Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Angus on November 19, 2007, 05:53:46 PM
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Hello you all.
Now, I have a problem. Plumbing problem. Blocked pipe, - it runs from the Kitchen, so it probably is stuffed with bread-dough flushout and fat.
So, I have pursued the problem with the skill of a hunter, and isolated it into a pipe of only some 8 feet, - but through a lock and under the floor.
The water seeps, so I go and think chemical. However, on the receiving end, there is a septic tank, who's digestion right now is up to the standard of a good ruminant.
So, - do I use some crazy sodium remedy, milder sodium (fat soaking things from the milk industry, - nochloride etc), or just the acid (Saltpeter Acid) from the Dairy shop as well.
I want to dissolve the fat from the pipe without killing the flora in the septic tank, - if possible.
So....suggestions?
A doze of acid, - then a ton of hot water, them sodium + water?
Or just some wire?
All help wholeheartedly welcome....
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Try and snake it out first then....I guess use one of the mystery solutions. I'm no plumber though, ask Filthy.
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global warming is a scam. Ask Lazs
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(http://tinyurl.com/2cernn)
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You need eskimo.
He's good at blowing stuff up, and I bet he could get that pipe clear!
RTR
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I retract my answer and change it to RTR's suggestion.
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Day dawns. It is 9:26 in the morning, but so far up north, it still dark.
I eagerly await for the dawn to fight the problem.
There will be no surrender, and if necessary, chemical attacks will be applied.
Luckily for me, global warming is at full work, so I have some 10 centigrades plus today, instead of minus. So, I don't need gloves, which is good, since I don't have any. Well, there's hardly a winter any more :D
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Easy for you to say, you're so far south! :p
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Just use a sewer tape or snake, then hot water.
With a septic tank the worse thing you can do is use a harsh chemical.
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Originally posted by Viking
Easy for you to say, you're so far south! :p
Hehe, Noršlendingur.
And Jacka1, TY. Hence the speculation of first using acid, then sodium, or vice versa.
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yes.. man made global warming is a scam.
angus.. is there a "cleanout" in the line? it will be a "y" in the pipe with a pipe plug in one leg.. normally 4".
The idea being that you pull/unscrew that plug and run a snake or flush from there. Normally, the kitchen wall has the cleanout.. kitchens are prime suspects for grease plugs. If not... you will have to take some undersink plumbing apart.. you want to get past the "P" trap before you snake it.
an option...you can try water pressure. there are tools but you can run a hose through the window and seal around it with rags in the sink and turn on the water.. the tool is a rubber bladder thingie that expands to fill the drain while letting water into the pipe.
once unplugged (if it wasn't roots that caused the problem or a broken pipe) then you need to once in a while.. run some enzyme product down the line once in a while to eat up the grease.. shouldn't harm the septic..
atco international makes several products. we use "zyme" in commercial lines.
lazs
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Originally posted by mietla
global warming is a scam. Ask Lazs
...and science is rubbish - ask jackal.
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If its a kitchen sink, and any fat is dumped in it, chances are the pipe 5ft from the sink is clogged for quite a few feet. Snakes, unless you use a grease cone dont work well on grease. The cable goes through and then the grease closes back around the hole again.
If you can get to the pipe, the best thing is to cut it out, take it out and push the grease out of it completely into a bucket. Use a stick or something. Then buy two no-hub couplings and put it back in place. Make sure both upstream and downstream lines are clear before re-assembling.
If you cant get at it. Do as suggested. Work the heck out of a snake, and use hot water. Eventually she'll go. Also most people who have garbage disposal dont use enough hot water to chase it down with. In my opinion the disposal is the nastiest thing you can have in a house short of a urinal :)
Good luck
PS dont use chemicals. Ive seen traps melt right onto the floor then its a heck of a mess to clean up. Besides it does nothing to the grease.
This might help:
(http://FilthsHangar.homestead.com/kitchen1a.jpg)
(http://FilthsHangar.homestead.com/kitchen2.jpg)
(http://FilthsHangar.homestead.com/kitchen3.jpg)
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Originally posted by Louis XVII
...and science is rubbish - ask jackal.
When you are payed to say it, yes it is. It is then the science of the scam.
It doesn`t take a scientist or brain surgeon to clear a clogged line though.
Thank God. Plumbers would then be wearing lab coats. :rofl
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Threadjack
I've heard flushing rock salt down your toilet every so often will keep the roots out. Any truth to this rumor?
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FiLtH: I have insulated the problem to 2 - 4 locations now. There is more than 1, for sure.
The outlet is combined, Kitchen sink and dishwasher go together, down to the basement, where the washing machine hooks in, then the whole deal goes through a drain in the downstairs washing room floor. Then onwards to a connection well, (crossroads) where it carries on to the Septic tank. (3.600 litres, working fine now, and both emptied and "hotted up" some month ago)
So, I do indeed get some water through, just slowly. When both washing machine AND dishwasher are at work, they occationally pump at the same time, and then water will come out of the downstairs drain.
I have it sealed with a no-return valve, who (by stupid design I guess) is just plugged in. So, the Valve is prone to "pop" up!
That points to the exit. All under concrete of course, and tough to access.
On top of that, the upstairs kitchen sing is constantly slow, but yet the outlet is fast enough to eventually flood the downstairs drain.
So, looks to me like at least 2 stoppages, one being between floors (haha, inside a wall), and the second under the base. Down there I have already threaded a hose, and it went all the way to a certain junction. Pretty sure I can apply water there for some flushing out.
Was thinking of using "Saltpeter acid" from upstairs, or Milk-industry sodium (aimed at dissolving fat), if one goes after the other with a good buffer of hot water between, I was thinking that the septic flora could take it, since the pH will level out.
(No worry, no chloride in the sodium)
Anyway, some other ideas?
(Apart from me stuffing the designer down that drain, - I'm no plumber, but I remember asking him if he thought this would not give trouble and he said No, - trust me)
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BTW, just looked again at the whole setup.
This system, from Sink to exit has no air-intake. However we do have such in our other system. Could that be the root of the problem?
The pipe is also quite narrow, either 40 or 50 mm down to the downstairs drain, from there probably 4 inches.
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I was just gonna ask you if the system was vented when I read your last post. Im not sure how they plumb in Iceland but I think the physics are the same the world over :)
Do you hear glugging noises when draining? Without seeing exactly what you have its hard to say. Sounds like you have a backwater involved that acts like a check valve to prevent water from backing up into your basement. Those can get fouled up and you can open them up to clear them. Before I went too far though, you may want to call a plumber...one you CAN trust :)
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LOL. The "plumbing" is okay, but I was sceptic about the design, since I once lived with a similar system, which would fail all the time.
Sink+Grandmother+rest of oatmeal porridge = flood downstairs :D
Upstairs in Guggles all the time when the dishwasher starts pumping.
Oh, and no plumber for miles and miles....Plumber shortage in the country I guess...
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They make septic friendly pipe cleaners....but usually, the amount of draino you'd use can't wipe out your septic system's ability to digest the solids unless you go crazy.
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Baking soda is the best source of alkalinity you can use (economically) for your septic system.
Of course, if the microorganisms in your septic tank are of the biggest concern, definately try to use some sort of mechanical means in which to clean the pipes.
Of course, if you do go the acid route, and use baking soda afterwards to neutralise the acids, it wouldn't be the worst thing. Bacteria reproduce exponentially.
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I emptied the septic tank in September. 3.600 litres. Had some tennants in the downstair's place. They must have been hygienically mad, for they had it blocked in less then a week.
2 people! I had started the tank with a special "juice", and made it full of water. When I got around to the problem, the tank was "dead", - just full of toilet papers. A chamber of some 1000 litres!
So I emptied, and restarted. This time using rotten meat, horsedung, stinky fish, as well as the "juice" which also includes enzymes.:t
Hence my concern. With some 13 people in the house, the tank works like a dream. Would hate to kill those evil bacteria I have so successfully spawned.
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M-80's, 3 or 4 should do. Light, drop in toilet, flush. Worked great in high school. Of course us ex USAF munitions specialists just like to make things go "BOOOM!".
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Angus.. always be careful with chemicals in any piping that goes to your septic tank. You don't want to zap the bacteria in the system, and most chemicals will do that by messing with the pH in the tank. I would recommend trying physical means first. Limited use of acids after that, followed by bases...but use very sparing.
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The bacteria needed for a septic tank are present in human waste. Alkalinity is vitally important. See, one group of bacteria first breaks the waste down into organic acids. Then a second group of bacteria break the organic acids down into gasses (co2, methane). However, this second group of bacteria needs a neutral pH. This is why a buffer like baking soda is so important.
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angus, i have a septic system and i just use regular drain cleaner, if you have doubts as what to use call the guy that pumped out your tank and ask him , he should know what to use.
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Will be starting again soon, need daylight.
Piping is completely blocked between floors. I have disconnected the kitchen sink, and will begin with compressed air from below.
Might get messy, but that means success :D
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Angus dont do that bud!! Sewer in aerosol form aint good! If you have a toilet upstairs pull it off the floor and snake from that. Make a quick sketch of your house and where the fixtures are, and mark what is not draining. Post it here.
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Hehe, no toilets on thet route. Just sink - pipe- washing mashine inlet - drainage with a spring mechanism (keeps closed, except when letting in water, - so it's not really a "waterlock"), and then the tube out.
Anyway, the spring mechanism went for a flight when I tried this :D
Since water slowly seeps through the mess, I am going to try an enzym/bacteria juice, meant for organic blockages. I already called the expert though, but he didn't make it today.
BTW, a guy I know flushed this test by using a big compressor on the wrong side. Yeaccch!!!! Crap-explosion.