Drain question - Help please

[Colin]

Hi,

House age mid/late 1800's.

Recently had my drains jetted because it was backing up. The jet would not go any further than 35 yards.

I thought that I would have the same people survey the drains as I did not know where they went and what was at the other end.

The sonar device stopped 35 yards from the house after weaving through the lawn.

I dug down at the spot this weekend and have found what appears to be a vertical clay pipe about 18 inches in diameter. On top was a clay cap (rather like a saucepan lid) with a round handle in the middle. This was sealed in place with a soft lime mortar like the type used on the house. On top of this was a flat stone, also held in place with a small amount of mortar.

I removed the stone and lid and found the pipe full of sewage/water.

Poking a bamboo down the pipe it appears to be about 4.5 feet deep. The top is about 3 feet below ground.

I thought I would investigate and empty some of the sewage out with a small, improvised, bucket. As I emptied the sewage the pipe filled again. The level stabilizing just at the brim of the pipe.

Does anyone know what this is? Has anyone come across one of these before? Does anyone know what it is for?

Any answers gratefully received.

Thank, Colin (1 feet = 0.3048 meters)

[Jeff]

Soakaway ? (don't know the proper name)

my old next door neighbour had some dye put down her drain years ago and a red patch appeared in the field opposite the house

Regards Jeff

[dale hammond]

are you on mains drains or have you got a septic tank or cess pit

[Tony Bryer]

It's called a Buchan trap and is a U-bend that separates your drains from a sewer or cesspool. The vertical bit is for rodding if you get a blockage

- in such cases fill the vertical bit with water (if not already full of xxxx then rod vigourously with a plunger. Following diagram may help

| | ->--------| ______________ \_/

[Andrew Gabriel]

That reminded me of K.K.K.Katie, who was our expert on drains here some time back. A quick google search turned up her comprehensive FAQ, which should probably be pointed to from the uk.d-i-y FAQ...

[John Rumm]

If you are on mains drainage, it could be what I have heard referred to as a "weaver", Often one would be positioned close to a manhole cover. It solves a problem with shared manholes that are set at a depth suitable for the main sewer outfall and also to allow a decent fall for the furtherest away property to drain to. Closer properties would end up with a pipe run coming into the manhole too high up. Hence the weaver drops the level as required.

They seem to be common on Victorian places at least. They are impossible to rod past as you discovered. They also seem to suffer from blockages on the "low" side of the pipework - which sometimes you can only rod from the downstream end rather than down the weaver.

We played this game at my mum's place many years ago - could not get the drains to clear and the blockage was in the outfall pipe from the weaver (it was full of water as you describe). We tried rodding from every direction, but could not get the blockage moved. In the end she decided that she would go down the (10' deep) manhole with a section of rod and try from that end (I did offer to go ;-).

She was working away with this rod when there was this sudden sound of rushing water! Note that much use had been made in the recent past of water and hoses in an attempt to clear the problem upstream. This had left the whole drain system well "charged". I heard a yelp as the inevitable dawned on her, and she realised she could not get up the manhole foot holds quick enough. I then saw this hand thrust upward toward the top of the manhole. I reached down into the manhole, and grabbed it and pulled hard. Mother came out of the hole like a cork from the bottle, only just avoiding a soaking in something probably not pleasant! I seem to recall a comment along the lines of "At times like that I am really glad you are not a seven stone weakling!".

[BigWallop]

I love the story I heard, about the DCS (drain cleaning services) guy who worked on one of the systems you describe. He was over an hour on the upstream side trying to blow a hole in the blockage with a jet. He finally decided to go to the downstream side and try from there. When he rammed the jet through and started it up, it blew all the crud back up the pipes and out through the loo bowls of around five or six houses. Needless to say the owners were well pleased with him, and they all paid some sort of respect for his efforts. Well, they did a lot of shouting anyways.

He had actually blown the blockage back in to the weaver trap, and the pipework leading back to the houses, and which was now full of the stuff he'd just jetted in to it from the other side. DCS now have a policy of teaching their staff about these hidden traps, because it works out cheaper for them rather than pay out all that insurance money. :-)

[Colin]

We are the only property on the drain.

Colin

[The Natural Philosopher]

All good stuff, but out of date w.r.t. e.g. Klargesters etc which are virtually de jure installations if you replacing an existing setup.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Right. Then its time to investigae downsteam from that trap.

You may have a blocked septic tank, or just a very full one.

You may hve collapsesd pies and tree roopts everywhere.

Use of a garfden hose pushed along pipes is a fairly safe way of clearing many blockages.

Don't be scared of shit. Its just the stage between nutrituous food and nutritious compost.

[Owain]

So that's what happens when you eat all the pies.

Owain

[Colin]

Any idea where I can get such a large plunger?

Is the 'normal' state of a Buchan trap to be empty or full?

Colin

[Tony Bryer]

Normal accessory with a set of drain rods

It's a bit like a WC trap - the natural water level will be the bottom of the pipe on the outflow side.

[Phil Addison]

Phil The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

Google uk.d-i-y archive is at NOSPAM from address to email me