Overflowing! advice needed

[The Artilleryman]

Most builders merchants stock them, basiclly 2 dished plates either side of a very large O ring, bolt with wing nut to tighten it expanding the O ring to seal the pipe. Work really well, but a pain if you're trying to fit one 3 foot down in an round access chamber - man hole to you.
Idea is to stop anything entering the 4" pipe you are working on, removing is more fun, cord around the end and gently tap the shaft so it tips and pull cord, trying to undo it usually gets you covered in crap.

 

[gaz1]

one of those above with a bust grinder allows you to unscrew the end as long as you drill through the grinder wheel it will tighten and slacken

its a 2 bar item that can be extended saves going down the drain to unscrew and getting wet through

 

[8ob]

If you need to fill a sewer pipe and make a hasty retreat when you let it go the test air bags are by far the best gadget. Poke it up the pipe with a stick and inflate with a stirrup pump. You dont need to go anywhere near it when you let the air go.

Bob

 

[Pete.]

You don't want to use those expanding bungs if you're going to put lye behind them. They are near to impossible to release without getting jetted by what's behind in the process.

 

[johnik]

i had a similar problem, used loads of different chemicals , hot water etc, nothing helped, in the end i called the water company, they arrived within the hour, traced the blockage and cleared it in 5 mins, when i asked what the damage was he said "you havnt called us before, no charge", i slipped him a £20, it had cost me more than that in chemicals !...worth a try ringing them.

 

[Melvyn Best]

How about not tipping fat,oils and grease down the drains to begin with

Bob

I’ve been saying for years it would be a good idea for water company’s to supply containers for waste oil and fat that could be collected at the same time as household recycling , it could then be recycled ,which I believe is what happens to fatbergs. Surely cheaper than clearing fatbergs from sewers?

 

[jimbo84]

I’ve been saying for years it would be a good idea for water company’s to supply containers for waste oil and fat that could be collected at the same time as household recycling , it could then be recycled ,which I believe is what happens to fatbergs. Surely cheaper than clearing fatbergs from sewers?

Heard something on the news only this morning about them trying to ban plastic in wet wipes due to 85000 call outs to fat and wet wipe blockages, must be some bill to clear that lot.

 

[mtt.tr]

Yeah I'd just pay for this.

 

[Kram]

I’ve been saying for years it would be a good idea for water company’s to supply containers for waste oil and fat that could be collected at the same time as household recycling , it could then be recycled ,which I believe is what happens to fatbergs. Surely cheaper than clearing fatbergs from sewers?

What do you wash with? Soap is made of fat and oils combined with salt. Used soap will form sediment and eventually become fatbergs.

I will get landlord to phone up and get the sewerage out to sort the access hole.

I think Im going to bodge a ball onto a stick if I try anything. Im not climbing down the hole! Or getting my self sprayed in poo!

Strange thing it is intermittent. We tested it earlier, flushed both loos and run the taps and it appeared to be ok.
Few hours later flushing the downstairs and washing my hands was enough to make it rise. When it had risen, the access hole had just a trickle running through it.
Now it seems ok again with both flushing.
I put 1kg of lye mixed in solution down it. Another 1kg tomorrow, and I'll need to buy some more.

Both loos are right next to the vertical pipe, I guess it goes a foot under ground and then just 3 meters out to the access hole. No idea if its a straight pipe or if these things have U bends (after the loo u bend).

 

[gaz1]

no u trap straight to soil pipe sewer pipe

nappys, tampons or wet wipes can all cause them

showers are the main problems not enough water to give your drains a full hard flush

 

[drjim]

My neighbour had a similar issue, United utilities came to look with the big jetting truck, he decided it was their side of the drains but as he was looking down the hole anyway with the cctv and hose in his hand, jetted it all out for free. When it happened to me a few years ago I had to pay someone to do it cos I knew it was our end and sadly couldn't say anything else (turned out to be cement/tile adhesive/concrete/plaster from previous builders and a root!) so try the utility provider first and they may just sort it anyway.

 

[brightspark]

just rod the drains 1st using a screw on the end then the rubber plunger

 

[Melvyn Best]

What do you wash with? Soap is made of fat and oils combined with salt. Used soap will form sediment and eventually become fatbergs.

The amount of fat in a bar of soap would probably amount to less than 1% of a fatbergs, it’s all of the cooking fat/ wet wipes / nappies / sanitary towels etc that shouldn’t be put down a drain . Fatbergs can and are recycled , collection from households would reduce them causing blockages

 

[Munkul]

who really uses that much cooking fat that it needs to be recycled? Do people still use loads of oil for deep fat frying stuff? I don't know anyone who has a deep fat fryer any more.

(or worse, that lethal big pot full of oil that they use on a gas hob... absolutely mental... my ex gf's family had one years back... I still shudder to think of the fire hazard)

 

[gaz1]

the saniflows are interesting if they ever block and they do

 

[pcwizme]

who really uses that much cooking fat that it needs to be recycled? Do people still use loads of oil for deep fat frying stuff? I don't know anyone who has a deep fat fryer any more.

(or worse, that lethal big pot full of oil that they use on a gas hob... absolutely mental... my ex gf's family had one years back... I still shudder to think of the fire hazard)

I use a deep fat fryer, and my mum still uses a pot of oil on the hob, absolutely fine as long as your sensible and dont leave it unattended. Only near fires in the house have been from the grill cooking bacon and melting sugar and saltpetre to make smokje bombs

 

[brightspark]

I use a deep fat fryer, and my mum still uses a pot of oil on the hob, absolutely fine as long as your sensible and dont leave it unattended. Only near fires in the house have been from the grill cooking bacon and melting sugar and saltpetre to make smokje bombs

get some ping pong balls and crush in to little pieces them wrap them up in tinfoil . heat it up with a lighter and they make massive smoke bombs

 

[johnik]

get some ping pong balls and crush in to little pieces them wrap them up in tinfoil . heat it up with a lighter and they make massive smoke bombs

used to do that at a yoof club i attended when i were a lad not much fun if you were the kids locked in the room

 

[pcwizme]

get some ping pong balls and crush in to little pieces them wrap them up in tinfoil . heat it up with a lighter and they make massive smoke

This was to be used outside to make an effect for a magic fight (long story short I was a tech for a larping group.... and a pyromaniac) I also had small tubes loaded with flash wool and other stuff to make a nice bright flash in the dark attached to clothing I was wearing..... I don't know why, the things we do when we are young (but probably older than I should have been!)

 

[Farside]

the saniflows are interesting if they ever block and they do

Warning: people of a sensitive disposition might care to venture no further.

Angus asked:

My recently installed Saniflo does not behave as described in the user manual. On flushing the WC it's supposed to run continuously for about 15 seconds, mine pulses on-off 3 or 4 times for about 2-3 seconds duration. Any ideas?

Peter replied:

Sell the house, failing that give it away, if that doesn't work pay someone to take it or burn it down. To give you a clue - these ghastly instruments of the Devil are French. Add the French and lavatorial engineering - now see why I say get out while you can. Moreover this particular Frenchman was a lunatic with strong Anglophobic tendencies and a bad case of corrodible.

I am quite sure the designer was also an ex-submariner Frenchman who missed the strangled screams of seamen who had got the valve sequence wrong in the submarines toilet and just been rinsed down with a few gallons of seawater (and the recently donated contents of the bowl).

They break down at the slightest opportunity. The only thing you can actually guarantee about them is that they will break down - very frequently. Basically the only way of maintaining the slightest semblance of serviceability is to impose on pain of repair the same rules as for a small yachts sea toilet - if it hasn't passed through you it doesn't go in the bowl.

They have an interesting design. The motor has poor starting torque and the macerator lots of tiny teeth. Ergo anything that has strands in it catches on the teeth and stops the motor from starting. Things with strands include anything with cotton wool (including cotton wool buds) and anything with cloth. Females in particular must not be allowed anywhere near these devices. If you were unfortunate enough to have the added misery of a sink (oh dear - you were warned) then add hair, strands from woolly pullovers and almost anything else that's at all fibrous.

When they break (which they will - that's an absolute certainty) their endearing characteristic is that you are left with a bowl full of whatever which you have to empty back the way it came and more importantly many feet of 40mm pipe still full of minced whatever. When you disconnect the pipe I'll give you one guess where its going to go. Repairing or unblocking them is the most thoroughly revolting job.

Now to get to specifics - the pulsing is a fault in either installation or the pressure switch. Does it pulse with just the cold water tap running from the sink? The way they work is a low pressure trip switch switches on the motor when the small holding tank is full. This tank remains partially full all the time. If its pulsing either the switch has too low a hysteresis or water isn't getting into it fast enough. The motor should remain on for a few seconds after everything has emptied so that pulsing you are seeing shouldn't be happening.

As the failure rate of these diabolical things is worse than that of a F104 Starfighter I'd suggest you get the installer back (preferably to remove it forever). If it was installed by yourself then self flagellation with a few lengths of barbed wire and a call to the Saniflo people might be in order.

Angus asked:

Also, my system is a Sanitop with the outflow from a washbasin going into the top of the unit. I find that running the tap for a few seconds activates the Saniflo. Is there any way of adjusting the sensitivity of it so that it will only run when a reasonable amount of water has gone into the unit?

To which Peter replied:

No, but if it's oversensitive this might be related to the pulsing you are seeing.

Angus:

I don't see why the washbasin water cant just bypass the cutter/pump internally.

Peter:

Because these horrors are designed to be installed pumping upwards - the raving idiot who designed them thought it would be pretty neat to have something you could stick in a downstairs cloakroom and run the pipe upwards to join the soil stack in the bathroom. If that's how your installation goes cut out the selling the house bit - just burn it now. When it fails there is 10ft of pressurised whatsit just waiting for that final turn on the drainpipe.

The other reason the sink must go through the pump is that the outlet of the thing is at some pressure. Connect the sink a bit downstream and every time you pull the chain the contents of the loo make a pretty little fountain out of the sink plughole (I've seen one plumbed like that - the owner kept a sandbag in the sink on top of the plug).

Some models have an interesting feature - on the top is a reset switch, under the top cover is a screwdriver slot on the top of the motor drive shaft to allow you to clear the (frequent) blockages. However to get the top cover open to get at the drive shaft to free it - you've guessed - you have to disconnect the drain pipe.

How they can be called Saniflow when they are anything but sanitary (as you will soon find out) and rarely flow is beyond me.

As I said - sell the house.

Peter Parry.