Semi Emergency

[tstex]

The plumber came back Mon morning w a tool that attaches to the cut auger line. It's about 10-12" long w handles on both side.

He used it to first pull the line, then went CCWise to release some of the tension the line. It was in 38ft. It was beer slow going at first, (10-15 mins.), but eventually came out smoothly. There was a very lg kink at 90 degrees that was the culprit.

After it was out, he took the hot water line from under sink, shoved it down the drain pipe, and ran the hot water at full pressure for about 10 mins to flush and send any & all dislodged debris down into sewer drain. Everything works fine now.

We have 2 clean outs on the far N side of the house...this bathroom is on the far S side of the house.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Merry CHRISTmas!

 

[MossRoad]

The plumber came back Mon morning w a tool that attaches to the cut auger line. It's about 10-12" long w handles on both side.

He used it to first pull the line, then went CCWise to release some of the tension the line. It was in 38ft. It was beer slow going at first, (10-15 mins.), but eventually came out smoothly. There was a very lg kink at 90 degrees that was the culprit.

After it was out, he took the hot water line from under sink, shoved it down the drain pipe, and ran the hot water at full pressure for about 10 mins to flush and send any & all dislodged debris down into sewer drain. Everything works fine now.

We have 2 clean outs on the far N side of the house...this bathroom is on the far S side of the house.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Glad he got it out....

See post #30

Semi Emergency

All. Hired a plumber last night (Sat 830pm) to confirm/fix the issue w my sink not draining. This is also where the AC's primary drain line empties. The commercial grade snake he rented (see pic) essentially stopped wking bc the line was not coiled back in properly or badly kinked. He's going...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[tstex]

I'm sorry guys, i had this queued but forgot to send:

The plumber came back Mon morning w a tool that attaches to the cut auger line. It's about 10-12" long w handles on both side.

He used it to first pull the line, then went CCWise to release some of the tension in the line. It was in 38ft. It was very slow going at first, (10-15 mins.), but eventually came out smoothly once the big kink came out. There was a very lg kink at 90 degrees that was the culprit.

After it was out, he took the hot water line from under sink, shoved it down the drain pipe, and ran the hot water at full pressure for about 10 mins to flush and send any & all dislodged debris down into sewer drain. Everything works fine now.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Merry CHRISTmas!

 

[AnotherBueller]

Last summer our shower drain plugged up. The plumber had a battery operated air plunger. He filled the drain with water, then stuck the nozzle in the drain. Whoose the drain was clear. We have a grey water system for the shower and sink drains. They go into a basin about 100’ from the house and cottonwood trees use the water. I was standing at the pipe outlet outside when he hit the drain with the air plunger. A flood of nasty black/grey water came rushing out and the drain was clear. He made some easy money for sure. This might be worth a try

I had a union plumber use a air powered plunger on a plugged commode at work once, unfortunately for him he made at least 2 mistakes. #1 he didn't make damn sure that he had a good tight seal at the drain and #2 he didn't wear a full face shield. I'll let you guess why he needed that shield and the trip to the ER because of a hazmat exposure.
I've recommended against them ever since, and said why.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

I have had, and still have a couple of power snakes.

Doing nothing more than advancing will put tension on the cable and it will release that tension wherever it can find a spot to do so, usually inside the drum.

Hitting something the cable attachment binds up on will also cause this to happen. The better cutters (re: expensive) don't bind as they're basically a stubby cone with shallow sharp blades.

I've found that occasionally reversing the drum rotation will take the tension off and might free a stuck cutter. Usually you can advance or retract with the drum spinning in either direction. Periodically retracting also helps but may not ease the tension unless you reverse the drums rotation too.

What I've had to do with the situation shown in the photograph is pull the cable out of the drain, then pull it through the drum and if necessary completely out of the drum and recoil it. Lots of fun.

Every time I use one of these I clean the snake and then lube it up good with a light oil. Otherwise, they will rust and break off where you don't want them to.

If you live in a community where city services are willing to, I have had them come out to the house and shoot a water jet-powered snake down my main drain line outside the house. This was a last-gasp effort prior to digging out and replacing the piping. I got extremely lucky in that they got their snake stuck and were forced to dig up and replace my piping in order to get their snake back. They even put another cleanout at the far end. This probably saved me $5K 15 years ago.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

... The plumber had a battery operated air plunger. He filled the drain with water, then stuck the nozzle in the drain. ...

This works great as long as the clog isn't past the vent piping.

Otherwise, the air and whatevers in the drain shoots out onto the roof leaving the clog undistrubed.

 

[ultrarunner]

This is the hair ball 11’ in from the tub drain where the horizontal drops vertical…

The odd thing is water under pressure with a ballon would pass but gravity not… had me scratching my head so I opened it up with the battery saw.

Not how I was planning my Sunday afternoon… but got her done.