Draining tools?

Jun 25, 2007 10 Replies

Having just spent the best part of £70 (for 10 minutes work) to a man in a van with a s*1t sucker (after wessex water failed to unblock the sewer/rain water pipe) I have been looking for exactly the tool the man in the van had which would have allowed me to save a small job from turning into a bigjob...



I knew what I wanted/needed before calling out the s*1t-man, but couldn't find one anywhere. Sooooooooo has anyone come across the following...



it's a bit like a small version of a "post-holer" spade/shovel thingy. Long enough and small enough to fit down a 9" sump so about 5' long, with a pair of grabbing claws on the end operated by lever from the top.



Blockage was caused by a bit of very old wood that was across the outlet to the sewer main which I could have pulled out even without needing to suck out the sh1tty water had I been equipped with the forementioned implement.



TIA Pete


"Pet @

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;¬)" brought next idea :

It sounds vaguely like one of those things sold for older people who have difficulty bending to pick things up from the floor.

================================== I believe that B&Q sell them - looks a bit like an old hand style drill or a 'Tommy gun'. However, you might be able to use one of these (double worm screw) if you already have drain rods:

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While it may not be very pleasant, a wet & dry vacuum cleaner can be used to drain the sump to let you look or poke around.

I reckon this post hole digger would fit down a 9" sump.

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Or maybe this?

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's it !!

Though at that price, having already paid the man to do the job, I think I'll wait until the need arises again as now the long-term blockage is removed I doubt I'll ever need one again.

Many thanks for finding it though, I spent hours looking before I posted the request.

Cheers Pete

Bugger, I never thought of that. I actually have a 10+ yr old Aquavac which I got free with Esso Tiger tokens many moons ago sat in the back of the garage only a matter of feet away from the blockage! It would have done the job perfectly.

Perhaps I'll just have to use it as a pond-vac now I have remembered about it.

:¬)

Cheers Pete

I've used an old, repaired, Aquavac for a similar problem. The bottom of the drain was at quite a depth and had filled up with stones over the years. The vac sucked up the water, blockage and stones without a problem.

Actually the vacs drum had rusted through so it was replaced with a begged frying oil drum which was, surprisingly, of the same diameter...

I'd also tried to find a gully cleaner when I found drain rod attachments and pressure washer attachments were useless for stones at the bottom of a deep gully.

Prototypes produced on a budget have a lot to answer for...

Owain

I don't think thats accidental. If you want to start making cheap vacs & can find a suitable readily available drum - not development costs, no tooling charges, no big minimum order - makes sense to me.

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