Plugged up PVC

[gpierson3]

I have a 300 foot (give or take) pvc conduit run for the feeders to my p-lot pedestals. It seems to be jammed at about 120-130 feet at either end. Have tried hooking a fish tape but can't seem to get either tapes to reach one another and we are getting a little bit of suction when we put the vacuum on it. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas as to how to get the pipe unplugged without digging it up. Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Plonker 3]

Why did you not put the draw tape in when you were installing the conduit?

what size conduit are we talking about?

 

[gpierson3]

I took over the job and was left with this mess to clean up. It's a 3/4

 

[davesparks]

3/4what?

 

[gpierson3]

3/4 pvc

 

[UNG]

A compressed air line should do it

 

[D Skelton]

Drain rods

 

[Geordie Spark]

I have a 300 foot (give or take) pvc conduit run for the feeders to my p-lot pedestals. It seems to be jammed at about 120-130 feet at either end. Have tried hooking a fish tape but can't seem to get either tapes to reach one another and we are getting a little bit of suction when we put the vacuum on it. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas as to how to get the pipe unplugged without digging it up. Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

Water.

Mains water pressure will give you about 5 bar and maybe more.

 

[Tiny Spark]

Drain rods

I would go with this ^

 

[ferg]

Would drain rods even fit in a 3/4" pipe?

Or have I, as usual, missed the point entirely.

 

[Marvo]

What is the likely cause of it being blocked? If it's a foreign body or debris that got inside then the water idea would be my first attempt. If it's a damaged tube that got broken and it no longer continuous then use a fishtape to establish where the damage is and start jack-hammering the slab open.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Would drain rods even fit in a 3/4" pipe?

Or have I, as usual, missed the point entirely.

No and No.

 

[Silly Sausage]

Get one these on the job...

Test pump RP30 0-30bar 20ml/stroke ROTHENBERGER purchased inexpensively from Mercateo

 

[Geordie Spark]

Get one these on the job...

Test pump RP30 0-30bar 20ml/stroke ROTHENBERGER purchased inexpensively from Mercateo

That's like mine.

Did I ever tell you I'm a plumber??

 

[Geordie Spark]

3/4what?

Inches.

 

[Geordie Spark]

A compressed air line should do it

Aye, but the problem with compressed air is that if the blockage doesn't clear then you run the risk of the pipe bursting and that could do someone some damage if they get in the way of it.

Use water instead. even at high pressure the only harm you can do is give someone a soaking.

To illustrate the point, fill a balloon with air and burst it and it goes bang and bits of it fly everywhere.

Now fill a balloon with water to the same pressure and burst it - no bang, no bits flying about and little risk of injury.

 

[Silly Sausage]

Did I ever tell you I'm a plumber??

Well, knock me down wiv a fevver!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiulgP9kR7c

 

[Knobhead]

Buried ¾” PVC conduit and he wonders why it’s blocked? Chances are it’s crushed or parted.
At least by measuring it from both ends he’ll know where to start digging.

I dread to think what cable is planned to go though it.

 

[ayjay]

the previous spark should hav used armoured cable---------
unfortunately you,ll have to dig it up imo

 

[dingledong]

When young I worked on a site and we were putting I'm plastic conduit . 1 of the sparks was given a weeks notice so as he did his conduit runs where the coupler joined the 2 conduits together he would put a stone or cement before he pushed them together ! ! We had to chase up lots of floor screed for a while afterwards

 

[Silly Sausage]

Buried ¾” PVC conduit and he wonders why it’s blocked? Chances are it’s crushed or parted.
At least by measuring it from both ends he’ll know where to start digging.

I dread to think what cable is planned to go though it.

I bet it isn't crushed.
I've just tried bouncing my 13 stones and size 10 boot up and down on a piece of off the B&Q shelf pvc pipe. Barely squashed it at all.
Seeing as the OP says he's getting partial vacuum on it (the way I read it!), I reckon you'd need to run it over with a steam roller.

 

[telectrix]

starve a mouse for a week. spray food scent up the tube. put mouse in tube.

 

[trev]

When young I worked on a site and we were putting I'm plastic conduit . 1 of the sparks was given a weeks notice so as he did his conduit runs where the coupler joined the 2 conduits together he would put a stone or cement before he pushed them together ! ! We had to chase up lots of floor screed for a while afterwards

It boils my wee when someone sabotages a job like that. OK it causes the company a bit of a problem but it's the people that you worked with who should be your mates that get the clarty end of the stick.

 

[Geordie Spark]

I bet it isn't crushed.
I've just tried bouncing my 13 stones and size 10 boot up and down on a piece of off the B&Q shelf pvc pipe. Barely squashed it at all.
Seeing as the OP says he's getting partial vacuum on it (the way I read it!), I reckon you'd need to run it over with a steam roller.

And now you're banned from B&Q for life and the trial starts a week on Monday.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Just a little question from a thick Geordie: What is this about?? "I have a 300 foot (give or take) pvc conduit run for the feeders to my p-lot pedestals"


I understand the 30 foot (feet even) and the PVC conduit bit, but what's this pedestal thing about?

Something to support a wash basin or a urinal maybe??

 

[dingledong]

I bet it isn't crushed.
I've just tried bouncing my 13 stones and size 10 boot up and down on a piece of off the B&Q shelf pvc pipe. Barely squashed it at all.
Seeing as the OP says he's getting partial vacuum on it (the way I read it!), I reckon you'd need to run it over with a steam roller.

And then you were thrown out of B&Q I presume

 

[rapparee]

You could use a cobra conduit rod

 

[snowhead]

I understand the 30 foot (feet even) and the PVC conduit bit, but what's this pedestal thing about?

P-Lot,, Parking lot??

Pedestals,, Pedestal lights??

3/4 conduit.

U.S of A??

 

[ferg]

P-Lot,, Parking lot??

Pedestals,, Pedestal lights??

3/4 conduit.

U.S of A??

I came to the same conclusion and decided it didn't matter as pipe is pipe and blocked is blocked wherever in the world you are

 

[Knobhead]

No matter how you look at it, it’s a stupid way of installing a supply.

 

[guest119]

My money is on whoever you took over from doing the dirty.

Boydy

 

[Geordie Spark]

P-Lot,, Parking lot??

Pedestals,, Pedestal lights??

3/4 conduit.

U.S of A??

U.S of A ... that explains everything except how they (allegedly ) managed to land a man on the moon and bring him back to earth again when they can't run a bit of 3/4" plastic conduit without filling it with clarts!!

 

[gpierson3]

Canada not USA.
P-lot: parking lot
Pedestals: parking lot plugs to plug your car into.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Canada not USA.
P-lot: parking lot
Pedestals: parking lot plugs to plug your car into.

Then why didn't you say so in the first place??

 

[gpierson3]

Common knowledge and or problem solving skills I suppose. In the end that wasn't pivotal to finding a solution to the problem so I didn't bother going in depth as to what exactly was going there.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Common knowledge and or problem solving skills I suppose. In the end that wasn't pivotal to finding a solution to the problem so I didn't bother going in depth as to what exactly was going there.

So after all the palaver have you managed to get the shyte out of your pipe yet?

 

[gpierson3]

Yea, used a pressure washer and blew the **** out, took awhile but managed to blow a few rocks and a bunch of dirt/mud out

 

[Geordie Spark]

Yea, used a pressure washer and blew the **** out, took awhile but managed to blow a few rocks and a bunch of dirt/mud out

Well done bonny lad!