Outside the back of the kitchen, there's a deepish gulley into which
various drains empty.

It's about a foot deep right now. Soddit.

The bottom of the gulley opens onto the top of a drainpipe - which
clearly isn't flowing anything like properly.

I've borrowed some drain rods off a neighbour, but just can't get 'em
into the drain. I can't reach down enough to guide it manually.

Any thoughts?

On Dec 19, 2:32*pm, Adrian wrote:
Outside the back of the kitchen, there's a deepish gulley into which
various drains empty.

It's about a foot deep right now. Soddit.

The bottom of the gulley opens onto the top of a drainpipe - which
clearly isn't flowing anything like properly.

I've borrowed some drain rods off a neighbour, but just can't get 'em
into the drain. I can't reach down enough to guide it manually.

Any thoughts?

When you say "opens onto the top of a drainpipe " I assume you mean an
underground pipe that leads to the sewer? In which case, is there a
manhole downstream, from which you can rod back up towards the house?

Cheers
Richard

On 19 Dec, 14:51, geraldthehamster wrote:
On Dec 19, 2:32*pm, Adrian wrote:

Outside the back of the kitchen, there's a deepish gulley into which
various drains empty.

It's about a foot deep right now. Soddit.

The bottom of the gulley opens onto the top of a drainpipe - which
clearly isn't flowing anything like properly.

I've borrowed some drain rods off a neighbour, but just can't get 'em
into the drain. I can't reach down enough to guide it manually.

Any thoughts?

When you say "opens onto the top of a drainpipe " I assume you mean an
underground pipe that leads to the sewer? In which case, is there a
manhole downstream, from which you can rod back up towards the house?

Cheers
Richard

Any chance of getting a hose down it with a nozzle on it and then
blast the blockage clear. OK I can get rods down my drains but they
are so bad - about to be replaced - that my only solution has been to
attach the hose to the rods with cable ties and push that down.

Rob

On 19 Dec, 15:05, robgraham wrote:
On 19 Dec, 14:51, geraldthehamster wrote:





On Dec 19, 2:32*pm, Adrian wrote:

Outside the back of the kitchen, there's a deepish gulley into which
various drains empty.

It's about a foot deep right now. Soddit.

The bottom of the gulley opens onto the top of a drainpipe - which
clearly isn't flowing anything like properly.

I've borrowed some drain rods off a neighbour, but just can't get 'em
into the drain. I can't reach down enough to guide it manually.

Any thoughts?

When you say "opens onto the top of a drainpipe " I assume you mean an
underground pipe that leads to the sewer? In which case, is there a
manhole downstream, from which you can rod back up towards the house?

Cheers
Richard

Any chance of getting a hose down it with a nozzle on it and then
blast the blockage clear. *OK I can get rods down my drains but they
are so bad - about to be replaced - that my only solution has been to
attach the hose to the rods with cable ties and push that down.

Rob- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

forget rods, use 20mm blue mains water pipe and connect it to a tap so
it washes gunge away in front as it goes.
No joints to come apart if you twist it wrong way

Adrian wrote:
Outside the back of the kitchen, there's a deepish gulley into which
various drains empty.

It's about a foot deep right now. Soddit.

The bottom of the gulley opens onto the top of a drainpipe - which
clearly isn't flowing anything like properly.

I've borrowed some drain rods off a neighbour, but just can't get 'em
into the drain. I can't reach down enough to guide it manually.

Any thoughts?

When you say gulley, do you mean a trap? - is there water in it all the
time? - if so, you can't rod it, you need to get your arm in there and lift
out the offending blockage, which could be anything, so wear gloves.

A tip: pour a kettle of boiling water down there before you insert your
hand, don't worry, the water will be only warm by the time it mixes with the
ice cold stuff already there.
If you can't reach the bend at the bottom of the trap, you'll need a wire
coathanger, or similar, once its running free, put a dose of caustic soda
down there, preferably before you go to bed then it's got all night to do
it's magic without being diluted

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

geraldthehamster gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

On Dec 19, 2:32Â*pm, Adrian wrote:
Outside the back of the kitchen, there's a deepish gulley into which
various drains empty.

It's about a foot deep right now. Soddit.

The bottom of the gulley opens onto the top of a drainpipe - which
clearly isn't flowing anything like properly.

I've borrowed some drain rods off a neighbour, but just can't get 'em
into the drain. I can't reach down enough to guide it manually.

Any thoughts?

When you say "opens onto the top of a drainpipe " I assume you mean an
underground pipe that leads to the sewer?

Yup. Just - I think - "grey" water.

In which case, is there a manhole downstream, from which you can rod
back up towards the house?

Yes, there is. I've just been to get some manhole keys...

....and promptly wished I hadn't...

It's not grey water. Definitely not. And it's about three inches below
ground level, and it's Really Not Very Nice In There.

The water board have been phoned.

I feel vaguely unwell.

Adrian wrote:

Yes, there is. I've just been to get some manhole keys...

...and promptly wished I hadn't...

It's not grey water. Definitely not. And it's about three inches below
ground level, and it's Really Not Very Nice In There.

The water board have been phoned.

I feel vaguely unwell.

It would be quicker to get a set of rods down there and have a poke around -
the water board will probably only come out on Monday, maybe later.
The chances are it will go with one good push.

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

"Phil L" gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

Yes, there is. I've just been to get some manhole keys...

...and promptly wished I hadn't...

It's not grey water. Definitely not. And it's about three inches below
ground level, and it's Really Not Very Nice In There.

The water board have been phoned.

I feel vaguely unwell.

It would be quicker to get a set of rods down there and have a poke
around - the water board will probably only come out on Monday, maybe
later. The chances are it will go with one good push.

****. That.

It's at least 2' deep, and - worse - it ain't even ours - that's upstream.

You're welcome to pop round and have a go, if you like.
Oh, and they say they'll be round this evening...

Adrian wrote:
"Phil L" gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

Yes, there is. I've just been to get some manhole keys...

...and promptly wished I hadn't...

It's not grey water. Definitely not. And it's about three inches
below ground level, and it's Really Not Very Nice In There.

The water board have been phoned.

I feel vaguely unwell.

It would be quicker to get a set of rods down there and have a poke
around - the water board will probably only come out on Monday, maybe
later. The chances are it will go with one good push.

****. That.

It's at least 2' deep, and - worse - it ain't even ours - that's
upstream.


That's gonna make one big gurgling / burping sound when it goes

You're welcome to pop round and have a go, if you like.

if you lived nearby I would

Oh, and they say they'll be round this evening...

Are they going to bill you for it?

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

"Phil L" gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

It would be quicker to get a set of rods down there and have a poke
around - the water board will probably only come out on Monday, maybe
later. The chances are it will go with one good push.

****. That.

It's at least 2' deep, and - worse - it ain't even ours - that's
upstream.

That's gonna make one big gurgling / burping sound when it goes

Indeed. And a brown miasma...

You're welcome to pop round and have a go, if you like.

if you lived nearby I would

I wouldn't ask it.

Oh, and they say they'll be round this evening...

Are they going to bill you for it?

If it's their pipework, no, and they reckon it is.

In the unlikely event it is ours, yes. But I don't reckon £65 inc VAT -
to turn up AND to clear it - is excessive AT ALL, especially since they
promise faithfully they'll be here by 8.30...

On Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:25:37 GMT, Phil L wrote:

Adrian wrote:

Yes, there is. I've just been to get some manhole keys...

...and promptly wished I hadn't...

It's not grey water. Definitely not. And it's about three inches below
ground level, and it's Really Not Very Nice In There.

The water board have been phoned.

I feel vaguely unwell.

It would be quicker to get a set of rods down there and have a poke around -
the water board will probably only come out on Monday, maybe later.
The chances are it will go with one good push.

I've had them out a number of times in recent years (their problem
fortunately, so no cost to me) and they've always turned up very quickly
(even at 11 at night on a Sunday).

SteveW

Steve Walker gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

It would be quicker to get a set of rods down there and have a poke
around - the water board will probably only come out on Monday, maybe
later. The chances are it will go with one good push.

I've had them out a number of times in recent years (their problem
fortunately, so no cost to me) and they've always turned up very quickly
(even at 11 at night on a Sunday).

He came. He went.

There's another manhole cover in the front garden somewhere, under a
layer of earth. And snow.

That's my morning sorted, then he'll come back.

Turns out some neighbours (asked 'em when they dropped an Xmas card in)
"upstream" have also had all sorts of gurgling and overflowing, too.

Deep, deep joy.

On 19 Dec 2009 19:43:51 GMT, Adrian wrote:

Steve Walker gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

It would be quicker to get a set of rods down there and have a poke
around - the water board will probably only come out on Monday, maybe
later. The chances are it will go with one good push.

I've had them out a number of times in recent years (their problem
fortunately, so no cost to me) and they've always turned up very quickly
(even at 11 at night on a Sunday).

He came. He went.

There's another manhole cover in the front garden somewhere, under a
layer of earth. And snow.

That's my morning sorted, then he'll come back.

Turns out some neighbours (asked 'em when they dropped an Xmas card in)
"upstream" have also had all sorts of gurgling and overflowing, too.

Deep, deep joy.

A bit poor. With ours they couldn't find the problem straight away (turned
out to be two collapses under the road), so they brought in a tanker;
sucked it dry, leaving somewhere for our sewerage to go; then returned to
do the same every day until the problem was solved.

SteveW

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Adrian wrote:


He came. He went.

There's another manhole cover in the front garden somewhere, under a
layer of earth. And snow.

That's my morning sorted, then he'll come back.

Turns out some neighbours (asked 'em when they dropped an Xmas card
in) "upstream" have also had all sorts of gurgling and overflowing,
too.

Deep, deep joy.

Indeed - blockages will always be felt upstream.

The trick is to find the first point *downstream* which *isn't* blocked, and
then rod in an upstream direction from that point. If you try to rod from
one that's full, you can't see where the outlets are - particularly if it's
deep (mine are all 2 metres or more!)
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Adrian wrote:


He came. He went.

There's another manhole cover in the front garden somewhere, under a
layer of earth. And snow.

That's my morning sorted, then he'll come back.

Turns out some neighbours (asked 'em when they dropped an Xmas card
in) "upstream" have also had all sorts of gurgling and overflowing,
too.

Deep, deep joy.

Indeed - blockages will always be felt upstream.

The trick is to find the first point *downstream* which *isn't*
blocked, and then rod in an upstream direction from that point. If
you try to rod from one that's full, you can't see where the outlets
are - particularly if it's deep (mine are all 2 metres or more!)

Have you any idea of the force behind all this sewage? - surely standing
downstream of what could be 2 tonnes of untreated sewage and water is not a
good idea, as I found out when I was much younger - you want to push it away
from you, not pull it towards you, cos when it goes, whatever manhole you
are working on will fill up with such ferocity that it's likely to continue
in an upwards motion for at least 8 feet, and then come back down again

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Phil L wrote:

Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Adrian wrote:


The trick is to find the first point *downstream* which *isn't*
blocked, and then rod in an upstream direction from that point. If
you try to rod from one that's full, you can't see where the outlets
are - particularly if it's deep (mine are all 2 metres or more!)

Have you any idea of the force behind all this sewage?

Yes, I have! Two 6" public sewers meet in a manhole at the bottom of my
garden - and one or other of them has blocked quite a few times in the 30+
years that we have been living here.

- surely
standing downstream of what could be 2 tonnes of untreated sewage and
water is not a good idea, as I found out when I was much younger -
you want to push it away from you, not pull it towards you, cos when
it goes, whatever manhole you are working on will fill up with such
ferocity that it's likely to continue in an upwards motion for at
least 8 feet, and then come back down again

Whenever Severn Trent have come to unblock them, they have *always* jetted
upstream from the manhole where the sewers meet. Needless to say, they don't
actually climb into the chamber - they do it all from ground level - because
it does come down with some force, and starts to fill the chamber, once the
blockage has been shifted. But nothing has ever overflowed in the process -
or even splashed over the top. The chamber is over 2 metres deep - and quite
large in diameter so it has quite a large capacity to buffer transient
flows.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Heh, try a blocked 24" drain down a 300ft hill, the hydrostatic
pressure starts lifting tarmac like a rubber carpet... until...
eventually... the blockage gives way. The triangular cast iron manhole
cover began jetting until it was suddenly blasted several metres away
with a fountaining column of water - that brick chamber was very deep.

The cause was allegedly... a rubber duck...

A few years ago they created a "swirl pot" the size of a house in the
ground - massive digger, massive round chamber, several weeks. I guess
to act as a buffer and mute kinetic energy from sudden storm surge.

gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

The trick is to find the first point *downstream* which *isn't*
blocked, and then rod in an upstream direction from that point.

And hope you can get out of the way in time!

SEP...

If you try to rod from one that's full, you can't see where the
outlets are - particularly if it's deep (mine are all 2 metres or
more!)

I always try first from upstream, usually you can find the outlet if
you've seen the manhole empty previously.

I'm about to go out and try to find the manhole cover that's somewhere
under the front garden which is somewhere under Friday's snow which is
somewhere under last night's snow.

I've seen someone covered in s**t having rodded a large blockage on a
hill from downstream. Not a pretty sight!

Indeed. I feel vaguely queasy just reading some of these war stories...

Adrian gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

I'm about to go out and try to find the manhole cover that's somewhere
under the front garden which is somewhere under Friday's snow which is
somewhere under last night's snow.

Found it, under about 6" of snow-covered soil. It's not been lifted in
the 12yrs we've lived here, and that "flower bed" was hugely overgrown
when we moved in. I'll let you imagine how easy that cover's going to be
to move...

Oh, and it's now steaming gently.

In message , Adrian
writes
Adrian gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

I'm about to go out and try to find the manhole cover that's somewhere
under the front garden which is somewhere under Friday's snow which is
somewhere under last night's snow.

Found it, under about 6" of snow-covered soil. It's not been lifted in
the 12yrs we've lived here, and that "flower bed" was hugely overgrown
when we moved in. I'll let you imagine how easy that cover's going to be
to move...

Oh, and it's now steaming gently.


Enjoy,
photos please
or even better a video, you may make it on to one of the TV home video
shows !!!!!!!!

I went to lift a cover, of some cable ducts, in a sloping car park a few
weeks ago, as I took out one of the 4 bolts holding the cover down a
nice fountain of water lifted it out for me! It was the lowest pit and
had some 5' of head on it, no drain in the ducting system. Only water
though, yours could be much more interesting :-)

--
Bill

Bill gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

Enjoy,
photos please
or even better a video, you may make it on to one of the TV home video
shows !!!!!!!!

If only I had a webcam, we could do this live...

Adrian gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

Enjoy,
photos please
or even better a video, you may make it on to one of the TV home video
shows !!!!!!!!

If only I had a webcam, we could do this live...

He came. He plungered. He gurgled. He left.

All sorted & clear. The manhole cover under the front garden for 20 years
took some persuasion, but lifted - not quite as high as the back garden
(in all senses) but still very backed up.

That one cleared fairly easily, but the back garden stayed full. Not
enough rod to clear the blockage from "downstream", so out to the back
with the rods. Quite a bit of force later, it went down too...

phew

Thanks for all the schadenfreude, folks. It helped.