The sanitary drain in my house, going to the city through the concrete basement floor has started to leak. I realized the leaking is around the access cap. The issue is this specific access cap seems to be un-openable. Almost like it is leaded or just very rusted in place. A few years back a plumber actually tried with a 3ft wrench and gave up. (There is a 2nd access port across the basement he was able to easily open and use.)
Ideally I think the fix would be to crack it open and just tighten it more… But that seems to not be easy, or I am concerned cranking on 70 year old cast iron pipe with >3ft wrench seems like it is asking for trouble… Also the fact that there seems to be water leaking from it even though it is above floor level seems odd. The image does not look like much, but there was a 2ft diameter puddle near it this morning I mopped up. It also bubbles around the opening when you run hot water…
Best Answer
Cast pipe and fittings do rust. And when it rusts on a threaded fitting that s not opened for a long while it is basically frozen.
Tapping GENTLY around and on the plug while wrenching it open may work.
Sometimes wrenching it tight and than loose free's the plug.
Heating the hub (outside section where the plug screws into) may help. Don't strike the cast when heating it.
If you find a rubber (hub-less) connector that fits over the plug you can drill, saw, cut the plug out install the new connector and cap.