Horse Heaven
Tinker by choice, plumber by necessity.
Called out at 3 AM for backed up sewer on ground floor of a two-story. This is the fourth occurrence in ten years. Third was exactly three months ago. Single occupant home. Following third occ., homeowner has flushed older 3+GPF toilet 2-3 times/week, and flushes nothing other than tissue. Minimal use of disposal. House built in 1975. 3" ABS outflow ~45' from C/O to 10" city sewer. Layout from clean-out (under stairs) is: Cleanout + 2' to shower drain tee + 2' toilet flange tee + 4' 90° ell + 8' backflow preventer + ~30' to 45° ell down 18" into 10" concrete city sewer. The house is slab on grade, and the BFP is under the slab with no access.
In August, city utilities ran a camera between manholes that bracket the tie-in, and found nothing at all, before the blockage was cleared. After the professional rooter-guy pushed 100' of power snake with a root knife three times (which should be at least 50' into the city pipe), the clog cleared. The knife got a little bent up from getting past the BFP both ways, but no sign of root. He ran a camera as far as the BFP, and was able to bump the flap open easily. The scratches from the rooter were obvious, but not significant. It swung freely and closed fully. He did not push the camera further, for obvious reasons. City's camera could only see up the 45° and nothing showed but smooth black plastic. The pro blamed the BFP and low-volume toilets.
This morning, lacking a power snake, I opted not to crawl back under the stairs, and instead pulled the toilet. I had a 40' sewer rod, and pushed it easily to the BFP. I could feel the tip hit the metal. It took a few tries to bump the flap open, most likely because I was hitting the collar with the small barb. Once the flap opened, I expected the clog to clear, but it didn't. I pushed the rod on out, and the clog cleared ten to twenty feet past the BFP. Ran copious water through and the flow was excellent. Had the expected difficulty getting the barb back through the BFP, but got it out and continued water flow while I cleaned up.
So, this setup worked fine for about 30 years. It backed up around 2008, resulting in about $20,000 of renovation and new flooring. Backed up again in 2017, but was caught before it reached carpet. Again in August of '19, and now the fourth time in November of '19. Seems to be most problematic when the plumbing is used the least. Never a problem when multiple people are home. Now, with just the one person home (last three times) it's too common. Occupant is running lots of water, doing stuff like draining the bathtub about once a month, and the toilet flushing mentioned above. This morning, we struck carpet, so have some work to do, and cost involved.
Is it the BFP? Why didn't it clear for me until I was well past it? Not enough slope? Seems to flow like white water once it's clean. The BFP and half of the sewer outflow line is under the slab, the rest is about 8' below grade. What's a guy to do about it?
In August, city utilities ran a camera between manholes that bracket the tie-in, and found nothing at all, before the blockage was cleared. After the professional rooter-guy pushed 100' of power snake with a root knife three times (which should be at least 50' into the city pipe), the clog cleared. The knife got a little bent up from getting past the BFP both ways, but no sign of root. He ran a camera as far as the BFP, and was able to bump the flap open easily. The scratches from the rooter were obvious, but not significant. It swung freely and closed fully. He did not push the camera further, for obvious reasons. City's camera could only see up the 45° and nothing showed but smooth black plastic. The pro blamed the BFP and low-volume toilets.
This morning, lacking a power snake, I opted not to crawl back under the stairs, and instead pulled the toilet. I had a 40' sewer rod, and pushed it easily to the BFP. I could feel the tip hit the metal. It took a few tries to bump the flap open, most likely because I was hitting the collar with the small barb. Once the flap opened, I expected the clog to clear, but it didn't. I pushed the rod on out, and the clog cleared ten to twenty feet past the BFP. Ran copious water through and the flow was excellent. Had the expected difficulty getting the barb back through the BFP, but got it out and continued water flow while I cleaned up.
So, this setup worked fine for about 30 years. It backed up around 2008, resulting in about $20,000 of renovation and new flooring. Backed up again in 2017, but was caught before it reached carpet. Again in August of '19, and now the fourth time in November of '19. Seems to be most problematic when the plumbing is used the least. Never a problem when multiple people are home. Now, with just the one person home (last three times) it's too common. Occupant is running lots of water, doing stuff like draining the bathtub about once a month, and the toilet flushing mentioned above. This morning, we struck carpet, so have some work to do, and cost involved.
Is it the BFP? Why didn't it clear for me until I was well past it? Not enough slope? Seems to flow like white water once it's clean. The BFP and half of the sewer outflow line is under the slab, the rest is about 8' below grade. What's a guy to do about it?