[ftp]

Just wondered have you tried extending your suction hose length or possibly a smaller more flexible piece so it goes down to the elbow on downpipes? I had considered an inverted cone of some sorts to almost seal the pipe and increase suction up the drainpipe. Any thoughts?

[Chris Galloway]

Thats a good point, however most down pipes i come across are stuffed full of plant life and roots  so i guess it will be a case of ladder removal tactics. Maybe a different head attachemt small enough to drop down the pipe?

[ftp]

Hmm, which would kind of defeat the object of the machine if the ladders came out. I reckon most blockages would be within three feet of the top.

[Chris Galloway]

Hmm, which would kind of defeat the object of the machine if the ladders came out. I reckon most blockages would be within three feet of the top.

Can you really remove a solidly blocked downpipe with plants or saplings growing out of it, even with a spike of some sort with the vac? Im not convinced.. takes me a while to do it manually when ive got the piece on the floor.

[poles apart]

Hmm, which would kind of defeat the object of the machine if the ladders came out. I reckon most blockages would be within three feet of the top.

Can you really remove a solidly blocked downpipe with plants or saplings growing out of it, even with a spike of some sort with the vac? Im not convinced.. takes me a while to do it manually when ive got the piece on the floor.

My lads did a job last week where they put the blower on  the downpipe and the top elbow flew off! It was solid with muck!

[matt]

if the downpipe swan neck is blocked, your not going to be able to suck it out, ive had them so tightly packed that ive had to push a stick down them and pull them out ( normally after removing the swan-neck )

keep in mind ive done work for the local councils and this was allways a job for a carpenter

[ftp]

Dynamite in the bottom of the pipe then. 

[matt]

Dynamite in the bottom of the pipe then. 

i tell you what you could do though, you could get a drain unblocker chain and run it up from the bottom of the pipe , BUT on new build houses the pipe goes straight into the drain pipe under the ground, so it would only work on a % of houses

[jeff1]

I stick a drain flushing jet onto my pressure washer if its that bad.

[Chris Galloway]

I stick a drain flushing jet onto my pressure washer if its that bad.

Doesn't do anything to rock solid filled S bends with rooted plant life. Tried pressure washing before, just a messy experience, spent longer clearing up. I think i'll just use the ladder for now (im talking about residential properties for my use) to unblock these compacted down pipes. Use the vac for the rest. The idea is to minimise ladder use, its not always impossible to stop its use.

[ftp]

Jeff, was it you that used a wind up drain rod thing from the bottom? Drilled a hole then put a grommit back in?

[Mr H]

With the vac you get a plastic extension pipe which will usualy fit into the top of most downpipes. If that fails then a jet wash from the top will often clear it or a drain cleaning jet from the bottom.

www.dualpumps.co.uk/pages/new_prods_07/images/25124620big.jpg

You could use a gutter spike from Omnippole on top of a high reach jet lance or if you can't get a gutter spike then a short section of "lance tubing" could be used instead. or even a straighted out length of wire coat hanger, jubilee clipped to a plastic goose neck on top of a wfp pole will help to loosen it up.

If they fail then its a case of either ladders or cherrypicker.

Regards
Mr H

[jeff1]

Jeff, was it you that used a wind up drain rod thing from the bottom? Drilled a hole then put a grommit back in?

On the sealed downpipes Yeas it is me.

[ftp]

What was your succes rate like using that thing? I've seen 30' ones for sale - do they work?

[jeff1]

What was your succes rate like using that thing? I've seen 30' ones for sale - do they work?

I use 2 methods to clear badly blocked down pipes, first one I use a steel fish wire with a hook on the end, I feed it up from the bottom until it hits the blockage and then I give a sharp push then a twist, then I pull bits down, genreally it breaks it up from the bottom upwards.

If I feel its going to take forever to break it up using my fish wire, I stick my hose onto the pressure washer and break it up from the bottom until I just see any muck squirting from the top, then I change over to the fish  wire again just to make sure all is clear, once I know its clear I give it a quick blast with the hose. 

Been using these methods for a long time now and I've never had to get up a ladder, thats because I don't take one. Lol

[Mr H]

What exactly is a fish wire Jeff........?

[ftp]

One of these:

www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=LZWBSFZ3QUUX2CSTHZOSFEY?_dyncharset=UTF-8&fh_search=fish&searchbutton.x=11&searchbutton.y=16

[ftp]

There is another type of flexible steel wire with a cork screw tip that winds into the blockage and can be yanked down. Looks a bit diy but hey, if it was to work it would save the expense of a pressure washer to my kit. 

[jeff1]

I got mine from my brother-in-law who works for BT, nice bit of kit.

[ftp]

Sucked out three loads of gutters today and every one had a blocked downpipe. I managed to stick my spike into the matted grass and hoik them out. I was thinking of a fairly thin piece of wire might be better with a barb on the end or a hinged barb like you get on plasterboard screws. Poke it into the roots and tug it back up. What do you reckon?
Spring toggle thats the word i'm looking for.