Blocked Sewer Plumber Cant fix help

**dougpurd** · 26th February 2008, 09:39 AM

We have a blocked sewer branch thankfully its a branch and our second bathroom is ok...

Its an old terrace house with granite floors and a shared sewer, the main line is next door but there is no access to our branch as our neighbouir has illegally built over the sewer and the only access point is on his branch....the illegal building is a problem for another day.

The plumber tried with manual rods and an eel and got about 5 meters in before the eel would not go any further just spin...so he says its not a collapsed pipe he suspects a vertical T and the eel wont turn the corner.

Looking at the sewer diagrams there appears to be 5 meters of pipe and then possible a vertical drop and an IO. There is only a small section of unbuilt land on my property and we have dug to below the foundation level looking for the IO but not found it (its an area 600 wide by 3m long).

I cannot put a camera down it as its solid with waste and they would not see anything.

Can eels turn this sort of corner hard T corner...its not a sweeping bend ?

I had though of blocking the pipe and pressurising it with water / air to try and clear it so we could use a camera.

Any Ideas would be apreciated.

**davo_scuba** · 26th February 2008, 11:11 AM

Not sure if this help but I did the same sort of thing to a storm water drain. I cut off the bottom of a plastic drinks bottle(same dia) and shoved it down the pipe then attached a high pressure hose attached to a scuba tank, cracked her open and watched the rubbish fly out the pipe at the bottom. being a sewer pipe 100mm dia you should be able to get enough pressure build up with a normal le cheap'o' compressor. may be stick some acid down there first to give you a helping hand. you might also need to block off all other outlets.hope this gives you some ideas.good luck Davo

**echnidna** · 26th February 2008, 11:21 AM

drop a can of caustic soda in the pipe and flush a bit of water after it, it will usually dissolve most normal blockages. Might take a day or so to work. It won't fix tree roots etc

**rsser** · 26th February 2008, 11:28 AM

You may have an old terra cotta pipe that's broken. Lot of it about with subsoils shifting in the drought.

That's what happened to mine anyway; only cure was a new pipe. You may be facing that as you can't get a rooter up to clear any tree roots etc.

An alternative to the rooter is a high pressure water hose; operates along the lines Davo mentioned.

**manoftalent** · 26th February 2008, 11:36 AM

I would try the bottle and compressor idea first..but make sure all sinks have a plug in them .....and fill the sink with water (this helps to keep the plug in)...if you get waste in one of your sinks ...this will identify the line the blockage is in .....
failing this method, then without digging up all over the place ...call in a heavy waste pipe cleaner ...they have specialised high pressure hoses that can free just about anything ......and are expencive ....last time I used one at a restaurant ...it cost $1000.....but it was cheap against digging up an entire car park to remove the stormwater pipes , and clean them ....

**rsser** · 26th February 2008, 12:02 PM

... and I had this done on a stormwater pipe with 2 elbows at the inlet; took $400 and about 2 hours.

Should've seen what came out! Pegs, dog bones, golf balls.

(The metal head has the jets pointing backwards towards the pipe so the crud comes out the end you insert the hose in.)

**wonderplumb** · 26th February 2008, 12:20 PM

Get a bloke in with a water jet, a big one.
Eels dont do half the job a jet does when its used properly.
PS eels do have trouble with tee pieces.

**dazzler** · 26th February 2008, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by rsser

You may be facing that as you can't get a rooter up to clear any tree roots etc.

Hey ern how do I identify one of these rooters

. Cheap suit, slicked back hair, slip on shoes

If you use the pressuer thingy you have gotta film it!

**dougpurd** · 26th February 2008, 05:03 PM

Thanks for all your comments, I got a bloke with a water jet, problem fixed.
He said it was a soft choke because of low water useage on that particular branch.

I now wish I had stuck the air hose on it as it would have been much cheaper.

**rsser** · 26th February 2008, 05:11 PM

Good outcome.

And we've all got 20-20 vision in hindsight ;-}

**dazzler** · 26th February 2008, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by dougpurd

I now wish I had stuck the air hose on it as it would have been much cheaper.

Or dead

Looks like a great outcome.

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Blocked Sewer Plumber Cant fix help

did the same sort of thing.

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