OATEY 270229 Cherne® 2 in. End of Pipe Gripper® Plug

The Cherne 270229 Gripper plug is sized for 2 in. (50 mm) nominal pipe. It is an end-of-pipe style plug, so it seals on the outside of the pipe end rather than inside the bore, which makes it the one to grab when you are capping a stub-out or a pipe end rather than plugging a cleanout run.

Rated to 17 psi (1,2 bar), which equals 40 ft (12 M) of head pressure. For a standard DWV water column test that is roughly a 40 foot stack above the plug, so on taller runs you need to stage the test or move the plug up. Do not exceed the rating with air.

They solve different problems. An end-of-pipe Gripper like the 2 in. 270229 clamps over the outside of an open pipe end, so it works where the pipe terminates, such as a stub-out, a riser end, or a cut line. If you need to seal inside a line that continues, for instance at a cleanout or a test tee, you want a mechanical plug that expands against the inside wall instead. Ordering the wrong style is the most common mistake here because both are called test plugs.

No. It tightens by hand using an oversized zinc wing nut, which is the point of the design when you are working in a joist bay or a trench with no room to swing a tool. The carriage bolt under it is zinc plated to resist rust and corrosion through repeated wet tests.

A natural rubber O-ring does the sealing, chosen for expansion and memory so it returns to shape after being compressed. The compression plates are ABS glass reinforced for strength, and the plug body is metal. That combination is what lets the same plug be reused across multiple inspections instead of being a one-test throwaway.

Order Oatey part number 270229. That is the Cherne 2 in. End of Pipe Gripper plug, and the yellow finish is standard on it, which is why it shows up easily in a trench or under a slab when it is time to pull the plug after inspection.

Each one lists at 0.15 in product weight with a volume of 0.01, so a plumber stocking 2 in. plugs for a multi-unit rough-in can carry a handful in a bucket without thinking about it. Property maintenance crews often keep a couple in the van for capping a line after a fixture pull.