Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down to
the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at roof level
& become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was inside the top pipe,
bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally managed
to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the bottle with a hot
air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it started to buckle & shrink the
point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it much
:-)


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Feb 1, 8:40 pm, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down to
the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at roof level
& become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was inside the top pipe,
bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally managed
to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the bottle with a hot
air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it started to buckle & shrink the
point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it much
:-)

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

did you need the string round the neck in the end?

JimK

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:40:55 GMT
"The Medway Handyman" wrote:

Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down to
the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at roof level
& become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was inside the top pipe,
bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally managed
to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the bottle with a hot
air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it started to buckle & shrink the
point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it much
:-)



This why we need manned space-flight. Show me a robot that would think
of that.

R.

In message , TheOldFellow
writes
On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:40:55 GMT
"The Medway Handyman" wrote:

Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down to
the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at roof level
& become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was inside the top pipe,
bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally managed
to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the bottle with a hot
air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it started to buckle & shrink the
point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it much
:-)



This why we need manned space-flight. Show me a robot that would think
of that.

Talking of manned space flight, how about a gas and air mix beneath the
bottle, ignite it and blow the bottle out of the top of the pipe?
Assuming it was open at the top.



R.


--
Bill

In message , The Medway
Handyman writes
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down to
the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at roof level
& become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was inside the top pipe,
bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally managed
to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the bottle with a hot
air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it started to buckle & shrink the
point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it much

How else can you fit plastic hose to a spigot, bend plastic conduit, dry
out abrasive paper, speed up glue setting and even strip tiny areas of
paint?

regards

--
Tim Lamb

Tim Lamb
wibbled on Monday 01 February 2010 22:17

In message , The Medway
Handyman writes
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down to
the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at roof
level
& become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was inside the top pipe,
bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally
managed to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the bottle
with a hot
air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it started to buckle & shrink
the point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it much

How else can you fit plastic hose to a spigot,


bend plastic conduit,

I use a pipe spring, cold.

Agree on all the others though ;-

dry
out abrasive paper, speed up glue setting and even strip tiny areas of
paint?

regards


--
Tim Watts

Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.

Tim Lamb wrote in
:

In message , The
Medway Handyman writes
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down
to the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at roof
level & become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was inside the
top pipe, bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally
managed to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the bottle
with a hot air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it started to
buckle & shrink the point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it
much

How else can you fit plastic hose to a spigot, bend plastic conduit,
dry out abrasive paper, speed up glue setting and even strip tiny
areas of paint?


With a blowlamp of course.Plus boil up water for tea

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

The Medway Handyman :
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down to
the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at roof level
& become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was inside the top pipe,
bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally managed
to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the bottle with a hot
air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it started to buckle & shrink the
point where I could pull it out.

Lost your angle grinder?

--
Mike Barnes

Mike Barnes wrote:
The Medway Handyman :
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron
pipe coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter
pipe down to the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at
roof level & become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was
inside the top pipe, bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower
pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally
managed to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the
bottle with a hot air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it
started to buckle & shrink the point where I could pull it out.

Lost your angle grinder?

That was on the list of possibilities :-) I did consider cutting a bit off
the upper pipe so I could free the neck of the bottle. Typically the
blocked gully was right above the hotel main entrance, so it had to be
sorted.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

JimK wrote:
On Feb 1, 8:40 pm, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron
pipe coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter
pipe down to the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at
roof level & become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was
inside the top pipe, bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower
pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally
managed to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the
bottle with a hot air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it
started to buckle & shrink the point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use
it much :-)

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

did you need the string round the neck in the end?

Yer. Once shrunk it could have fallen down the lower pipe which went
straight underground. Plus it was surprisingly hot when it came out.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Feb 2, 8:37 am, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
JimK wrote:
On Feb 1, 8:40 pm, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron
pipe coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter
pipe down to the ground.

Piggin plastic drinks bottle had somehow entered the top pipe at
roof level & become jammed in the hopper. Top of the bottle was
inside the top pipe, bottom wouldn't go any further into the lower
pipe.

Spent half an hour prodding, hacking, pulling to no avail. Finally
managed to get a piece of string around the neck & attacked the
bottle with a hot air paint stripper gun. After a few mins it
started to buckle & shrink the point where I could pull it out.

I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use
it much :-)

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

did you need the string round the neck in the end?

Yer. Once shrunk it could have fallen down the lower pipe which went
straight underground. Plus it was surprisingly hot when it came out.

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

ahhh :)

In article ,
Tim Lamb wrote:
I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it
much

How else can you fit plastic hose to a spigot, bend plastic conduit, dry
out abrasive paper, speed up glue setting and even strip tiny areas of
paint?

Don't forget heat shrink insulation. I'd say that essential when doing
electrical repairs.

--
*If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 1 Feb, 20:40, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. *Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe down to
the ground.

If the cap had been on the bottle, it would have expanded and wedged
itself into the pipe.

Someone will shortly try your technique with a plastic drain pipe.

Onetap wrote:
On 1 Feb, 20:40, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
Asked to sort out a blocked downpipe on a hotel today. Cast iron pipe
coming down from roof into a hopper, then a smaller diameter pipe
down to the ground.

If the cap had been on the bottle, it would have expanded and wedged
itself into the pipe.

The cap was on, but I stabbed the bottle several times trying to get it out.

Someone will shortly try your technique with a plastic drain pipe.

:-)


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
Tim Lamb wrote:
I was going to leave the hot air gun off the van since I don't use it
much

How else can you fit plastic hose to a spigot, bend plastic conduit, dry
out abrasive paper, speed up glue setting and even strip tiny areas of
paint?

Don't forget heat shrink insulation. I'd say that essential when doing
electrical repairs.

Of course:-)

regards


--
Tim Lamb