Mysterious drain (manhole cover) key????

[george]

I had a new drain, for two water closets (toilets) constructed in 1996.

The builder, who undertook the work is now deceased.

I was supplied with two keys for the cover, which is approx 2 '6" square. The keys had either allen keys or hex keys on one end and normal lifters on the other. I was told to keep them in a safe place for future use, in the event of any problems.

Unfortunately, I now have a problem with the drain, (one toilet not flushing properly) (It overfills with fresh water and takes its time to go to nomal level, sometimes going to lower level than normal. N.B. Nothing is stuck in pedestal and drain to beneath ground is not blocked - it has been rodded several times without getting stuck, to a distance of approximately 30 feet.

THE REAL PROBLEM is that my daughter-in-law, who resides above the premises has thrown out the keys, thinking they were junk left behind when my son left her some years ago. I can't find the name of the manufacturer of the cover, as it was tiled after being fitted. I am therefore having difficulty in getting replacement keys.

I could still get access to lift cover from floor, if I had the keys.

The allen key size is roughly 15 mm and is six sided, The other end was, (I THINK), like any normal drain key.

CAN ANYONE PLEASE LET ME KNOW, IF THEY KNOW THE MANUFACTURER OF THIS COVER, in order that I may purchase replacements and have a look to see the cause of the problem, before committing to paying Dinarod or someone a fortune to come and sort I something I may be able to do myself.

HERE'S HOPING,

Thanks, George

[Phil L]

LOL @ 'water closets'

oh dear..

Where did you rod it from?

'tiled over'? - are these manhole covers inside the house? - if they are outside the house, they can be removed by excavating around them and lifting the whole thing off, lid and frame together and replacing with normal ones, why people put lockable manhole covers on I don't know, most thieves know what's under there and it's rarely of any value.

Why can't you just use a normal allen key to undo the bolts, then lift the lid off with anything you have lying around? - a bent 3 inch nail in a piece of wood will do it, along with a thousand others.