I've got a sewage pipe blockage - opening a manhole cover in the back
garden showed a 50cm depth of sewage water. The drain direction heads
out under the pavement to the middle of the road -so I borrowed a
friend's drain rods. They went through no problem until they met an
obstruction which felt solid - somewhere under the middle of the road.
I asume this is some sort of junction in the sewage pipes.

So I thought I'd stick the (100mm) plunger on and see if I got set up
a water wave to dislodge any obstruction. The plunger went in no
bother (to about 6 rod lengths), but when it hit the solid wall I
found I couldn't retract it more than about 10-15cm.

I assume here that the edge of the rubber plunger had gone over a lip
in the piping but no amount of pulling on the rods will get them to
back out - there is only 10-15cm of to and fro movement.

Anyone have any ideas? I'll probably have to see if the water company
will sort out the blockage which seems to be in the public drain but
what I'm worried about is getting my stuck plunger and rods out. Brute
force? Possibly but I've given it all I can.

(The spectre of franchised drain companies and their legendary bills
looms large....)

Cheers, Paul

"velodocuk" wrote in message
om...
snip

(The spectre of franchised drain companies and their legendary bills
looms large....)


More like the bill from your local water authority for having to dig
the road up !

Do you have a friendly bank manager ?... :~(

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On 2 Apr 2005 11:29:32 -0800, velodocuk wrote:


I assume here that the edge of the rubber plunger had gone over a
lip in the piping but no amount of pulling on the rods will get them
to back out - there is only 10-15cm of to and fro movement.


Or you've come out of your 4" pipe into a 9 or 12" under the street.
Is there another manhole vaugely in the same direction and
approximately the right distance away?

With out digging a hole and breaking the pipe open all you can do is
pull and twist (the right way!)

bit late to say it now but that's a very good reason to use lockfast rods

On 2 Apr 2005 11:29:32 -0800, velodocuk wrote:

I assume here that the edge of the rubber plunger had gone over a
lip in the piping but no amount of pulling on the rods will get them
to back out - there is only 10-15cm of to and fro movement.

Or you've come out of your 4" pipe into a 9 or 12" under the street.
Is there another manhole vaugely in the same direction and
approximately the right distance away?

With out digging a hole and breaking the pipe open all you can do is
pull and twist (the right way!) at the same time and hope that the
disc will find it's way back into the pipe.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"velodocuk" wrote in message
om...
I've got a sewage pipe blockage - opening a manhole cover in the back
garden showed a 50cm depth of sewage water. The drain direction heads
out under the pavement to the middle of the road -so I borrowed a
friend's drain rods. They went through no problem until they met an
obstruction which felt solid - somewhere under the middle of the road.
I asume this is some sort of junction in the sewage pipes.

So I thought I'd stick the (100mm) plunger on and see if I got set up
a water wave to dislodge any obstruction. The plunger went in no
bother (to about 6 rod lengths), but when it hit the solid wall I
found I couldn't retract it more than about 10-15cm.

I assume here that the edge of the rubber plunger had gone over a lip
in the piping but no amount of pulling on the rods will get them to
back out - there is only 10-15cm of to and fro movement.

Anyone have any ideas? I'll probably have to see if the water company
will sort out the blockage which seems to be in the public drain but
what I'm worried about is getting my stuck plunger and rods out. Brute
force? Possibly but I've given it all I can.

(The spectre of franchised drain companies and their legendary bills
looms large....)

Cheers, Paul

The local council would be first port of call, they charge a fixed fee about
£35 iirc and have camera gear

Regards Jeff

velodocuk wrote:

So I thought I'd stick the (100mm) plunger on and see if I got set up
a water wave to dislodge any obstruction. The plunger went in no
bother (to about 6 rod lengths), but when it hit the solid wall I
found I couldn't retract it more than about 10-15cm.

I think you will find some of the large drain clearage companies
will have cameras they can put down to see exactly what has happened,
for a relatively small fee.

We had a complete drain stoppage a year or so ago,
and a local company put down their camera system.
They found there had been a collapse about 10 metres from the opening.
We were given a video of the inside of the drain as a memento,
after they had repaired the damage.

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

In article ,
velodocuk wrote:

So I thought I'd stick the (100mm) plunger on and see if I got
set up a water wave to dislodge any obstruction. The plunger went
in no bother (to about 6 rod lengths), but when it hit the solid
wall I found I couldn't retract it more than about 10-15cm.

Try pulling a constant tension and slowly rotate
the rod clockwise. That might make the plunger
'climb' the far edge of the 4" pipe.

--
Tony Williams.

Huge wrote:
Tony Williams writes:
In article ,
velodocuk wrote:

So I thought I'd stick the (100mm) plunger on and see if I got
set up a water wave to dislodge any obstruction. The plunger went
in no bother (to about 6 rod lengths), but when it hit the solid
wall I found I couldn't retract it more than about 10-15cm.

Try pulling a constant tension and slowly rotate
the rod clockwise. That might make the plunger
'climb' the far edge of the 4" pipe.

Or do what the drain clearance bloke I saw once did; fasten the free
end to the back of his Transit van and pull them out by brute force.

hahaha, like it :-)



RT

:::Jerry:::: wrote:
"velodocuk" wrote in message
om...
snip

(The spectre of franchised drain companies and their legendary bills
looms large....)



More like the bill from your local water authority for having to dig
the road up !

Do you have a friendly bank manager ?... :~(


Do you ever give any useful advice or do you like to stick to
patronising negative comments? Yep, thought so... ****.

Thanks for all the ideas folks. The initial update is that a small
pumping station had failed, causing a sewage build up on the whole of
our estate.

So, as it turned out, it wasn't my branch at all. Having just had an
extension built, we jumped to the conclusion that it must have been a
localised blockage on our branch.

The sewage on the estate is now draining freely. My drain rods and
plunger are still stuck in there, without causing a block...yet. I'll
update you on progress to extract it ...if I'm brave enough - the
simple things have failed so far!
Cheers, Paul

"velodocuk" wrote in message
om...
Thanks for all the ideas folks. The initial update is that a small
pumping station had failed, causing a sewage build up on the whole of
our estate.

So, as it turned out, it wasn't my branch at all. Having just had an
extension built, we jumped to the conclusion that it must have been a
localised blockage on our branch.

The sewage on the estate is now draining freely. My drain rods and
plunger are still stuck in there, without causing a block...yet. I'll
update you on progress to extract it ...if I'm brave enough - the
simple things have failed so far!

I'm glad for your sake that it isn't your branch but the stuck plunger could
be a problem. Keep us posted. I hope you free it or that it doesn't cost you
money.

Mary

Cheers, Paul

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"velodocuk" wrote in message
om...
Thanks for all the ideas folks. The initial update is that a small
pumping station had failed, causing a sewage build up on the whole of
our estate.

So, as it turned out, it wasn't my branch at all. Having just had an
extension built, we jumped to the conclusion that it must have been a
localised blockage on our branch.

The sewage on the estate is now draining freely. My drain rods and
plunger are still stuck in there, without causing a block...yet. I'll
update you on progress to extract it ...if I'm brave enough - the
simple things have failed so far!

Aside from brute force and the rotate-and-pull method, I was wondering what
else might work. I reckon if you're really stuck ( ha-ha! ) as a last resort
you
could manufacture a hollow cone out of something suitable ( wood, foam ? ),
and slide it flat end first down the rods. The problem is getting it down to
the
flate plate, though a torrent of water might push it along. Once at the
flate plate
( which you push against the far wall of the main branch whilst doing
his )
you are then free to pull the assembly back. The cone should allow the flate
plate to ride up over the lip of the domestic/main sewer intersection.

Just a crackpot idea if you get desperate, cheers,

Andy.

On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 20:50:40 +0100, andrewpreece wrote:

... as a last resort you could manufacture a hollow cone out of
something suitable ( wood, foam ? ), and slide it flat end first
down the rods. The problem is getting it down to the flate plate,
though a torrent of water might push it along.
snip
Just a crackpot idea ...

Not that crackpot, it may just work. If you can get it down there
it'll certainly assist in aligning the disc within the pipe a lot
better than the "pull 'n twist, hope it climbs" method.

What ever it is made of needs to be pretty tough though, so a lump of
hard wood rather than soft.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"none" ""gerry\"@(none)" wrote in message
.. .
snip

Do you ever give any useful advice or do you like to stick to
patronising negative comments? Yep, thought so...

Well, seeing that you never have any information to offer, EVER, I
suggest that you **** off back to that slime covered cave that you
crept out from.

****.

At least you use your true name to sign off.

In article , "andrewpreece"
says...
Aside from brute force and the rotate-and-pull method, I was wondering what
else might work. I reckon if you're really stuck ( ha-ha! ) as a last resort
you
could manufacture a hollow cone out of something suitable ( wood, foam ? ),
and slide it flat end first down the rods. The problem is getting it down to
the
flate plate, though a torrent of water might push it along. Once at the
flate plate
( which you push against the far wall of the main branch whilst doing
his )
you are then free to pull the assembly back. The cone should allow the flate
plate to ride up over the lip of the domestic/main sewer intersection.

It doesn't need to be a cone - just a cylinder long enough not to
fall into the pipe that the plunger is stuck in.

"andrewpreece" wrote in message ...
"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"velodocuk" wrote in message
om...
Thanks for all the ideas folks. The initial update is that a small
pumping station had failed, causing a sewage build up on the whole of
our estate.

So, as it turned out, it wasn't my branch at all. Having just had an
extension built, we jumped to the conclusion that it must have been a
localised blockage on our branch.

The sewage on the estate is now draining freely. My drain rods and
plunger are still stuck in there, without causing a block...yet. I'll
update you on progress to extract it ...if I'm brave enough - the
simple things have failed so far!

Aside from brute force and the rotate-and-pull method, I was wondering what
else might work. I reckon if you're really stuck ( ha-ha! ) as a last resort
you
could manufacture a hollow cone out of something suitable ( wood, foam ? ),
and slide it flat end first down the rods. The problem is getting it down to
the
flate plate, though a torrent of water might push it along. Once at the
flate plate
( which you push against the far wall of the main branch whilst doing
his )
you are then free to pull the assembly back. The cone should allow the flate
plate to ride up over the lip of the domestic/main sewer intersection.

Just a crackpot idea if you get desperate, cheers,

Andy.


Nice idea, I would suggest two cones end to end though, about 2/3 the
diameter of the plunger.
Mark K.

On Mon, 4 Apr 2005 16:43:28 +0100, Rob Morley wrote:

It doesn't need to be a cone - just a cylinder long enough not to
fall into the pipe that the plunger is stuck in.

True but how long is that? And it's only a guess that the plunger has
entered another pipe and not just gone past a badly aligned join.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In article om,
"Dave Liquorice" says...
On Mon, 4 Apr 2005 16:43:28 +0100, Rob Morley wrote:

It doesn't need to be a cone - just a cylinder long enough not to
fall into the pipe that the plunger is stuck in.

True but how long is that?

If he pulls the plunger back as far as it will go then stops it
moving forward again, then not very long at all - but it would
probably need to be a bit longer to discourage it from twisting
sideways and jamming, as the rod pushing it would be substantially
off-centre. The longest it would need to be is the amount that the
stuck rods can be moved backwards and forwards, plus a bit.

And it's only a guess that the plunger has
entered another pipe and not just gone past a badly aligned join.

Same difference really - the plunger needs to be aligned centrally in
the pipe, the cylinder will do that.

In message , andrewpreece
writes
Aside from brute force and the rotate-and-pull method, I was wondering what
else might work. I reckon if you're really stuck ( ha-ha! ) as a last resort
you
could manufacture a hollow cone out of something suitable ( wood, foam ? ),
and slide it flat end first down the rods. The problem is getting it down to
the
flate plate, though a torrent of water might push it along. Once at the
flate plate
( which you push against the far wall of the main branch whilst doing
his )
you are then free to pull the assembly back. The cone should allow the flate
plate to ride up over the lip of the domestic/main sewer intersection.

Just a crackpot idea if you get desperate, cheers,

Another crackpot idea has just sprung to mind here . . how about an
inflated swimmer's arm band? Slip it over the rod and it should wash
down fairly easily with a bucket or two of water, if it does endup going
past the end of the narrow pipe it should be reasonably easy to pull
back in or even burst.

--
bof at bof dot me dot uk

"Jeff" wrote in message
.. .

"velodocuk" wrote in message
om...
I've got a sewage pipe blockage - opening a manhole cover in the
back
garden showed a 50cm depth of sewage water. The drain direction
heads
out under the pavement to the middle of the road -so I borrowed a
friend's drain rods. They went through no problem until they met
an
obstruction which felt solid - somewhere under the middle of the
road.
I asume this is some sort of junction in the sewage pipes.

So I thought I'd stick the (100mm) plunger on and see if I got set
up
a water wave to dislodge any obstruction. The plunger went in no
bother (to about 6 rod lengths), but when it hit the solid wall I
found I couldn't retract it more than about 10-15cm.

I assume here that the edge of the rubber plunger had gone over a
lip
in the piping but no amount of pulling on the rods will get them
to
back out - there is only 10-15cm of to and fro movement.

Anyone have any ideas? I'll probably have to see if the water
company
will sort out the blockage which seems to be in the public drain
but
what I'm worried about is getting my stuck plunger and rods out.
Brute
force? Possibly but I've given it all I can.

(The spectre of franchised drain companies and their legendary
bills
looms large....)

Cheers, Paul

The local council would be first port of call, they charge a fixed
fee about
£35 iirc and have camera gear

Regards Jeff



Don't just pull, rotate it as you pull. Any bend in the end rod will
tend to lift it over the lip. Make sure to rotate in the direction
that TIGHTENS the couplers though !

AWEM

Update....

The drains department of the Council were incredibly helpful. They
tried to remove the rod with all sorts of manipulations - including, in
the end, the pull of an attached LandRover winch. After an almighty
pull, the drain rod sticking out broke in two - worth a try though I
thought.

In the end the CCTV crew came - he had a lot of experience of this
(apparently stuck drain rods are not rare). He decided to try one last
manipulation before putting the camera down. He put as much pull as he
could on the rods (to fix the plunger against the presumed lip in the
pipes) and then twisted them the WRONG way - anticlockwise. Lo and
behold he pulls out all the rods, minus the plunger.

He then goes to the main drain manhole and uses the CCTV camera to
nudge the plunger along slowly and carefully to the next manhole. Opens
manhole cover and retrieves plunger. I'm mighty grateful the whole
thing didn't end in an excavation of the road.

Beware the plunger on drain rods especially when the plunger disc is
new and quite stiff!

I hope that's helpful
Paul

wrote in message
oups.com...
Update....

The drains department of the Council were incredibly helpful. They
tried to remove the rod with all sorts of manipulations - including,
in
the end, the pull of an attached LandRover winch. After an almighty
pull, the drain rod sticking out broke in two - worth a try though I
thought.

In the end the CCTV crew came - he had a lot of experience of this
(apparently stuck drain rods are not rare). He decided to try one
last
manipulation before putting the camera down. He put as much pull as
he
could on the rods (to fix the plunger against the presumed lip in
the
pipes) and then twisted them the WRONG way - anticlockwise. Lo and
behold he pulls out all the rods, minus the plunger.

He then goes to the main drain manhole and uses the CCTV camera to
nudge the plunger along slowly and carefully to the next manhole.
Opens
manhole cover and retrieves plunger. I'm mighty grateful the whole
thing didn't end in an excavation of the road.

Beware the plunger on drain rods especially when the plunger disc is
new and quite stiff!

I hope that's helpful
Paul


Did they charge you ?

AWEM

Did they charge you ?

AWEM

Yes - two lots of 79.90 (same for a Sunday). I had the feeling the
price and service were better than I could have got via a private
company.

Paul

wrote in message
ups.com...
Did they charge you ?

AWEM

Yes - two lots of 79.90 (same for a Sunday). I had the feeling the
price and service were better than I could have got via a private
company.

Certainly sounds it. If £79.90 is the hourly rate most would make sure it
took 65 mins and charge twice that each time.