OT - Sewer snake

[TheOldHokie]

If it weren't for bad luck....

My house AC condensate drain is into a piece of 1-1/2" PVC pipe that comes up out of the basement slab about 12" high right next to the furnace. It's labeled "condensate drain" by the plumber that built the house so it was installed specifically for that purpose. It started backing up and overflowing a couple days ago - apparently clogged. I ran my little 25' wound wire sewer snake down it but didn't clear the stoppage. I just "escalated' to a heavier 50' flat steel snake. There is a bend in the drain line just a couple feet down. It appears to be a 90* elbow and I had to work a bit to get the heavier snake around it. The end of the bigger snake has a cast steel "spear point" on it - not the corkscrew end like the smaller snake. Ran it down as far as I could get it and now it's stuck - that point won't come back past that first bend. The point is on a swivel so twisting the snake doesn't turn the point. Anybody got any bright ideas because I'm out.....

TOH

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Well, it's too late now........but I blow mine out w/ the air hose.

That's after the light fixture in the basement fills up w/ water & drips on the floor.

 

[reomack]

Not to be a smart alec but I would suggest and hack saw and a union.

 

[jackinok]

should be a "P" trap there instead of a 90. try using a piece of flat steel ,pry bar ,something of that nature to hold the flat snake down to botom of p trap some while you work it back and forth trying to get it to make bend. a normal pvc trap will have a fairly short radiused 90 on the trap and often if you can hold it down it will bend enough to come on out.if your simply pulling up and it catches your trying to make a even shorter bend . pull up slightly on your snake then push down on it inside the trap while holding a slight upward pressure.your points got to turn down before it will make the bend if that makes any sense.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 15:48:38 08/07/12) Well, it's too late now........but I blow mine out w/ the air hose.

That's after the light fixture in the basement fills up w/ water & drips on the floor.

I considered that but you can't pressurize this line - it's connected to a vent.

TOH

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 16:02:44 08/07/12) should be a "P" trap there instead of a 90. try using a piece of flat steel ,pry bar ,something of that nature to hold the flat snake down to botom of p trap some while you work it back and forth trying to get it to make bend. a normal pvc trap will have a fairly short radiused 90 on the trap and often if you can hold it down it will bend enough to come on out.if your simply pulling up and it catches your trying to make a even shorter bend . pull up slightly on your snake then push down on it inside the trap while holding a slight upward pressure.your points got to turn down before it will make the bend if that makes any sense.

I understand why it should be a trap but it didn't feel like one when I went through it with either snake. I'll give your technique a try. At this point I'm thinking it may be easier to simply bag it - cut the end off the snake and leave it inside. Then replumb the condensate drain into one of the other larger lines nearby - there are multiple candidates....

Thanks,

TOH

 

[Jock(OR)]

If you can get access to the vent line and it is PVC pipe like the drain, consider either plugging the vent temporarily (I have used a thermos-type expanding rubber plug) or installing a ball valve. The ball valve would be practical for an annual purging the line with air or a "Drain King."

This won't help with your snake, but for future maintainance.

 

[jackinok]

IF you get the snake out,cap this line pressurize the vent,or vice versa. but before you do much else try flushing a toilet and see if it backs up.if it does you probably are wasting you r time trying to clean it out with a small snake,probably your main 3 or four inch line plugged an it would be hard to get it clean with a small snake. if you get you snake loose,go up on the roof and try cleaning it from there.those p traps are always a pain to work around.

 

[jackinok]

if you do cut it and leave it,cap this line or p trap will dry out and youll have all kinds of sewer gas in your house. it will come out it went in youve simply got to get the right combination.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 16:20:17 08/07/12) IF you get the snake out,cap this line pressurize the vent,or vice versa. but before you do much else try flushing a toilet and see if it backs up.if it does you probably are wasting you r time trying to clean it out with a small snake,probably your main 3 or four inch line plugged an it would be hard to get it clean with a small snake. if you get you snake loose,go up on the roof and try cleaning it from there.those p traps are always a pain to work around.

All other drains work fine and the condensate line is all of 3' from where the main stack pipe comes up. Which is why I'm puzzled I didn't clear the blockage with the smaller snake - I figured it was in the trap. No need for the roof vent - the soil pipe has a cleanout in it just above the slab and another outside the house. The branch lines coming into it also have multiple cleanouts - one where the enter the basement and additional ones upstairs by the sinks and inside access covers in the shower walls. This plumber loved cleanouts.....

TOH

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 16:24:38 08/07/12) if you do cut it and leave it,cap this line or p trap will dry out and youll have all kinds of sewer gas in your house. it will come out it went in youve simply got to get the right combination.

I know. But it's not worth much of my time - more concerned about ruining my snake ;-)

TOH

 

[JMOR]

come-along......pull it out or break something!

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 16:42:00 08/07/12) come-along......pull it out or break something!

Brilliant :idea: Brute force and ignorance is my favorite solution. :!:

Of course I might break the line and wind up hammering up some concrete

Maybe just a "gentle" pull :wink:

TOH

 

[Badger bob]

Id git a air tank and a big ball valve. 100 lb of air and kawoosh. probem solved! or mabe it would make a new problem. but thats the way i do things. good luck . Bob

 

[JMOR]

I must admit that I didn't get the idea all on my own. My Dad owned a crain business, among several other businesses, and he once had a plumber call him and wanted him to bring a long reach crane to a home where plumber's snake was stuck in a roof vent. My Dad told him to just cut it off, that if he tied the crane to it, that a bunch of cast iron pipe and wall & roof, etc. was going to come out along with the snake. Darn! Lost a customer. :roll:

 

[Jock(OR)]

If there are that many cleanouts, is it possible to get the snake head near enough one to fish it out? Then you could pull of the head and the rest of the snake should pull out without binding.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 17:52:46 08/07/12) I must admit that I didn't get the idea all on my own. My Dad owned a crain business, among several other businesses, and he once had a plumber call him and wanted him to bring a long reach crane to a home where plumber's snake was stuck in a roof vent. My Dad told him to just cut it off, that if he tied the crane to it, that a bunch of cast iron pipe and wall & roof, etc. was going to come out along with the snake. Darn! Lost a customer. :roll:

Well I gave it a try - had a nice 12" WF beam for a sky hook but no go. I cut it off and I'm done.

TOH

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 19:22:57 08/07/12)

(quoted from post at 17:52:46 08/07/12) I must admit that I didn't get the idea all on my own. My Dad owned a crain business, among several other businesses, and he once had a plumber call him and wanted him to bring a long reach crane to a home where plumber's snake was stuck in a roof vent. My Dad told him to just cut it off, that if he tied the crane to it, that a bunch of cast iron pipe and wall & roof, etc. was going to come out along with the snake. Darn! Lost a customer. :roll:

Well I gave it a try - had a nice 12" WF beam for a sky hook but no go. I cut it off and I'm done.

TOH

eing done is the best part! :wink:

 

[Ultradog MN]

TOH,
Don't get upset about this.
It really is not a big deal to cut open the concrete and do a little surgery on your drain lines.
I have to cut open basement floors all the time to install new drain lines when I build/rebuild bathrooms.
Here's how I do it:
Buy a diamond blade for your circular saw - about $30. Use a hose and trickle some water right in front of the blade as it's cutting. It makes a muddy mess but will cut the dust down to zero. I usually set the blade about halfway down and make the first cut then reset the blade to full depth and cut again. Make your cuts then use a sledge hammer to break out the concrete. Make your repairs then mix Sacrete and re cement.
I just leave the muddy mess till the next day when it's dry and it can pretty much be swept up with a broom.
If you are worried about electrocution plug the saw into a GFCI outlet.
I have done this at least 50 times and have never been shocked once.
I would worry about the snake in there catching stuff and creating a blockage so I would remove the snake if I were you.

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 08:41:30 08/08/12) TOH,
Don't get upset about this.
It really is not a big deal to cut open the concrete and do a little surgery on your drain lines.
I have to cut open basement floors all the time to install new drain lines when I build/rebuild bathrooms.
Here's how I do it:
Buy a diamond blade for your circular saw - about $30. Use a hose and trickle some water right in front of the blade as it's cutting. It makes a muddy mess but will cut the dust down to zero. I usually set the blade about halfway down and make the first cut then reset the blade to full depth and cut again. Make your cuts then use a sledge hammer to break out the concrete. Make your repairs then mix Sacrete and re cement.
I just leave the muddy mess till the next day when it's dry and it can pretty much be swept up with a broom.
If you are worried about electrocution plug the saw into a GFCI outlet.
I have done this at least 50 times and have never been shocked once.
I would worry about the snake in there catching stuff and creating a blockage so I would remove the snake if I were you.

Thanks for teh advice but I'm not upset. I have the tools and I've cut up slabs to repair plumbing before but this one is fixed. The snake is not going to catch anything - it's just a few feet into the condensate drain and it works fine with the snake inside. If it fails in the future I will replumb the condensate to another connection and cap the old line. Far easier than a concrete repair.

TOH

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I have used a furnco coupler to fit over the pipe and adapted a hose bib to the other end of the coupler. Tighten the radiator like clamps. Turn on the water. Hope you nothing slips off, if it does you learn the meaning of getting hosed. If that doesn't work crank up the air compressor.

At one time, they sold a ballon like device to attach to a hose, as the water pressure increased, the ballon expanded inside the pipe washed out the line. Never used one like that.

I suppose a person could glue pipe fittings together and go to a hose bib. After the line is cleaned out, cut off the attachment.

George

 

[Geo-TH,In]

TOH, Come to think of it, my condensate goes into a small holding tank and a small pump pushes the water through a 1/2 clear plastic hose over to my drain. Hose is connected to the basement ceiling. Been using mine for years, no problems. They aren't that expensive, condensate pump.
George