The new one is quite compact and doesn't stick out as far as the old one. This means the 90degree soil pipe sticks out too far. If I connect the toilet to the pipe the cistern does not reach the wall behind
I was thinking a flexible connector would do the trick. Do you agree ?? The 90deg bend seems to be solvent welded to the main pipe. Is this going to cause problems with removal. Can a new flexible soil pipe just be pushed onto the old main pipe or again will this cause problems
I hope I have made myself clear. My downstairs cloakroom suite was easy to replace. This main bathroom suite is a PITA !! Never mind - I suppose it's a challenge:-))
probably do the trick. They're not as much of a sweep around the knuckle as a normal pipe bend is. Also, most DIY Stores and plumbers merchants do a universal WC connector which is a ball shape with a long connector tail and the ball swivels to almost any angle you can imagine.
The soil pipe is most likely just being stubborn if it isn't coming out the fittings. Try twisting it round, backwards and forwards, rather than just straight pulling force. They're tight to go in, and even tighter coming out. :-))
And my neighbour thought I was daft wearing a mask and goggles when I replaced most of our soil stack. Glad I'm not the only person to be on the receiving end of rubber-propelled shit fragments when working on a stack. But after the first time, mask and goggles every time.
I always wear goggles for this sort of thing. A full face mask would be even better...
One rather amusing occasion, I was unblocking my parents' sewer. Put the goggles on before lifting the manhole, since it's a heavy cast iron lid, which as you lever it up, tends to slip back again first few times spraying sh*t into the air. Parents watching from safety of bathroom window were initially much amused by the goggles, but then saw why I was wearing them. Having got the lid off, I stood over the manhole for a few moments, peering down into the large reservoir of, well, sh*t, pondering what to do next. At that moment, the elastic on the goggles snapped, and they went straight down the manhole, landing with a juicy splat on the top of the reservoir of, you know what. Well, maybe you had to be there, but we all just dissolved into uncontrollable laughter at this point. I fished the goggles out of the manhole with the hooked end of a drain rod and dropped them in the dustbin -- couldn't see myself wearing those again no matter how I cleaned them ;-).
The saga continued. My parents' drain rods, bamboo with brass fittings, had been standing in their garage for years in an old dustbin. Meanwhile, the garage roof had started leaking into the dustbin, so the net effect was than one end of each drain rod was a little on the rotten side. This made me hesitent about using them. Found one of the sprung steel sink unblockers, and thought I'd try with that. This didn't work because it's not stiff enough for a sewer. Tried rinsing it off with the hose to wind it back into a roll, and it's springing shit in all directions (it's like a long clock spring for anyone who hasn't seen one). And remember, my goggles are now in the dustbin. Anyway, gave up cleaning and rewinding the sprung steel, and decided to just drop it in the dustbin with the goggles. Oh, but it's not having any of that. If you're really bored one day, try unrolling one of these and then putting it in a dustbin (wheelie bin actually), and getting the lid slammed shut before the darn thing springs out. Now imagine that it's also covered in liquid sh*t which sprays in all directions each time it twangs. You're getting close...
Back to the blocked sewer... Decide I have to use the drain rods. Well, you know what happened next -- the end came off one of the rods whilst pushing it down the drain. Fortunately, it was inside the manhole where it broke, so all I had to do was reach down with my arm about 2' into the reservoir of shit to fish out the broken end. When I pulled the remainder out, the blockage finally cleared, and the manhole emptied.
After one experience clearing a blocked drain at my old house in Norfolk, I'd prefer a full NBC suit. 60ft run between shallow inspection chamber (near house) and 4ft deep chamber near septic tank. Similar scenario with old bamboo drain rods left by previous owner which had rotted and left me with about 25-30' of usable rods. Turned up one sunny saturday morning in summer, 2 weeks after hosting a charity camping weekend in the garden (.75 acre). Pulled on to the drive and immediatly spotted a suspiciously wet area around the manhole cover nearest the house. Wet, after 2 weeks of uninterrupted sun. Hmm, worrying. Lifted the lid and nearly passed out at the stench, although a quick application of a gallon of pine disinfectant at least eased that for a bit.
So, on with the goggles and mask, and out with the abbreviated rods. Worked all 30' into the drain from the shallow chamber, but couldn't find the obstruction. Bugger. Not going to stick my arm in the sh*t to try and clear it from the top. Will try clearing from below instead. Moved to the deeper chamber and started rodding from there. Ended up sat on the lip of the chamber using a foot to work the rod. Having spent considerable time at this already, I sort of lost it and had a brainstorm. If I could just get a bit of pressure on the end of the rod at a shallower angle, it should break through the obstruction. I had wellies on, so they might get a bit mucky as the end of the rod dipped under the surface, but what the heck - I should be able to get my arms out of the way quick enough.
What happened next caused immense hilarity for the spectators. I hopped into the chamber and started to push with increasing effort. Suddenly the blockage gave way and a tidal wave of stale sh*t and other noxious matter came hurtling down the pipe. No big deal, it should just shoot down the drain to the septic tank. Unfortunately there was another blockage a foot or so downstream of the chamber I was in. Before you could say "Shine your buckles with Brasso", I was up to my knees in sh*t. It was only when I climbed out that I realised the wellies might not have been the best choice of footwear.
"Clive Summerfield" wrote | > Watch out that the rubber seal doesn't flick shit in your | > face when it does finally come out... | And my neighbour thought I was daft wearing a mask and goggles | when I replaced most of our soil stack. Glad I'm not the only | person to be on the receiving end of rubber-propelled shit | fragments when working on a stack. | But after the first time, mask and goggles every time.
I don't normally have any reaction to the decomposing dead people often featured on Life of Grime but last night's programme of Mr Drain Cleaner happily hosing himself with pressurised shit was a decidedly 'yeuch' moment.
You guys are giving me great confidence, having just agreed to fit a new bathroom suite for someone (toilet and all).
I suppose there's nothing for me to worry about, but this is a ground floor flat in a block of flats - and knowing the way my luck has been running I can just imagine me separating the loo from the stack and.....well your imagination can do the rest.
Nihil illegitimati te carborundum. Decem quattuor amicus bonus. Sumus semper in excretum sed alto variat. Decem quattuor amica bona. Veni, Vidi, Vici. Taurum excretum intellectam confusat.
You might need a multikwik adjustable reach bend. MKBAR90. You can find it at the multikwik site.
The problem with the swan necks is that the knuckle gets in the way if the back of the toilet is in line with the spigot. This is the case with the toilet I got from B&Q. It means a swan neck pan connector will not fit on to the pan. Allow me to draw you a really bad diagram to illustrate (the stars show where the hit occurrs)
I had to get an adjustable reach bend from multikwik direct as I could not find anywhere that sold them. I tried every pan connector combination imaginable and this was the only thing that worked. I fitted the toilet last weekend and it all fitted perfectly. If it wasn't for this little marvel then I would have had to remove part of the soil stack. Since I'm not really a poo man it was good news all round!
Hmm, ROT13 isn't working on this so I guess I've stumbled onto some sort of ancient language problem. This hasn't reverted to the Newcastle thread above I suppose, it sounds like it might be related? (I'm basing that assumption on what Art and Dec speak like).
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