Inspection chamber: what should water level be?

bruce_phipps · 2008-01-19T17:48:58+00:00

70s detached bungalow.I have recently been having trouble with a suspected blocked WC. no luck with finding any internal obstructions, I opened theinspection chamber nearest the house. This is the one that the bathand WC flow into. The inspection chamber has a concrete access paneland must be about 1m deep.It was nearly full to the top with mucky water.I shoved my hand in and spooned out a shedload of toilet paper. Thewater level didn't drop when I did this.Using a length of batten, I reached under the mucky water and ensuredthat the inlet and exit pipe of the chamber were not obstructed. Theyseemed OK.I then opened a 2nd chamber, further from the house, nearer the road.That too was almost full to the brim. Again I removed a load of toiletpaper and ensured the inlet and outlet were not obstructed. The waterlevel did not drop.Finally, I opened a 3rd chamber, the one nearest the road. This washalf full and with reasonably clear water.Questions: How high should the water level be in an inspectionchamber? Should the inlet and outlet pipes be visible? If there isheavy rainfall, will surface water fill them up?Maybe I have an obstruction between chambers 2 and 3?But bath, basin, sink and washing machine all seem to drain OK. Thereis no water backing up into the house.ThanksBruce

Jan 19, 2008 24 Replies

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bruce_phipps 18 years ago

Thanks, Tim. I'll open the last chamber, bale it out a bit, and try the rods before resoring to chemical weapons! It might be something obvious.

Bruce

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Roger Mills 18 years ago

I wouldn't rate your chances of baling it out. When you have several linked chambers which are all full, you'll have quite a few hundreds (if not thousands) of gallons to deal with. Removing a few bucketfuls will have very little effect on the level.

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bruce_phipps 18 years ago

WC.http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.d-i-y/browse_frm/thread/8d6910d8f...>> Having no luck with finding any internal obstructions, I opened the

OP replies: It turned out to be a plug of toilet paper lodged in the outlet pipe. I used a couple of rods + the corkscrew end connector. It came out just like a plug, and the whole system emptied in seconds. Total time taken, about 10 mins (not including the cleaning up!). The hardest thing was lifting the inspection chamber covers. A messy job, but a lot cheaper than getting a cowboy drain clearance company in.

Trouble is, I have now lost all confidence in the "evacuation efficiency" of my new WC, which has a smaller cistern than the old

1970s model. I regularily flush twice, just in case. So much for saving the environment. Bruce Bruce

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John 18 years ago

The WC isn't the cause or the solution. The drain may have had a long standing partial blockage of stones or a brick-end. Just lift the cover every now and again to re-gain your confidence. A new WC will make no difference.

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