Gluing pvc in the cold

[iwishtofish]

How cold is too cold? I can't do it inside, and the warmest it is to get here in the foreseeable future is 48 degrees F.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

From Oatey's website, for the typical gold-can "PVC Regular Cement,"

Recommended application temperature 40°F to 110°F / 4°C to 43°C.

They have an all-weather cement (green can, iirc) that's good to -15°F.

[JByer323]

As long as you do it correctly, you should be all right. If you have a portable heater and a garage that would work just fine.

[T Diddy]

It'll work in the cold, just give it more time to dry

[iwishtofish]

Oh, good! Thanks, everyone. I was afraid that was going to be a real problem!

[lordofthereef]

I glued a couple winters ago when it was somewhere between 0-20 LOL. I just used the purple primer and the clear oatey brand stuff. No problems to speak of! ;)

[DanMgy]

If you need to have it outside and cannot bring it in to a warm place, a real quick fix is using a hair dryer, keep the cement inside, heat up the pieces you are going to connect, get the glue and it will do the trick.

Just make sure you don't get it to warm or hot.

[Luckless]

Check the label, and try to stay within the ranges stated. Working with it when it is too cold can give you some bad joints that lead to premature failure.

You do have a lot of options to warm things up enough. A few hot water bottles and old blankets can do wonders for processes that need to be warmed and stay warm for a cure time in cold weather. Just think about how you're using them so you don't accidentally put weight where you shouldn't.

I don't know how big of a job you're doing out in the cold, but if you find yourself using plastic sheets to make a heated tent, be VERY careful with your heat sources. Most plastics can do very nasty things to human flesh when they start to melt and burn.

(It is also apparently very rude to be laughing while smothering flames on a friend, even if everyone else admits they looked funny at the time.)

[iwishtofish]

Thanks again, everyone, for all the advice and tips. I checked the guidelines on the containers: the cleaner can be used down to -15F, and the glue down to 40F. I should be fine at the warmest part of the day here soon (around 49F).

It's just a small plumbing rig for my 75g tank. I'll measure and cut it inside, then glue maybe 3 sections total outside. Once there is no more risk of toxic fumes, I'll bring them in and join them with unions inside my stand.