Anyone got any drain rods?

wildgarlic · Anyone got any drain rods?

We've got a blockage! Water gurgling back up through the plug holes etc... very long reach required as there doesn't appear to be a manhole close enough to the septic tank to enable access to the drains there.... and we've got two runs that join into one and the blockage appears to be there somewhere.

IainC

I've a couple of sets of rods at home... often had issues with our drains when we moved in so made sure I had my own to get them cleared... which is always so much fun... honest

Hopefully someone a bit closer to you has some though... mine are buried in the back of the garage I think (not seen them in a while so $deity-knows what all they are buried under).

Julie

You can borrow ours if you like. We also have a gizmo that scrapes that you screw into the end of the rod.

IainC

Julie

Gordon was looking at it on Sunday with David and he thinks the screw fitting would be more useful.
I looked at them when I bought the drain rods but as I couldn't figure out what the hell it was for, I just bought the hinged scraper and a chimney brush - typical eh. I will put it on my mental 'to buy' list now.
Why do things always seem to go wrong at this time of year

wildgarlic

Thanks Julie - what a delightful subject!

IainC

If I get a chance tonight I'll maybe have a rake about the garage to see if I can find the attachments at all. Think we tended to only ever really use the plunger to build up some pressure and work it from both ends.

Stonehead

With very long runs of pipe, don't be tempted to use either the drop scraper or the screw. They get stuck quite easily and you then have to dig them out. The best thing with long runs of pipe is the wheel—it goes around corners more readily and isn't as prone to jamming. By rotating and ramming the rods, you can break through most obstructions.

And yes, I'm speaking from experience. Our septic tank outlet blocked and I needed 43 rods to reach the blockage. That's 40m or 129ft of rods to pushed through the pipe, and it was uphill as well. It's hard, stinking work.

Clearing the septic tank outlet.

And if you're using the plunger to clear short lengths of pipe, remember to keep your mouth shut. The farmer across the road thought he'd help out—and forgot to close his mouth...

Up to my knees in £@%!.

Hopefully the extra info will help.

Welly

WG,

I would hope your problem is already sorted out, but I tend to find that rotating the rods prevents the jamming on longer runs (40+ rods) with the screw end.

It also stops the rods from uscrewing, which could be a nasty problem. Just make sure you rotate clockwise (with the thread).

I've never used a drop scraper, as I tend to be pushing rather than pulling, but I would emagine rotating would be tricky bearing in mind how the scraper should operate.

I think that's about as much detail as I'm prepared to offer...

Cheers

Welly

sandra

Hi WG,
Mine have just come back from someone with a similar problem. I have all the bits + a winding handle

, if you still need them.

Luv

Sandra

wildgarlic

Thanks everyone

IainC's rods are at Alford for us to pick up when we're there next - hopefully they will sort it for us.... if we're still struggling after that then I'll give you a shout Sandra - thanks for the offer.