# Trench drain probs!



## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

Working at a high class chinese rest. today with a sewer b/u on the sanitary line. Just as we have done the last 2 times (very recently) I augered and the line opened right up. Camera'd the line and it was clean and open. This line isn't just clean it looks like new pvc I guess our qaurterly jetting works! So not wanting to have this issue ever again I begin to investigate for the root cause. As I am investigating the manager says its backing up again and I check out the floor drains and no backup? Then I see the trench drain is b/u and the dishwasher says no problem I will get it and yanks the cover off of it. The cover is a piece of flat stainless 5" in dia on a 3" drain that is flat on the bottom .








Here is the cover laying flat on floor








Well it turns out that when the dishwasher pulls the cover all the trash in the trench goes down the drain sauce cups, forks, chopsticks etc. 

We didn't put the trench drain in we were outbid by rotorooter who hacked it in. The 3" outlet is just a stainless tailpiece 6" long put inside a piece of 3" pvc from the previous trench drain. But now we get to fix it go figure! We gave em a price for trench installed properly + 2 way co new trap etc. Apples weren't compared.

My thinking is a stainless tailpiece that will fit inside existing stainless with a flange on it so the outlet will be 1" above the surface keeping the trash and rice out of drain. Of course there will also be a large expanded metal dome above it.

Any other thoughts?


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## Dun' Right (Sep 27, 2010)

Look at them with a sad, yet serious face, and say, "No drain for you". :chinese:


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## Adamche (Feb 10, 2012)

Can you fabricate a "bucket" out of perforated sheet stainless, with a flange on top, with a handle. And it fits into the tube. And when it gets full of food and crap, they just have to lift it out into the bin/ trash


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## PrecisePlumbing (Jan 31, 2011)

Adamche said:


> Can you fabricate a "bucket" out of perforated sheet stainless, with a flange on top, with a handle. And it fits into the tube. And when it gets full of food and crap, they just have to lift it out into the bin/ trash


Excellent idea mate. We put them in our trench grates for commercial laundries as lint strainers. You have to make sure their is an alternate overflow in the room like a floor waste gully though because no one will clean it until it is overflowing everywhere


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

Adamche said:


> Can you fabricate a "bucket" out of perforated sheet stainless, with a flange on top, with a handle. And it fits into the tube. And when it gets full of food and crap, they just have to lift it out into the bin/ trash


I can but the same problem will exist. Bucket will get yanked out when the screen gets stopped up with rice etc. and then all the heavy trash will go into the drain! I am actually gonna tack the one I am building in so the lower piece can't be removed.


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## Adamche (Feb 10, 2012)

deerslayer said:


> I can but the same problem will exist. Bucket will get yanked out when the screen gets stopped up with rice etc. and then all the heavy trash will go into the drain! I am actually gonna tack the one I am building in so the lower piece can't be removed.


 yeah , like one inside the other, so they cant clog the drain just the strainer- sounds good:thumbup:


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

Adamche said:


> yeah , like one inside the other, so they cant clog the drain just the strainer- sounds good:thumbup:


The lower one will actually protrude above the bottom 1" and be tacked in. It will be perforated stainless and will drain when they move the garbage. The other will be a dome that they can remove but the heavier solids will be held back by the lip on the lower piece.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Get the proper strainer that sets in the drain.


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

SewerRatz said:


> Get the proper strainer that sets in the drain.


Once again when that strainer is full of rice and beans and quits draining they will pull it out and the trench drain will drain rapidly pulling all the trash in the drain. Also this trench drain wasn't manufactured it was fabbed in a weldshop not anything standard that those drains will fit.


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## AlbacoreShuffle (Aug 28, 2011)

deerslayer said:


> Once again when that strainer is full of rice and beans and quits draining they will pull it out and the trench drain will drain rapidly pulling all the trash in the drain. Also this trench drain wasn't manufactured it was fabbed in a weldshop not anything standard that those drains will fit.


Have a strainer / liner the size of width, depth , and length of the drain fabed up.
That way when it backs up they pull the whole thing up and all the trash with it.


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

AlbacoreShuffle said:


> Have a strainer / liner the size of width, depth , and length of the drain fabed up.
> That way when it backs up they pull the whole thing up and all the trash with it.


That's a good thought!


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## Sewer Saint (May 5, 2012)

AlbacoreShuffle said:


> Have a strainer / liner the size of width, depth , and length of the drain fabed up.
> That way when it backs up they pull the whole thing up and all the trash with it.


That is the way I would handle it. Add in a secondary catch under it as rice is a pain to deal with. Get them to flush their system often as well to pass the smaller food particles out, such as dump all non-debris filled waste water down that drain.


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