[ftp]

Bear with me, i'm going to carry an electricians duct rodding kit in my van for attacking blocked gutter downpipes from below or even to push through so i know it's clear after sucking the worst with my vac.
I'm going to have to drill a hole maybe 15 to 20mm through the plastic downpipe then fit a blank grommet after i've finished. Has anyone seen coloured blanking grommets anywhere i.e. black, brown and white?

[tradman]

20mm closed grommets from electrical wholesalers approx £2 for box of 100

[ftp]

Thanks, i can get them easily enough from Screwfix but have never seen coloured ones anywhere yet.

[jefftemperley]

mossplastics.com
componentforce.com

[ftp]

Familiar looking caps for poles on the second site.

[Kevin R]

I think you'll find this a bit unnecessary. 

With experience and a few gutters under your belt so to speak it will become apparent when a down pipe is blocked just by the sound alone when the vac is applied to the top end. If in doubt a flush is used to confirm your findings. If its blocked usually a jet will clear it if not the hypo-spike should work.  If it is really blocked no amount of pushing rods at it will help. Im afraid a manual approach will be required. Its a fact of life that gutter clearing from time to time will require a ladder or other access machinery to complete the task. Its always wise to make sure this is written clearly in any quotation that is supplied as further costs will apply.

Rods tend to get stuck in down pipes and cause more trouble then they are worth - trust me - been there done that. 

[ftp]

Your probably right, but i have no more room for any more kit so hope to get away without a pressure washer, although i have seen some very compact electric ones about. The rodding is intended as a last resort and more to pull the debris down if possible with a twisting action and hook on the end. Might not work but it's a very cheap method so for a few quid i'll give it a go. I don't know how much abuse an electricians rodder will take - the threads might strip with a good tug. Quality fibreglass fish tapes are around £70 so i might try and borrow one to see if they are viable. I'm only at the domestics stage at the moment so won't invest too heavily until i know which way things pan out.

[Kevin R]

Your probably right, but i have no more room for any more kit so hope to get away without a pressure washer, although i have seen some very compact electric ones about. The rodding is intended as a last resort and more to pull the debris down if possible with a twisting action and hook on the end. Might not work but it's a very cheap method so for a few quid i'll give it a go. I don't know how much abuse an electricians rodder will take - the threads might strip with a good tug. Quality fibreglass fish tapes are around £70 so i might try and borrow one to see if they are viable. I'm only at the domestics stage at the moment so won't invest too heavily until i know which way things pan out.

Buy a pressure washer its the only way 

[ftp]

I can't - i would need a bigger trailer, then a bigger garage or a bigger van. You should see me lose my temper now when i get tangled in the kids bikes. Two freezers 100l ibc tank, trailer, five push bikes, ro unit, poles, paint, wood, tiles - the list goes on.  :

[Kevin R]

Give it a few more gutter cleans and you'll find the room 

[tradman]

the rods can take quite a bit of tugging if they have been assembled right, but if you get a bad batch the fibreglass comes out but they are pretty robust as the have to pull twin n earth in all day. you can get a set for about £25 / £30. i only know this coz i'm a time served spark (originally)

[Wayne Thomas]

I think you'll find this a bit unnecessary. 

With experience and a few gutters under your belt so to speak it will become apparent when a down pipe is blocked just by the sound alone when the vac is applied to the top end. If in doubt a flush is used to confirm your findings. If its blocked usually a jet will clear it if not the hypo-spike should work.  If it is really blocked no amount of pushing rods at it will help. Im afraid a manual approach will be required. Its a fact of life that gutter clearing from time to time will require a ladder or other access machinery to complete the task. Its always wise to make sure this is written clearly in any quotation that is supplied as further costs will apply.

Rods tend to get stuck in down pipes and cause more trouble then they are worth - trust me - been there done that. 

I emptied some house guttering on Saturday. Every gutter & downpipe was blocked full from the top right down to the drains. Had to take all the downpipes off the house as they fitted into the drains below. They were as compact as could be. Even the drains were totally blocked. The gutters and downpipes hadn't been emptied in 37 years. Just glad I assessed it before I quoted a price as I was there for nearly 5 hours in total from start to finish.