipes). These include the following sizes of sewer and polymer pipes:

• 73 х 50;

• 124 х 110.

A new MasterProf development stands distinctive from the rest – a universal drain gasket designed to connect drainage hoses of small diameters (5 to 18 mm) to sewer pipes of 50 mm. Its marking is as follows:

• 50 х 5-18.
  
  

We will tell you more about the new product below.

In general, drain gasket for sewer lines are elastic products made of rubber (or rubber-like polymers). They are used as adapters and also serve to connect plumbing fixtures to the sewer system. They allow joining pipes of different diameters and/or different materials, ensuring tightness at joints. Next, we will drill down the features and applications of drain gaskets for sewer lines.

Features of drain gaskets for sewer lines

So, we have considered the main groups of gaskets and their standard sizes. What other features are of special interest for us? Of course, the material the sealing elements are made of, the quality of manufacture, and their design features. As mentioned above, lots and lots of similar products from different manufacturers are now available on store shelves, and they seem very similar to one another at first glance. Choosing a quality product that will last for many years is no doubt challenging.

Manufacturing material

If you set yourself the goal of studying the product mix available in stores, you will find that drain gaskets differ in hardness, color, and elasticity. The fact is that low-quality recyclables have been used in the production of gaskets for a long time. For the most part, such pieces are very hard, rigid and unhandy, and thus difficult to install. Sometimes, it was impossible to slide such a gasket home despite all the efforts. At times, they would even break or rupture during installation. There is more to it. Even when properly installed in the line, they leaked due to shrinkage and deformation over time.

Luckily, trends are changing for the better now, and some manufacturers who care about the quality of their products, including MasterProf, make their gaskets from TEP (thermoelastoplast or thermoplastic rubber). These are distinguished by a balanced combination of stretchability and elasticity, which makes it quite easy to install them in sewer pipes. And due to their rigidity, these gaskets secure and hermetically seal joints and prevent leakages. In addition, TEP allows manufacturing gaskets not only of the mainstream black color, but also gray and white gaskets (to match the color of polymer sewer pipes).

Shape

When considering the bulk of gaskets available in the market, you can see that, with rare exceptions, they are very similar in appearance. The fact is that for a very long time, manufacturers did not attach much importance not only to what the gasket was made of, but to its design features as well. So, sealing elements either often leaked or let the smell out of the sewer pipe, without ensuring the required tightness at joints.

MasterProf has developed its branded gaskets almost from scratch, focusing on the structural features of sewer pipe sockets and also setting itself the task of developing a design that would ensure absolute tightness at joints given the structural features of polymer pipes. As a result, all our branded gaskets come with a unique external finning, which allows securing the gasket tightly in the sewer pipe socket, along with preventing its spontaneous loss or leakage. The inner part of the piece consists of three (and sometimes four) sequentially arranged annular seals, also called lobes – their shape, location, spatial orientation, and quantity are thoroughly thought through to ensure reliable and leak-proof joints.

Quality of molding

The quality of molding is the first thing that catches your eye when choosing a gasket. Sadly, on store shelves you can find a lot of gaskets with molding defects. For instance, a large amount of mold flash, which is a material protruding along seams, formed due to using poor-quality worn-out loosely closing molds. Simply put, mold flash tells us that the products were made using outdated equipment. And vice versa, defects may appear due to the lack of seal material used (these are especially critical when it comes to the annular lobes ensuring the fixation of pipes in the gasket clearance). In both cases, with too much or too little seal material, the sealing function of a gasket is significantly reduced since the gasket must follow the sewer pipe's shape to ensure a leakproof fit.

The MasterProf drain gaskets, made using the new cutting-edge equipment, favorably differ in the quality of molding as they are almost defectless. In addition, all the products manufactured by the company undergo a mandatory multi-stage quality check and are tested under real operating conditions.

Omni-purpose drain gasket

The omni-purpose gasket is a unique product specially designed and manufactured by MasterProf to meet the market. The fact is that a great number of various household appliances (in addition to traditional washing machines and dishwashers) come with drain tube assemblies and hoses that require a connection to the sewer. The options available in the market failed to ensure a reliable and leakproof connection of drainage hoses, so our engineers took up the task. In a fairly short time, an omni-purpose drain gasket has been designed, developed, manufactured and tested.

It is a TEP gasket (thanks to which it can be easily installed in the sewer pipe socket) with an external finning characteristic of all MasterProf gaskets. The external finning strictly follows the shape of the polymer sewer pipe socket in order for the gasket to sit in the pipe as tightly as possible. The gasket's inner part differs from all analogues available in the market.

It accommodates not one, but as many as three bores:

1. The first one is designed to connect drainage hoses with a diameter of 5 to 10 mm;
2. The second one allows connecting hoses with a diameter of 6 to 12 mm;
3. The third one is suitable for drainage hoses with a diameter of 13 to 18 mm.

Thus, the user can choose using one to three bores at the same time. An interesting feature is that initially they all come sealed (a new gasket can be used as a sewer pipe plug) and the user, upon choosing the bore to use, can cut off part of the gasket fitting following the mark. Thus, on the one hand, we connect a drainage hose to the sewer, and on the other hand, the tightness is maintained at joints since the unused bores remain securely closed.

Drain gasket applications

As noted above, the market offers drain gaskets of different diameters for various plumbing fixtures requiring a connection to the sewer system. Let's take a look at the most common connection options.

Gasket for air conditioners

The omni-purpose drain gasket can be used to connect the drainage hoses of the indoor and outdoor units to the sewer. Most often, the diameter of the drainage hoses of air conditioners is 16 mm; In high-power systems, hoses of 20-32 mm are used. To connect them to a 50 mm sewer pipe, we need a 50x16, 50x20, 50x25 or 50x32 gasket.

Proper installation of air conditioners requires draining into the sewer, not into the street. Though this method is labor-intensive, it will cause less problems in the long run and save you from having to clean the pipes from insects and dirt. Frankly, it is highly unlikely that passers-by and your neighbors will be enthusiastic about water dripping on their heads and window sills. Also, pipes protruding from the wall are a doubtful architectural solution. That is why it is better to mount everything correctly – to do this, you need to connect the drain tube to the sewer pipe using a gasket. Do not forget about a water seal to prevent the entry of unpleasant odors from the sewer into your apartment.

Gasket for dryers

Most dryers can be connected to the sewer to drain condensate by using a drain gasket. The drainage hose diameter in such units varies depending on models and manufacturers and can be 10 mm, 13 mm or even larger – in high-power space-consuming machines. Buying an omni-purpose drain gasket with several bores is the best solution to this problem. Typically, if there is a dryer in the house, then there is a washing machine as well. Both units can be connected to one and the same sewer pipe, the small diameters of the gasket bores (5-10 mm, 6-12 mm and 13-18 mm) are of help here. In any case, even if you do not plan to connect a second device, you can open up only one bore, leaving the rest sealed.

Remember that to connect the dryer to the sewer system, the maximum elevation of the drain connection point should not exceed 1 m. This value can be increased to 1.8 m using a separately purchased built-in pump. If the drainage hose is not long enough, an extension can also be purchased, which will increase the length of the drain to 5 m.

Gasket for boilers

As a rule, boilers (water heaters) are equipped with a check valve with a trigger, a special device to protect the heater vessel from overpressures. When the pressure inside the vessel rises above a certain value, the valve bleeds some of the water from the vessel through a special fitting, which reduces the pressure inside the vessel. It is possible to drain excess water into the toilet or bath by connecting a special drainage hose to the fitting, but connecting it directly to the sewer system rather than draining water into a bucket or on the floor (no kidding) is the best solution. Boiler drainage pipes come with small diameters – usually it is 9 mm, or a little more if the boiler model supports increased loads. In this case, you need to use an omni-purpose drain gasket and choose the optimal diameter of the bore for connecting the hose.

If you do not plan to connect other plumbing fixtures to the same sewer pipe, you can open up only one bore and leave the rest ones plugged for future connections.

Drain gasket manufacturer

MasterProf is a reliable manufacturer and supplier of plumbing products, of which a considerable part is represented by elastic gaskets of various diameters and varieties. We have been working in the plumbing market for 10+ years and understand the needs of our customers well. That is why we have developed gaskets that are noticeably different from any analogues available on store shelves. Upon studying the competitors' products and their operational defects, our engineers designed and manufactured a unique piece using our own production facilities based in St. Petersburg, Russia. The new product is in high demand both in our country and abroad.

For several months, we studied the goods purchased at retail outlets and found that they all came with certain defects, for example, the excessive rigidity which does not allow sliding a gasket home in a prompt and effortless manner or the uneven shape and mold flash, indicating the use of low-quality equipment. Whereas MasterProf drain gaskets are made on high-precision equipment from thermoplastic elastomer (TEP), which is the most suitable option. The gasket is designed in such a way that it fits a polymer sewer pipe of the appropriate diameter perfectly and ensures reliable sealing.

Conclusion

The omni-purpose drain gasket is an excellent solution in cases when it is necessary to arrange the simultaneous connection of drainage hoses from one to three household appliances to the sewer. The piece has three bores with the diameters suitable for the drainage hoses of boilers, dryers, air conditioners and other household appliances that require water drainage. The omni-purpose drain gasket was developed by MasterProf and patented.