"Paul Franklin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 16 Sep 2006 17:56:37 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

My bath drain, drains very slowly. It doesn't appear to be clogged with
hair and it drains into a septic tank. No other drain seems to have a
problem. However I was wondering if the way the previous owner routed the
drain lines might be the source of the issue.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P9160042.JPG

Shows the drain. There are two obvious things that make me wonder. One,
as
you can see there is a wierd PVC joint right above the transition to the
galvanized pipe - almost like they necked it down, you can see all the
green
joint compound. The other is the absolute horizontal pipe that runs from
the tub drain to the PVC "T" junction. Could this be the source of my
slow
drain? I presume the vertical PVC pipe section is for the tub overflow
drain - it doesn't go anywhere else and it isn't a vent so far as I can
tell.

A couple of questions, if I were to snake the tub drain, would the trap
cause problems
Second, if I were to redesign the tub drain, how do I deal with the sewer?
I presume that there is basically raw sewage all the way to the top of the
tub drain "U" trap. Should I crack out the NBC suit and call in the EPA
or
are there alternatives to dealing with the sewer line?

BTW: I finally cleaned out the bulk of the spiders in that corner, as you
can see its relatively clean now. The webs back there made the opening
scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark look like Martha Stewart dusting
cobwebs.

The PVC stuff is just a standard tub setup. That wouldn't cause a
slow drain unless it's clogged with soap scum and hair, which is
pretty common. You are correct that the vertical leg goes to the
overflow.

You can try snaking the drain with a small diameter spring snake down
through the overflow. If you use the type that you can spin you
should be able get it through the trap. If the tub has a trip-lever
stopper on the overflow plate, it will pull out up through the
overflow when you remove the plate.

If you can't snake it or it doesn't help, you are going to have to
take it apart. IIWM, I'd cut the galvanized leg midway between the
trap and the stack, and replace the trap with a pvc one with a
cleanout. You can couple the PVC to the galvanized with a fernco
coupling.

You may find the galvanized piping is so corroded inside that it is
restricting the flow. If that's the case, you are in for a bigger
job.

Uhhhgg, I was hoping you wouldn't say that. Well actually it won't be so
bad, the pipe doesn't run very far before it dumps into the main septic
line.

Just out of curiousity, is the galvanized and PVC line gonna be full of
septic water?



Good luck,

Paul