Blocking khazi. Which is nice.
Discussion
This is a ground floor pan that has a very short run to the confluence under the patio. The core design issue is that the gradient is very shallow, too shallow for a ground floor flush but that is how it is and that is how it will remain. There is an about a 1.5m run from the pan to the outside where it clearly turns about 40 degrees for the final run of about 3m.
The pipe has twice blocked now and what is clearly happening is that when paper is flushed it no longer runs through so something in the 1.5m run (the external 3m run is completely clear) is catching the paper and then each subsequent flush with paper adds to that until a blockage is formed.
Upon clearing, the result of plunging at the pan end to create a pulse and a hose up the other end to lubricate, what comes out is a wad of weeks of bog roll.
Since clearing this morning I've done a couple of test flushes with paper and it takes up to 5 flushes and the tap running for the paper to exit the whole run. It's clearly snagging between the u bend and the bend in the pipe when it exits the building.
This might be a bit of collapsed pipe in the channel but it could also be a heavy object that someone once put down the pan. Either way, if it is a loose object it is sufficiently heavy that it doesn't come out with the wodge of paper when that eventually comes free.
Anyway, after that fascinating tale, the point of the post is to establish if there are flexible devices that can actually make it round a u bend with an attachment so I can have a rummage around where the paper is getting caught?
The pipe has twice blocked now and what is clearly happening is that when paper is flushed it no longer runs through so something in the 1.5m run (the external 3m run is completely clear) is catching the paper and then each subsequent flush with paper adds to that until a blockage is formed.
Upon clearing, the result of plunging at the pan end to create a pulse and a hose up the other end to lubricate, what comes out is a wad of weeks of bog roll.
Since clearing this morning I've done a couple of test flushes with paper and it takes up to 5 flushes and the tap running for the paper to exit the whole run. It's clearly snagging between the u bend and the bend in the pipe when it exits the building.
This might be a bit of collapsed pipe in the channel but it could also be a heavy object that someone once put down the pan. Either way, if it is a loose object it is sufficiently heavy that it doesn't come out with the wodge of paper when that eventually comes free.
Anyway, after that fascinating tale, the point of the post is to establish if there are flexible devices that can actually make it round a u bend with an attachment so I can have a rummage around where the paper is getting caught?
DonkeyApple said:
Anyway, after that fascinating tale, the point of the post is to establish if there are flexible devices that can actually make it round a u bend with an attachment so I can have a rummage around where the paper is getting caught?
Not sure what's available off the shelf, but you can certainly contract people who do CCTV surveys of pipework.Had this when an old toilet was replaced with a newer one, the new one would block unless the small flush button was held down to empty the tank completely every time.
I believe the old toilet had at least double the water capacity in the cistern where as the new one was an 'eco' which had a smaller cistern and unless you held fully down the button it only ever emptied around half the tank leading to blockages over time.
I believe the old toilet had at least double the water capacity in the cistern where as the new one was an 'eco' which had a smaller cistern and unless you held fully down the button it only ever emptied around half the tank leading to blockages over time.
untakenname said:
Had this when an old toilet was replaced with a newer one, the new one would block unless the small flush button was held down to empty the tank completely every time.
I believe the old toilet had at least double the water capacity in the cistern where as the new one was an 'eco' which had a smaller cistern and unless you held fully down the button it only ever emptied around half the tank leading to blockages over time.
Yes, a larger flush would help. However, the issue is new which implies something in the pipe run has changed to trigger the issue. I believe the old toilet had at least double the water capacity in the cistern where as the new one was an 'eco' which had a smaller cistern and unless you held fully down the button it only ever emptied around half the tank leading to blockages over time.
Just wondering whether there is a viable flexi wire that is used for bypassing the ubend.
I bought a drain clearing attachment for a Karcher pressure washer - the head has 3 backwards-facing jets which propel it down the pipe and a forwards facing jet to blast "debris" into bits. The pipe is quite stiff which means you can give it a bit of manual encouragement as well. Worth a try (at a price)?

A £20 endoscope? Plenty of similar to this one I bought on Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CST2F4NJ
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CST2F4NJ
Sewer snake/drain rodder is what's used to run through pipes and macerate whatever is down there. Or a water jetter (as in the post above). You might be able to get someone to video down the pipe so you'll know for sure what's going on there, and that's what I'd be inclined to do if you can't see all along the pipe from outside. If it's happening every week it sounds like there's something catching the contents on the way past......
Is it all paper? No "wet wipes" in there?
Is it all paper? No "wet wipes" in there?
Edited by rodericb on Monday 22 September 12:33
Apologies if I’ve misread you.
If you’re waiting for your white paper to appear in the manhole but it’s not, this is what I would do With a set of rods. Have a few rods connected with the round rubber plunger disc screwed to the end, fill a few buckets of water up ready, get someone to sling the buckets of water as best they can up the pipe towards the blockage and then quickly with your rods push the water towards the blockage as far as you can and then run back pulling the rods out of the drain run, the surge might clear it.
If you’re waiting for your white paper to appear in the manhole but it’s not, this is what I would do With a set of rods. Have a few rods connected with the round rubber plunger disc screwed to the end, fill a few buckets of water up ready, get someone to sling the buckets of water as best they can up the pipe towards the blockage and then quickly with your rods push the water towards the blockage as far as you can and then run back pulling the rods out of the drain run, the surge might clear it.
Magooagain said:
It may help things if you remove the pan and have a rummage with a set of drain rods. Perhaps push the obstruction towards the manhole.
Yup. Purpose of the post was to establish if anyone knew of a tool that could get round a khazi u bend so as to try and avoid removing it. Logic is sound. But there is definitely an obstruction after the pan but under the floor which I need to clear prior to saying the obvious. But then there is the issue that if left to the wife to resolve I'd end up with the house being dug up, a new roof, solar panels and joining the Church of Latter Day Saints along with the drive being tarmaced.
The Dynorod type guys can camera the pipework to see what's going on. It could be broken pipework, bit of rough concrete or a tree root which is snagging some of the paper as it goes past. Eventually it builds up into a blockage. They can send a gadget down (forgotten it's name) which is like the Mole from Thunderbirds to clean your pipes.
ChevronB19 said:
If is a common fallacy that pressing both buttons results in a bigger flush but often the larger button only results in the bigger flush and anytime the smaller button is used it is always an eco flush.And the screenshot feature really does work but it's difficult to pair with an iPhone

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