# First smoke test.



## plungerboy (Oct 17, 2013)

Did my first smoke test today. 

Home owner had a bad smell in only one bathroom. Reset toilet 2x. Checked traps. Camera drain & vents & duct work. Check exhaust fans for birds. Then the bomb or as the directions said smoke generator. 

We wanted to wait for better weather to cap off all the roof vent but customer couldn't Handel another day of the smell. After 4 awesome bombs and no smoke in the house we found a giant mouse nest above the light switch in the wall.


----------



## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

I wish there was an electronic sniffer that can pinpoint smells.

I have a job that I fired off a dozen 3 minute smoke bombs in the various cleanouts. No smoke anywhere in the building, yet people are still complaining about odors. And the smell is random. I never have smelled anything each time I was there.


----------



## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

Smells are the hardest thing to trace sometimes. None of us smell that stuff anymore


----------



## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

SewerRatz said:


> I wish there was an electronic sniffer that can pinpoint smells.
> 
> I have a job that I fired off a dozen 3 minute smoke bombs in the various cleanouts. No smoke anywhere in the building, yet people are still complaining about odors. And the smell is random. I never have smelled anything each time I was there.


Dead rat in a wall?
Somebody's left over sandwich?


----------



## SERVICEPLUM (Nov 21, 2013)

Smells are very common is high rise buildings in FL. The best way (usually works) out UBEND or two 90s at each vent of roof. Radom smells are coming from winds blowing down the line and threw wax seals and such. Will not show in smoke test!


----------



## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

SERVICEPLUM said:


> Smells are very common is high rise buildings in FL. The best way (usually works) out UBEND or two 90s at each vent of roof. Radom smells are coming from winds blowing down the line and threw wax seals and such. Will not show in smoke test!


I agree on that but is it allowed???


----------



## SERVICEPLUM (Nov 21, 2013)

In FL it is... You can even put a stuffer vent in the wall down here. Growing up in New Jersey and moving to FL was a huge shock! The codes down here are unreal.


----------



## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

SERVICEPLUM said:


> In FL it is... You can even put a stuffer vent in the wall down here. Growing up in New Jersey and moving to FL was a huge shock! The codes down here are unreal.


Now... what's a stuffer vent???


----------



## SERVICEPLUM (Nov 21, 2013)

Studor vent. iPhone auto correct


----------



## AKdaplumba (Jan 12, 2010)

how did you find a nest above a light switch in the wall?


----------



## plungerboy (Oct 17, 2013)

Did another smoke test today. I can't believe I have never done one and then 2 in 2 weeks. 

This time it was a nail salon with a horrible odor. 

We went there about a month ago and reset a lose toilet, raised vent stack; at customers request. He thought the vent was too low and a "back draft" into the hvac vent system was part of the issue. Ran all sinks and traps on foot soaking tub were full when we left. Now no smell. 

Fast forward a month ,horrible smell back again. Went back checked toilet, tight. Vent pipe still on the roof. I have a Ridgid combustible detector. Detector didn't alarm on low one time. We put it on high and no matter where you went in the building it had at least 2-3 out of 5 possible levels of reading. It seemed to be everywhere. 

Then we went on the roof with the smoke machine to blow thru the vent. Capped off sewer in clean out. Light the first bomb and filled the salon with smoke. It was awesome. It was a volcano of smoke pouring out of a foot soaking tub. Sorry didn't get a picture of that but it was cool. I learned that the salon stopped using the first soaking tub because the chair massager quit working about a month ago. Before you say why didn't you ask them how often they use those tubs. I will tell you we had a language barrier issue and communication was tough. When i asked them the last time i was there they use them all day and all the time. 

To fix the issue we simply ran water in the trap and told them to run water every day. 











Here is our hillbilly smoke machine. It's an exhaust fan,4x3 flu reducer and aluminum dryer vent. Very cheap but effective. We light smoke bomb and place it in 4x3 reducer and start the fan. 











Here is the culprit.


----------



## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

AKdaplumba said:


> how did you find a nest above a light switch in the wall?


Probably by removing the switchplate and looking, usually there is space between the box and the drywall. The last ones I found were inside the box where they made a "connection." :laughing:


----------



## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

plungerboy said:


> Here is our hillbilly smoke machine. It's an exhaust fan,4x3 flu reducer and aluminum dryer vent. Very cheap but effective. We light smoke bomb and place it in 4x3 reducer and start the fan.


That's one awesome Hillbilly Smoke Machine right there! :thumbup:

I like the fan throwing a positive pressure on the line rather than just dropping bombs, and the pressure won't be high enough like a vacuum cleaner generates to blow out trap seal...

It's bringing in the bacon can't knock that! :thumbup:


----------



## plungerboy (Oct 17, 2013)

AKdaplumba said:


> how did you find a nest above a light switch in the wall?


It was by accident. I was wiping up underneath the vanity and set something on the counter and we I got up from underneath the vanity my face went near the switch and it stunk. Then at this point I said we checked everything else so I took the cover off and I really stunk. Got lucky.


----------



## plungerboy (Oct 17, 2013)

Redwood said:


> That's one awesome Hillbilly Smoke Machine right there! :thumbup:
> 
> I like the fan throwing a positive pressure on the line rather than just dropping bombs, and the pressure won't be high enough like a vacuum cleaner generates to blow out trap seal...
> 
> It's bringing in the bacon can't knock that! :thumbup:


Thanks. I bought the smallest cfm i could find. This fan does 70cfm. Like you said I wanted to have a little pressure but not blow any traps. We usually cycle the power switch off an on.


----------

