Install new half bath in basement and problems with the toilet

[Erwin Felix]

Hello,
I recently finished an half-bath in the basement (roughed in by the builder). The toilet was not flushing and I had someone use a power auger to clear the line once / and then a second time...then it seemed to be okay. However, after hosting an ALL GIRLS high school track/field spaghetti dinner...the toilet was used several times with allot of toilet paper it stopped flushing. Out of frustration I called a drain cleaning company to check the line with a sewer camera. He removed the toilet, sprayed water in the line and inserted the camera and also turned on the water to the faucet that drains into the line. He said he could see water 3 ft into the sewer line and at 23ft the camera was no longer in the water. So basically I have a long belly in the sewer pipe under the concrete and likely extends outside the foundation wall. He mentioned replacing my Kohler 1.2gal flush with a Toto toilet or pressured toilet. I know the real fix would be to excavate and replace the sewer line which would cost thousands of dollars. :-( But would getting a better toilet really HELP? Or am I just stuck with a urinal until I spend the money and have the sewer line replaced?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Terry]

You could install a Kohler Highline with the Flushmate pressure assist.

http://terrylove.biz/home/47-kohler-highline-classic-ada-pressure-lite-toilet-k-3493.html

I don't think you would be calling a drain cleaner if you did that.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Erwin Felix]

Thanks for the quick reply Terry! Do you think this toilet would have enough force to push the stuff down the sewer line with that long of a belly? Also..this house is only 14 years old and all pipes are PVC.

 

[Terry]

[video=youtube_share;Rrcuvd2vV6o]http://youtu.be/Rrcuvd2vV6o[/video]

Yes. I think so.

 

[Erwin Felix]

Thank you Terry! I think I will purchase one of these toilets to address the problem I'm having with the sewer line...hopefully it will work...fingers crossed. It would be nice to see a comparison of a non-pressure assisted toilet versus the pressure assisted to see the difference in how far it pushes the stuff down the sewer line.

 

[hj]

Good luck. A pressure toilet gets the stuff out of the toilet quickly, but once it gets into the pipe it quickly gets to the point where it still depends on gravity to work.

 

[Terry]

The pressure assist works better than gravity on main lines.
That video I posted was only a 1.1 gallon flush.
The toilet I linked to is 1.6 gallons. Even better.

I also had video of a gravity toilet that I did not post. It wasn't nearly as good.
Same setup that day. They were side by side.

 

[NHmaster3015]

I dunno, I suspect the problem will eventually come back. The "power" flush is pretty decent but a few feet down the line the velocity drops to gravity. The problem with a sag in the main is that it collects and eventually traps toilet paper and tampons and then clogs. I think its time to crack open the wallet and do the right thing.

 

[Erwin Felix]

Gentlemen,
I really appreciate you sharing your expertise! Since I'm not having other issues with sewer line backing up, and it appears isolated with this particular sewer line branch, I think I will at least try the pressure assisted toilet. When I have a few thousand extra dollars, so I have a toilet that can flush properly or I sell this house then I will address it.

Thanks again!
Erwin