One problem becomes another

My washing machine has dispensed water on the floor after it's cycle for a few weeks now. I had the repair person to check it out, and he got it pulled away from the wall. It is a Maytag stacked unit. Well, he found the waste stack is leaking. It's all iron pipr with the vertical coupled into a trap to tie in with the main stack and vent. I've seen them on television, but have never played with a poured lead seal coupling. $75 for this good news.

If it is not one problem it's another.  Sounds like you got a good deal on the repair.  For $75 we are lucky if we can get a plumber out to just look at something.
Jerry

I saw my grandfather mess with those old lead pipes, maybe 50 years ago.  I remember he had a big acetylene torch to heat the joint and pull it apart.  Then he heated the lead with the same torch in a pot with a bail on it.  He set the new joint and filled it with molten lead.  I would be terribly shocked if you could find a plumber today who would even do this.  They probably will want to cut the iron pipe off and adapt a plastic part to it, if the pipe is still good enough to make a good seal.  If not, he will have to cut until  he finds solid pipe he can work with.  

My understanding is that the guy who came out and charged you $75 was the Maytag Man. You still have to get the plumber out, right? Or am in reading your post wrong?

WC

No, you read it right. I have a home warranty plan and all covered service calls are $75 each. I think the leak is in the first joint from the vertical line that the washer drain hose empties into. The pipe appears to be in good shape, having been installed in 1967. I am wondering if the seal failed with the freeze we had last January.

Normally, when a lead pipe freezes, it freezes in a run of the pipe, rather than the joint.  Those lead joints can be really thick.  Some were covered with asbestos so they would not sweat.  If water was standing in a joint, and it got cold enough, I guess anything is possible.  I would think it fairly uncommon for a lead joint to freeze and burst in your neck of the woods.  Will your warranty cover the plumber for another $75 or will that be considered part of the same "incident."  I hope everything works well for you.

WC

It would be another $75 as it involves a separate issue. Also, as far as the warranty service goes I'll not even intimate jack frost had anything to do with it, as freeze damage is not covered. But it did get cold enough to freeze my hot water line. I had to put my portable heater in the crawl space to get things going before any damage occurred. This drain system is in my garage, and it got mighty cold in there. This service covers all my major appliances and hvac and all plumbing within the homes' footprint.

Tried a small load of clothes this morning and watched the unit during the cycle. at the spin, the water came bubbling back up the stack. I got a small strip of foam rubber and not too tightly plugged the open space around the hose entering the stack. I filled the washer with hot water and put in about 1/4 cup of dishwashing detergent and put it on spin. After that, I unplugged the space around the hose and ran through 2 full "loads" of clear hot water. They went right through. It is looking like I might have saved the next call fee.

3 loads of laundry and all is still dry.   

Great news! Sounds like the standpipe/trap were clogged and couldn't handle the flow from the washing machine?
Jerry

It sure seems so, more slow than clogged. Just after my last post while washing one more load, the drain hose flopped off of the washers' nipple connection and blew about a quarter tub of water on the floor. I guess the fates thought I was getting off too easy. It was not clamped. It is now. Just for good measure, I'm going to flush the drain a bit with the garden hose next week.

Good idea on using the garden hose as a "snake" with a high pressure nozzle on the end. Chances are the occlusion is in the trap. We needed a plummer for a drain problem on our patio and he couldn't get to it with a snake. He brought out an air tank with a hose and tapered rubber fitting on the end. Charge up the tank on our air compressor, press the tapered fitting on the drain hole and pull a trigger. This released a huge amount of pressurized air into the drain line and blew the plugged stuff right through.
Process made easier when he brought out a manual air pump to "charge" the cylinder and I offered the use of an air compressor. No reduction in the bill though.  
Jerry

Good news and bad news. I was just notified by the warranty people that they have lined up a plumber. The good news, it is a follow on and no service charge. The bad news, If they can't do it between 3:00 and 5:00 I have to take another day off to wait upon them.