soil pipe, advice needed , not for the squeemish.

[arther dailey]

its like the sespit tanker driver said to me as I handled the pipe through the hedge ...ye you should have gloves on, he was telling me the neighbhour had asked him not to lay the pipe accross their lawn, oh no he replied we have sky hooks for that, ten minutes later she walked out complaining as she had geusts for lunch , he being down to earth just said , sorry love its not my s...t that stinks. Now if you visulise mrs bouquet this particular one was the actual person they based the series on , well seems pretty certain to me anyways..

 

[gaz1]

they was expensive when i first started so it was kinda better for black bin liners and tape as the cheaper option

 

[gaz1]

think yourself lucky that video cameras was so expensive then as seeing that sort of video would have been fun

and i would have posted it up or used it as a training video as its one of those things you dont forget about

nowadays i would have set the phone video up at the house and just got on with the job the second phone camera would have shown the height that crap water reaches never mind seeing the faces turn white

 

[arther dailey]

it reads as you dont have enough fall into the cesspit by the length for the water to carry the solids down to the cesspit

id advise having a flush clear out every 2 weeks or once a month instead of flush every time you use the toilet as you can use water presure and suction on the pipes to help shift anything in the pipes that may have got stuck or dried up

just block up one end fill up with water to the pipe tops and just let go on the end again will be enough once a month to help clean and clear your pipes

its a once a month job but it would save you loads of time like you have just had to deal with

I was mulling this over while trying to go to sleep, years back we had no problems , so whats changed, either damage along the pipe and then I realised when changing the bowl a few years back I also changed the cistern , could it be that being a slimline that obviously it doesnt hold so much water and so it doesnt float the boat(so to speak) so far down the river ? and hence slowly you get a gradual build up?

 

[Gritineye]

I was mulling this over while trying to go to sleep, years back we had no problems , so whats changed, either damage along the pipe and then I realised when changing the bowl a few years back I also changed the cistern , could it be that being a slimline that obviously it doesnt hold so much water and so it doesnt float the boat(so to speak) so far down the river ? and hence slowly you get a gradual build up?

I had this when I put a dual flush cistern in years ago, not enough flow, kept getting block ups. Changed syphon to cure that.

I also have a loo in the shed, absolutely minimal fall to the manhole, doesn't get much use so fitted a large single flush cistern, never had a problem there since.

 

[julianf]

My old man, at one point, used to design drains for council builds.

I don't know much but I remember him saying something about calculating minimum fall based on what was up stream -

If, for example, you had a bathroom on the line, with a bath, you could have less fall than if it were just a toilet. The thought being that dumping a load of bathwater down periodically would clear any lingering solids, whilst just a wc would be more problematic.

There were calculations for numbers of flats / residents etc.etc.

I'm certain it's all changed now (he is 86 now and this would have been his first job back in his 20s and 30s!) but I recall @arther dailey saying that the drain only serviced a wc.

Putting the two together, quite possibly, as you say, just additional flushes will avoid issues in the future. Certainly worth trying.

 

[arther dailey]

I had this when I put a dual flush cistern in years ago, not enough flow, kept getting block ups. Changed syphon to cure that.

I also have a loo in the shed, absolutely minimal fall to the manhole, doesn't get much use so fitted a large single flush cistern, never had a problem there since.

thankyou,appreciate the reply/info

 

[knighty]

(he is 86 now and this would have been his first job back in his 20s and 30s!)

he was born in 37?

 

[julianf]

he was born in 37?

36, why?

(He is still alive - every time I see him I suspect it will be the last as he has aged a lot recently - still, I think he is in Norway at present - my mum said he can be ill at home, and they had paid, so so they may as well go...)

 

[knighty]

36, why?

(He is still alive - every time I see him I suspect it will be the last as he has aged a lot recently - still, I think he is in Norway at present - my mum said he can be ill at home, and they had paid, so so they may as well go...)

ah crap, you meant when he was in his 20's and 30'a, not back in 1920/1930!

sorry about that

you're right, might as well go!

my dad was given days or at most weeks to live.... 8 months ago :-(

 

[dave h 2]

Just seen you've had success so I'm late to the party (again ). I was going to suggest getting to know your local agri vet as they have long sleeved gloves for..... internal bovine inspections . Single use only obviously, but you might have been able to blag a few pairs.

Anyway, happy future flushing.

Heavy duty looooong gloves are sold as Pond Gloves.

Back to blockages, if someone is flushing paper tissues they don't dissolve like loo roll, that was what blocked our sewer.

 

[Cobbler]

Heavy duty looooong gloves are sold as Pond Gloves.

Back to blockages, if someone is flushing paper tissues they don't dissolve like loo roll, that was what blocked our sewer.

Someone I worked with cut rolls of blue towel in half & used it for toilet roll, it blocked the sewer solid in double quick time.

 

[arther dailey]

Someone I worked with cut rolls of blue towel in half & used it for toilet roll, it blocked the sewer solid in double quick time.

when i said tissue I did mean proper toilet tissue from the roll, did have a problem previously where some one had cleaned the sink and chucked the sheet of "plenty" down the loo,that blocked the pipe pronto, that stuff doesnt deteriorate at all it seems.

 

[dave h 2]

Makes you wonder how the drains managed with those shiny hard Izal bog rolls from the 50's. You could use the stuff for tracing paper.

 

[julianf]

Makes you wonder how the drains managed with those shiny hard Izal bog rolls from the 50's. You could use the stuff for tracing paper.

I always assumed it was, pretty much, just for show, given that it would be entirely useless for it's stated purpose.

Ie someone servicing the toilet would only ever need to supply one pack, no one would use it, and the toilet would never need re-supply.

I'm sure I saw a pack, back in the day, that had been fitted in a damp outdoor toilet. The pack itself (the outer card pack) had gotten damp and started to come undone, but the paper inside was 'good' as new...

Edit - I'm thinking the stuff that came in a flat square dispensing pack, rather than "rolls"

 

[8ob]

previously when water level got that high pure weight would flush the pipe,now its not coming out second manhole although the rods do. Seems like where its blocked solids have turned to slurry and caused some sort of suction jam .

If its not getting away as in flowing properly solids/paper will sink to the bottom of the pipe and settle causing a blockage. Its the backing up situation that needs addressing, just clearing it each time it blocks is not really achieving anything. I would be guessing but I think the filter beds for the run off are probably blocked, takes a very long time to fill a septic tank with enough solids to cause a blockage.

Bob

 

[arther dailey]

If its not getting away as in flowing properly solids/paper will sink to the bottom of the pipe and settle causing a blockage. Its the backing up situation that needs addressing, just clearing it each time it blocks is not really achieving anything. I would be guessing but I think the filter beds for the run off are probably blocked, takes a very long time to fill a septic tank with enough solids to cause a blockage.

Bob

its just the pipe running to tank that blocks , tank is still below pipe height

 

[gaz1]

with old septic tanks and old system pipes its down to changes

the old toilet close to the septic tank ( the old outside toilet at bottom of the garden )
new toilet pans and top boxes that dont use the bomb ( higher flow of water, uses less water when flushing toilet )

extending the range of sewer pipe to the house ( sinks and bath, now inside toilet fitted )

 

[8ob]

its just the pipe running to tank that blocks , tank is still below pipe height

If that’s the case it’s time to get it flushed out and a camera shoved down it, its not expensive and will take the guessing out of the game.

Bob

 

[arther dailey]

with old septic tanks and old system pipes its down to changes

the old toilet close to the septic tank ( the old outside toilet at bottom of the garden )
new toilet pans and top boxes that dont use the bomb ( higher flow of water, uses less water when flushing toilet )

extending the range of sewer pipe to the house ( sinks and bath, now inside toilet fitted )

its all original position and no changes from when it was built in about 1950, nothings changed excepting the original clay pipes from bowl to first man hole were renewed with plastic one piece a few years back .that wasnt a bad job , but doing under foundations for garage would be a differant matter...but it seems stiff brush scrubbed through that distance so its under the shed if anywhere is causing problems , checked today, still flowing perfect . it may well be due to mass of toilet paper put down , not through ignorance but a medical problem , so I will put stiff brush all the way through and monitor, if brush clears all the way through that is !