# Routine tub stoppage



## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Oh yeah, Get there to find a tub/shower, shower, lav and condensate stoppage. 

Both back to back, both w/c's flush, no movement in the water when flushed, checked the main to make sure, and one of the lav's drain.

2-2" vents, one behind the lav that is blocked, 1 on the end of the run behind the toilet.

Ran through the tub, came up in the shower in the opposite bathroom .

Ran through VTR behind lav, came up in shower in the opposite bathroom.

Ran through the condensate, came up in the shower.

Ran the VTR on the end of the run, came up under the w/c.

Some dufus has put a san. cross or a twin ell and tied the 2" lines together and dropped down into the top of the 4" I suspect.

Will one of the smaller cameras make it through a 2" p trap?




.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

I have put my small MyTana through a 2" PVC trap and was good for about 25' before it wouldn't push anymore. It is in need of a repair  or I would send it to you.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

plbgbiz said:


> I have put my small MyTana through a 2" PVC trap and was good for about 25' before it wouldn't push anymore. It is in need of a repair  or I would send it to you.


I appreciate that John. It's only going to be a few feet, but may be several sharp turns.


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## Ron (Jun 12, 2008)

Routine? Are you saying it is common where your at?


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Ron said:


> Routine? Are you saying it is common where your at?


I don't get to deal with what most plumbers would consider a standard plumbing system very often. Rural area that code enforcement has always been inadequate at best. Most of it was done by plumbers that just did it with what ever fittings they had in their truck, along with a bottle of whiskey. Some of it is OK at best, the rest is just plain bizarre .


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

There is an apartment complex I do work for. They tied two units together with a cross laid down with the back end capped off. The clean outs only go in the direction of the city main. When there is a stoppage under the slab in the main line, it has to be dug up and co installed. They also tied all the two inch drains together and stood up a cross with the top of it capped of. This place is terrible it takes a excavator or a jack hammer to unstop most drains there.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

easttexasplumb said:


> There is an apartment complex I do work for. They tied two units together with a cross laid down with the back end capped off. The clean outs only go in the direction of the city main. When there is a stoppage under the slab in the main line, it has to be dug up and co installed. They also tied all the two inch drains together and stood up a cross with the top of it capped of. This place is terrible it takes a excavator or a jack hammer to unstop most drains there.


I hear you. I wanted to camera the bldg drain to pin point the fitting. 1 C/O, 3/4 of the way out to the street, going to the street.


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## Will (Jun 6, 2010)

Drop head won't go down at the cross/double 90?


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

Not when the blockage is between the 2" cross and the building drain below it. I jackhammer floor and take the cap off the top of the cross. Then a cleanout is intsalled in the floor, that allows a cable to vertically travel through the cross and into the building drain below.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Will said:


> Drop head won't go down at the cross/double 90?


If the vert piece is totally blocked, and being 2", it would be some of the best luck in the world trying to go Stevie Wonder on it.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

I had to drop into a 4" san cross a couple of weeks ago on bxb toilets. I had to get my camera in there and turn the drum by hand until I could get the head to drop in, and that was a 3/8 cable with a drop head.


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## Nevada Plumber (Jan 3, 2009)

Rick, the Ridgid microDrain will go through a 2" trap and many turns.


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## stillaround (Mar 11, 2009)

Have a restaurant that used crosses underground....we finally chopped to get a good cleanout and ran into raceway full of wires....ended up stubbing up a 2", they bought a cable but still call us because they dont know how to aim the cable....ok with me...

it takes a lot of time to investigate that sort of dufusry


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

stillaround said:


> Have a restaurant that used crosses underground....we finally chopped to get a good cleanout and ran into raceway full of wires....ended up stubbing up a 2", they bought a cable but still call us because they dont know how to aim the cable....ok with me...
> 
> it takes a lot of time to investigate that sort of dufusry


Dufusry sums it up, should have been a piece of cake stoppage.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

If you have a 1/2" cable on a drain machine put a wicked bend on the end that will turn into the first fitting it comes to... No if ands or buts....

Run it out until you hear it ticking in the fitting. That will get you location by sound and you could also probably stab the clog....

You just gotta think like Stevie Wonder.... :laughing:


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Redwood said:


> If you have a 1/2" cable on a drain machine put a wicked bend on the end that will turn into the first fitting it comes to... No if ands or buts....
> 
> Run it out until you hear it ticking in the fitting. That will get you location by sound and you could also probably stab the clog....
> 
> You just gotta think like Stevie Wonder.... :laughing:


Man I try. I am going back Monday and grope around some more.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

About 3" from the end of the cable give it about a 90 degree bend...
That should do it in a 2" pipe...

Also you may want to try running the machine in reverse while you feed it through there if you have trouble hitting the drop in forward....


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

Redwood said:


> About 3" from the end of the cable give it about a 90 degree bend...
> That should do it in a 2" pipe...
> 
> Also you may want to try running the machine in reverse while you feed it through there if you have trouble hitting the drop in forward....


I have gotten lucky a time or two at those apartments by doing that. Now that I have busted the slab and gotten to the cross a couple of times. All of the units are piped the same, I can intall a floor clean out in about half a day. The location of this cross is under the fridge so we are Not to intrusive on the tenants.


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## Ron (Jun 12, 2008)

Redwood gave some good pointers, running the cable in reverse at the tee will play a major factor in getting it to drop, the cable will lay differently in reverse in the pipe, can't tell you how many time this procedure helped me out on getting it go where I wanted the cable to go. 

Tip for you, if you don't have to maneuver around a trap and you have an entrance to pipe, to push the cable a said distance, pull enough cable out the drum, spin drum so the 90 crook is facing downward, now push cable down line till you fill the resistance, at that point you could try to stab it into the drop as Red mentioned, or apply forward pressure on cable, flip on power, try forward and reverse, work that spot, till you succeed.


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Run into a ton of back to back shower piped in like that.

I have found that a sectional machine (to me) is a little easier to maneuver down through the San cross. Drum machines take a little more persuasion. 

Rick, I'm not sure if the Micro will go down a 2" P-Trap, have never tired it but I do know it will make a 2" Cross, did it the other day.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

As far a getting the mini see-snakes to make the turns you can always loop string through the spring and string trick the turn...

But you do want the line clear first to see...

Maneuver the cam into position and pull the string to curve the cam into position....

Sometimes making a loop in the push rod and rotating the camera is needed...

After making the turn pull the string back out....


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Well we got it... I got my camera in through the 2" roof vent and found a twin ell.

I found a drop head that weighed 5 lbs that fit another machine and modified it to fit my MR.

It is a '60's house that has been remodeled.

The twin ell is perched atop a "P" trap that is serving all the 2" in the bathroom group.

They had been away for almost a month, and I suspect the condensate algae had attached itself to the crud in the "P" trap.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

I pour a cup of household bleach down my A/C condensate drain line each month when I change the filter. Maybe you could install one of the automatic algicide dispensers for the cust.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

SlickRick said:


> Well we got it... I got my camera in through the 2" roof vent and found a twin ell.


 I just can't believe twin ell's were ever legal for drainage.

I had about 20 of them in 2" ABS kicking around the shop for the better part of 20 years -- They found there way to me through an auction lot of ABS fittings I purchased sight unseen.

I hauled them off to the landfill about ten years ago.

Never once found a legal use for one.


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## stillaround (Mar 11, 2009)

How much is this simple little drain clearing gonna cost now?


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

stillaround said:


> How much is this simple little drain clearing gonna cost now?


$750.00 :laughing:


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

SlickRick said:


> $750.00 :laughing:


All the way to the bank, that is...

:thumbup:


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

I think it is a cross.:laughing: Looks like it's jack :hammer: time.


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## Mississippiplum (Sep 30, 2011)

easttexasplumb said:


> View attachment 12389
> 
> 
> 
> ...


theres yur problem! :laughing: no telling what you will find when you bust up the slab.


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## Titan Plumbing (Oct 8, 2009)

Looks like you got the vent clean at least...


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

It's a cross with top capped off, I need the work so I won't complain, but that is poor plumbing.


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## Mississippiplum (Sep 30, 2011)

easttexasplumb said:


> It's a cross with top capped off, I need the work so I won't complain, but that is poor plumbing.


thats the main thing is that you are getting work, hopefuly the house wasnt plumbed like that when it was built. i bet a hack probly tried his hand at plumbing and thats the result :laughing:


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

ETP, is that the apts. over near Estes parkway.


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

Yep


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

Titan Plumbing said:


> Looks like you got the vent clean at least...


I knew I was going up the other vent only pushed it all the way out for the pic.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

easttexasplumb said:


> Yep


Rough neighborhood for a white boy.

Did you get a camera in the line?


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Those twin-ell's should be banned.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Widdershins said:


> Those twin-ell's should be banned.


No way man! I encourage all new construction guys to keep using them. Especially the CI version.


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

Dead on the cross without a cam, just used a tape measure and experience.


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

If the top of the cross is capped off then how did you run the cable out of the roof jack?


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

Plumberman said:


> If the top of the cross is capped off then how did you run the cable out of the roof jack?


The fixtures on both sides of the cross are vented.


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

easttexasplumb said:


> The fixtures on both sides of the cross are vented.


That's retarded

Why in the hell would you individually vent 2 fixtures off of a cross? We put them in the ground here but always vent out the top.


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