A plumbing question

[JB4310]

Well, I my toilet still gurgles. I poured three five gallon buckets of water down the toilet, no back up at all. Took the hose up on the roof today and ran it into the air vent for about a half hour with no back ups. Looked in the cleanout as the water was running. No backups from septic tank. I'm about out of ideas.

One possible cause,
If the toilet is not dumping (no pun) into the main sewer stack close by, then there may be a tee in the main vent for that toilet, in which case there would be a horizontal run of the waste line as well as the vent from that toilet, which could have some blockage in it. (Possibly no seperate vent with the horizontal run) when you were pouring water down the main vent on the roof it was just going past the tee down the main sewer.

JB.

 

[Pirate]

Thanks. I'm not sure how the vent line runs but what you say about a Tee makes sense. I see a vent line running into the wall right behind the toilet drain but it definitely does not match where it goes vertical into the wall with where it comes out in the roof. I guess I should cut the vent line where I can see it and then snake it out . Thanks, you've given me another area to look at.

 

[JB4310]

Thanks. I'm not sure how the vent line runs but what you say about a Tee makes sense. I see a vent line running into the wall right behind the toilet drain but it definitely does not match where it goes vertical into the wall with where it comes out in the roof. I guess I should cut the vent line where I can see it and then snake it out . Thanks, you've given me another area to look at.

I should tell you I'm not a plumber, I do know a little about drainage though, but before you start cutting or tearin up stuff, maybe consult with a plumber, unless your confident you can put it back together properly.

Good Luck, JB.

 

[Pirate]

I should tell you I'm not a plumber, I do know a little about drainage though, but before you start cutting or tearin up stuff, maybe consult with a plumber, unless your confident you can put it back together properly.

Good Luck, JB.

Too late JB, sawsall already ripped all them white pipes apart. I cut the wrong pipe, sewage all over the place. Dang it, and I thought you knew what you were talking about. Now what am I going to do?

 

[JB4310]

Too late JB, sawsall already ripped all them white pipes apart. I cut the wrong pipe, sewage all over the place. Dang it, and I thought you knew what you were talking about. Now what am I going to do?

You better be Joking!

 

[kenmac]

sounds like you are on septic system. I think you need to call someone to check it. Or you can check it by diging up the main drain to the tank (close to the tank )cut a section out, flush the toilet. If it flushes ok. Buy some couplings ,put it back together & call someone to check you'er sept system

 

[Kfbeal]

Is there not a clean-out between the house and septic system? If so, you could open that clean-out and view water flow after flushing.

 

[allenr]

Don't know whether toilets work the same downunder, but I've heard that barometric pressure can cause fluctutions in the level of water in a toilet bowl. Personally I don't believe that.

Another theory which may have some merit, is that low flow toilets can sometimes leave toilet paper draped over the top of the S bend (hope that's correct description, I'm not a plumber) and then it can act as a wick.

 

[Egon]

toilets work the same downunder

I have never been able to understand how the water stays in the downunder toilet bowls when they upside down compared to ours in the northern hemisphere!

 

[Pirate]

I do have a clean out where the main line goes down below grade. I had it open when flushing. The water comes past it nice and fast. It's only about 8' to the septic tank. Nothing flowed back out when I opened the cleanout. Besides, I'm a real septic fanatic. I clean out every 2 years, used lint filters on the washers, banned the use of garbage disposal, and even have signs in guest potty reminding folks what is safe and not to flush.

 

[allenr]

I have never been able to understand how the water stays in the downunder toilet bowls when they upside down compared to ours in the northern hemisphere!

Maybe, up where you are, they don't feel the need to teach students.
Theres this thing called "Gravity".

 

[kthompson]

You better be Joking!

Do not see a reply to this. The exchange between you two was great, if he was joking. If not, a real mess.

 

[Egon]

"Gravity".

Does this have something to do with acceleration?

 

[gordyy]

pirate pull the tank cover off your stool check and make sure the bowl fill tube is hooked up

the trap in the stool is what sets the max height in the bowl when the siphon of the flush is cut by the trap level letting air in the bowl quits draining
by then the tank is shutting off the flush valve and as water fills the tank it diverts some of the water thru a small tube usually into the bowl to fill it back up
could have some crap in the divertor in the fill valve not letting water thru the tube the tube can be kinked or even off

been playing in crap most of my life LOL
as a plumber when I started 20 yrs ago they said there are only 3 rules
1 pay day is always friday
2 @#it flows down hill
3 don't chew your fingernails

 

[JB4310]

been playing in crap most of my life LOL
as a plumber when I started 20 yrs ago they said there are only 3 rules
1 pay day is always friday
2 @#it flows down hill
3 don't chew your fingernails

LOL. I always heard there were just 2 rules of Plumbing, the first what you said about gravity and the second "hot on left and cold on right" Seen that rule disregarded plenty of times, can't really get away with violating the gravity rule though

How do you feel about the term "Turd Herder" ? I always thought that was funny, but I know some plumbers could take offense.

My plumber who's also a good friend, we refer each other to our customers. He is so particular/sophisticated he puts his rubber medical type gloves on before he goes into peoples houses, we always bust his chops about that.
One day I get a call from him, he's all in a panic, he was carrying a toilet up to a second floor and some how it got away from him, tumbles down the stairs and Punch's a huge hole in the guys plaster wall, it was a new customer from a referral and the guy was sitting in the next room and saw the whole thing. Said it was the first time in 30 years that happened, I had to patch the wall up for him, never let him live that one down.

JB.

 

[kenmac]

How do you feel about the term "Turd Herder" ? I always thought that was funny, but I know some plumbers could take offense.

JB.

not me . I get paid well to herd them

 

[gordyy]

One of the owners at the shop I used to work at wanted to put on the signs

Your **** is my bread and butter


turd herder is a fitting name some days LOL

white rats and all lol

 

[Pirate]

My terlet started gurgling again. I'm really stumped now. This is a ranch home with the main drain line down the middle. This terlet is at an outer wall. Drain is connected to a sink. I can see the vent line. For some reason it has a T with a vent line back to toilet and then up into wall. I know this is not the vent out the roof for this backroom. Any ideas on why it would be plumbed like that?

 

[dooleysm]

My cousin is a general handy man and had some shirts made up with his company name and the slogan:

"Your number 2 is our number 1!"

 

[mbohuntr]

without seeing what your looking at, I think you have a "re-vent". A main drain line is pitched down, if you can visualize a section of this pipe filling so that there is a section where no air, only waste is there when you flush or drain something, you can see that it will create suction as it falls. this is likely what it causing the gurgling in the traps. Not a good thing as it may allow sewer gas and/or critters into your home. A re-vent (or several) are placed so it allows air to be drawn into the line breaking the suction. Check your local codes, they may allow mechanical re-vents which are a spring loaded ball valve that allows air into the line without it running to the roof. The danger is they may fail at some later time and allow sewer gas into the home. I think you need to either call a plumber, or pair up with a knowledgable person to teach you the basics, after that, it's pretty easy stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumbing_drainage_venting