# Jetter Pitfalls



## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

So what would you have done different with your jetter if you knew then what you know now?

I am not really referring to choice of equipment but more procedures and technique. 

When to jet?

When not to jet?

When to go slow?

When to blast away?

When you have to head downstream instead of up stream?

When you have to jet inside a building in a line holding water?


Do tell....


----------



## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

when to jet on lines that have greese or a soft clogg we cant get with sewer machine, duo to footage in drian
when not to jet, on most castiron lines 
when to go slow, always no mater if you camerad line or not, you still cant tell the structure of pipe if
when to blast away on the final part of jetting after you ran camera and see how clean it is you can get what ever left behind going slow but full throtle
when to head up stream i personally head up stream with the nozzle that jets are in back of head causeing the hose to travel buy it self what i do is get to the furthes point i can and pull the hose with jetter on pulling all the crap towards main than i get the head with the jets in the front and push to city main camera and reapet btw make sure you cleared line first lol 
when you jet inside with line holding water, ok tricky this is when theres not other way of getting clogged now what i do i go through vent cut vent in ceiling or what have you and push hose as far as i can before turning on jetter once i cant go no more i turn it on usually we blast through it before we make a mess


----------



## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

When I jet a line for root intrusion it usually means I was called there for a back up so I have snaked it to get it open so I run a camera down and write down the measurements of the root balls and the length to the city main. I reel out the jetter line and place duct tape at the max end so I don't go into the city main. I run the jetter out at medium speed to clean the line and get some of the roots then place the camera in the line to the farthest root location, pull the jetter head back and position it at the right spot, pull the camera back 6-10 feet and blast that spot. I repeat this all the way back to the beginning. When I get done there are no roots in the line, it takes longer to do this and I charge a premium price but the line is free of roots.

Soft stoppages I run it out slow to dilute the mess and get it flowing.

The hardest and scariest Jetting is running down a clogged pipe blind that you have never done before but sometimes it is what is needed. But when your $1300 nozzle exits the pipe and starts drilling in the dirt and you can't pull your line back it makes you want to cry lol. Experience has taught me to go slow on blind jettings and I am always pulling back on the hose every few feet to prove I can get it back. And sound is very important, you can hear when the jetter has eaten away something it gets loader as the object is removed.


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Always pull the poo to you, if you can.
Know where the next manhole/cleanout is. 
Making turns and rough spots is the same as a camera, bicycle the line if you have no jump jet. 
Use a different colored leader so you know when your almost back 20'. 
Rat tail, rat tail, rat tail. 
When your back and pull the rat tail out the big chunks will be right there. 
Leave enough water for the pull back. In cast Iron lines when the bottom is gone the "spray" will hold your head up so it won't get caught. 
Make sure the jetter fires before you leave the shop.
After you fill up in below freezing weather tie your hose in the tank and recirc it until you get to the job or the shop.


----------



## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

"Make sure the jetter fires before you leave the shop."

That really is a great piece of advise right there Okie


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Cuda said:


> "Make sure the jetter fires before you leave the shop."
> 
> That really is a great piece of advise right there Okie


Especially when your apprentices love that strobe light. :laughing:


----------



## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

DesertOkie said:


> ...After you fill up in below freezing weather tie your hose in the tank and recirc it until you get to the job or the shop.


Monday it is supposed to be 13F and we have a jetter job 1st thing. 

Is there another option for driving between calls? An antifreeze mixture by chance?


----------



## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

when you have to jet inside a building with the line already backed up and you can't get it open with a sewer machine . We have a 55 gallon drum wet vac that we can get the level of water down before we start jetting so it will give us five minutes of jetting before the area starts flooding.


----------



## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

plbgbiz said:


> Monday it is supposed to be 13F and we have a jetter job 1st thing.
> 
> Is there another option for driving between calls? An antifreeze mixture by chance?


Yes there is a antifreeze solution you can buy that is safe for the environment and sewers.


heres a link for the wet vac we use also http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/DAYTON-Industrial-Two-Stage-WetDry-Vacuum-4YE60?Pid=search


----------



## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

antifreeze like this is what we use in our spartan jetter . it has its own antifreeze tank that you can circulate it through the system when its below freezing. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...pla-_-Antifreezes+&+Coolants-_-9SIA0SD0E31315


----------



## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

After every jet job clean and oil your nozzles, small nozzles wrap in an oil soaked rag, this way the holes do not rust shut. My Spartan trailer jet has an air valve to blow all the water out of the pump and hose, but I still follow up with an antifreeze. 

When I got my first jetter it was a 2HP electric unit by Viking. I jetted everything, kitchen sinks, lav sinks, bath tubs, floor drains only thing I did not jet was a main line unless it was sludged up. Did not bother pulling the rod off the truck for all those lines.

What I learned real quick is, I should of rodded the sink lines first. I had a blocked kitchen sink on the first floor, jetted it out, filled the sink and watched it drain like ***** falls. The lady went in the basement to get some rags, and she let out a shreik. I ran down and the floor drain in the basement spewed out some real nasty stuff. I cleaned the 2" sink line so well I plugged up the 4" sink line (just before stack). So now I rod the lines first then run the jetter to ensure that the line further down is clear.

One more thing if you do not use your jetter that often, like once a month or so, even in the summer months winterize your jetter, just in case it sits till winter.


----------



## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

plbgbiz said:


> So what would you have done different with your jetter if you knew then what you know now?
> 
> I am not really referring to choice of equipment but more procedures and technique.
> 
> ...


The camera and jetter really shine together. Use them together or you're wasting time. If I come to a main line stoppage, I'll cable first with a reverse auger to drop the water then camera and jet the trouble locations. When I camera, I inspect to the city tie in.


----------



## okcplum (Jul 16, 2011)

plbgbiz said:


> Monday it is supposed to be 13F and we have a jetter job 1st thing.
> 
> Is there another option for driving between calls? An antifreeze mixture by chance?


It's easy to rig a antifreeze system into your jetter.


----------



## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Fortunately for the time being it will be parked in the shop at night so freezing is not a concern overnight.

My worry is traveling to and from jobs in freezing weather. i am liking the idea of leaving the engine at an idle and letting it recirc back to the tank.


----------



## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

plbgbiz said:


> Fortunately for the time being it will be parked in the shop at night so freezing is not a concern overnight.
> 
> My worry is traveling to and from jobs in freezing weather. i am liking the idea of leaving the engine at an idle and letting it recirc back to the tank.


Last company I worked for we had a large harbin trailer jetter and we always had it recircing to tank through the hose when it was cold out. We wouldn't fill the tank just 20 gallons or so and the pump would put out enough heat to keep that water good and warm!


----------



## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

BTW: Cudos to Desert Okie for suggesting this thread.


----------



## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

I got a question.....

Do you guys heat the water like a steamer ?


----------



## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

OldSchool said:


> I got a question.....
> 
> Do you guys heat the water like a steamer ?


Mine is a cold water only jetter.


----------



## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

plbgbiz said:


> Mine is a cold water only jetter.


Just wondering ... A really good friend of mine has a high pressure wash business ...

When I was about 16 him and I use to work for the same guy high pressure washing equipment at the mine ...

he does sewers .. Washes fleets .. Cleans restraunt equipment and also delivers water in bulk ...

He now has about 10 big trucks on the road ...

He uses heated water more like a steamer


----------



## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

OldSchool said:


> Just wondering ... A really good friend of mine has a high pressure wash business ...
> 
> When I was about 16 him and I use to work for the same guy high pressure washing equipment at the mine ...
> 
> ...


That would be awesome for a grease line!


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

When jetting frozen lines use a deicing nozzle, aka pusher or grease nozzle, and just let it bump against the ice and just sit there and work. Tugging back and continually letting it bump into an ice plug like you might do with a normal blockage just seems to slow the process down in frozen pipes. If using a cart devise a wye out of garden hose fittings and hook up to the laundry water supply. The mixed hot and cold will give you warm water which melts ice better but is cool enough for the pump and hose.

Recirculate your trailer jet anytime the temp is near freezing or below and when on the job do your work quickly and get it circulating again ASAP. Easy in low temps to circulate all the way to the job and then get sidetracked after jetting while cleaning up, etc and leave the hose laying across 0 degree ground which will quickly freeze the hose making circulation on the way back to shop impossible. Only takes a couple minutes really to create a disaster in cold temps.


----------



## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

OldSchool said:


> I got a question.....
> 
> Do you guys heat the water like a steamer ?


Not a good idea. Bill from Jetters edge reported that they tried jetting with hot water and it cauterized the roots and they never grew back. But this might be good if your looking into lining. 

In grease, you'll melt the grease but as it floats downstream, it'll stick to the sidewalls once it cools down. Jet grease with cold water and it emulsifies it into small bits that float down whole. This is why you should never run hot water when snaking a kitchen line....do it enough times and the main will be pluged with grease.

If you run hot water through a pump....you'll kill the seals....that's why a bypass is preferred over an unloader...water stays cooler. If you want to try it, you have to get a hot box which is basically a tankless water heater piped after the pump.


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

I forgot one, keep your mouth shut when looking down the manhole or cleanout.


----------



## BuckeyeBowhunte (May 4, 2011)

are you guys all taking your augers and jets to all your jobs?

I have all my stuff in an enclosed trailer, then have a seperate trailer jet. If I travel 30 minutes 1 way, I don't wanna double back to get the other trailer. But if I get out there, and need my drum machine when I've got the trailer jet, i'm screwed.

Also, without seeing the house and how the cleanout ties in in the basement (most are in the basement here) how do you know if you'll be able to get your jetter to make the turn, in say, an old cast iron line?

I'm set up to jet from the basement (warthog, 3/8" hose, and remote reel), but I don't wanna drive out to a job and realize i shoulda brought the other machine.


----------



## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

I like to have the line open and flowing before jetting, so if I had to choose and had never been there before the snake is going there first. If I find it's a jetting job then another trip is how it goes.


----------



## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

This thread is a real eye opening one about jetting. With so many new facts and testimonies I am glad I've decided not to invest in a jetter for the near future. Way to much research and planning. 

GREAT THREAD!!!


----------



## BuckeyeBowhunte (May 4, 2011)

Indie said:


> This thread is a real eye opening one about jetting. With so many new facts and testimonies I am glad I've decided not to invest in a jetter for the near future. Way to much research and planning.
> 
> GREAT THREAD!!!


I do only sewer and drain work. no plumbing, but I couldn't buy a jetter soon enough. 

Opened a lot of doors that I'da had no business trying w/ my cart machine or snake.

Heck, yesterday i got to jet a pond overflow from ON the ice!


----------



## BuckeyeBowhunte (May 4, 2011)

Cuda said:


> I like to have the line open and flowing before jetting, so if I had to choose and had never been there before the snake is going there first. If I find it's a jetting job then another trip is how it goes.


thanks...

I'm due to give you a shout again... how ya been?


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

BuckeyeBowhunte said:


> I do only sewer and drain work. no plumbing, but I couldn't buy a jetter soon enough.
> 
> Opened a lot of doors that I'da had no business trying w/ my cart machine or snake.
> 
> Heck, yesterday i got to jet a pond overflow from ON the ice!


Looks good Seth. Are you running that trailer jet a lot?


----------



## BuckeyeBowhunte (May 4, 2011)

SewerRat said:


> Looks good Seth. Are you running that trailer jet a lot?


some. Due to give it some paint here this week.

I'm the main man at a small local municipality that doesn't have a jetter, and i get a lot of stuff refered to me by other plumbers because they don't have one. All since I've got this machine.

I also find myself taking it out and using it more in places where i woulda tried the cart machine in the past, but I can just roll in and kick tail with this thing and be on my way. 

In and out of that pond situation last night in 45 minutes including setup and teardown. I'da had no business in there with my cart machine.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

I've heard a lot of guys say jetter pulse isn't necessary. I was leaning heavily toward that camp until tonight.

We were on a water line thawing job. 1" copper and it was too long for a steam hose to thaw. This was at a gas station so they were worried about using a welder or Hot Shot as the fuel lines to the pumps and the water run in a joint trench. 

We finally decided to jet it. We ran our 4 gpm cart and advanced through some ice, then were free for a ways, then started feeling something again. At this point we were far enough in that we could not pull back under pressure, so every little while we would shut down and test to see if we could still pull back. That was all fine and dandy until we stopped and COULDN'T pull back. Oh, CRAP!!! We are 170' in a copper water service, under asphalt / concrete the entire way, it's dark, cold, and late, and this just went from a thawing job to us footing the bill for a whole new water service with 170' of patchback. We got two guys on it and pulled til we thought it would break, still no go. 

Finally we decided to try running the engine at an idle to keep pressure from working against us and turned the pulse valve all the way in. At an idle the pump turns slow giving a good hard pulse. My brother pulled and it started to move literally inches at a time. It seemed the harder he pulled the slower it moved sometimes stopping entirely, but steady firm pressure and it inched its way out. We adjusted the throttle slightly above idle til it seemed the pulse frequency was the most effective. It took probably a full 15 minutes until finally it came free and we reeled it in. HUGE sighs of relief all around. Time to call it a day.

We'd have been SCREWED if we hadn't succeeded in getting it back. I learned that pulse might not be necessary for advancing up a line, but it can save your butt getting back out. I don't believe we'd have ever got it just by jumping the foot valve.


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

^^^
If you are talking about what Harbin calls the jump jett, it is super handy for getting back in broken lines too.


----------



## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

BuckeyeBowhunte said:


> thanks...
> 
> I'm due to give you a shout again... how ya been?


Right on Seth! I knew you would make that trailer jet work for you. And more business is in your future!


----------



## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

Kendall I am glad you got back out! I always have someone with me and when I get hung up I have them pull on the hose tight or use the hydraulic reel and I flip my pressure valve part way back and forth. Not all the way from open to close just between nothing and something and I have always got back out. I don't even bring the foot valve with me anymore.


----------



## 422 plumber (Jul 31, 2008)

SewerRat said:


> I've heard a lot of guys say jetter pulse isn't necessary. I was leaning heavily toward that camp until tonight.
> 
> We were on a water line thawing job. 1" copper and it was too long for a steam hose to thaw. This was at a gas station so they were worried about using a welder or Hot Shot as the fuel lines to the pumps and the water run in a joint trench.
> 
> ...


Kudos, but was that a potable water line? If so, had that hose ever been in a sewer? Was it sanitized? Not ball busting, but I used to use the same can of dope on a sewer cleanout then use it on water heater dielectrics.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

422 plumber said:


> Kudos, but was that a potable water line? If so, had that hose ever been in a sewer? Was it sanitized? Not ball busting, but I used to use the same can of dope on a sewer cleanout then use it on water heater dielectrics.


Yes it is a thoroughly sanitized clean hose. (I knew that question was coming, can't believe it took a day, lol!)


----------



## 422 plumber (Jul 31, 2008)

SewerRat said:


> Yes it is a thoroughly sanitized clean hose. (I knew that question was coming, can't believe it took a day, lol!)


Thanks for doing the right thing. A lot of plumbers, myself included, blather on about "plumbers protecting the health of the nation," while doing stupid stuff 
that could possibly contaminate potable water supplies.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

422 plumber said:


> Thanks for doing the right thing. A lot of plumbers, myself included, blather on about "plumbers protecting the health of the nation," while doing stupid stuff
> that could possibly contaminate potable water supplies.


We have a big tub that gets a very strong Clorox solution and our hoses get dumped in it before any thawing job, whether steam or jetter. Hoses come straight out of solution into the line. We have no choice as we have been working directly with them city on their side of the meter a lot. A guy tries to do right but having someone looking over your shoulder always helps keep us on our toes.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

This is part 1 of the story of our disaster two days ago. This is very humbling to recount but for those that are getting into jetting or are over-confident I offer this as an educational resource for what it's worth.

We were called to this house because the sewer was backed up and they had had two previous companies out there multiple times. This time neither one was able to open the line, and both had told them the sewer needed to be replaced. They wanted us to camera the line, but we told them if it was blocked we would have to open it to see anything on the inspection.

Follow closely.

We got to the job and the first thing we noticed was the house sat quite high, with a 3' high retaining wall running along the driveway, and the ground sloping moderately toward the road. The field behind the house was higher in elevation than the house. We had been told that a cleanout had been cut in at the rear of the house and that we would be using that. We walked around and sure enough, there was sewage around a hole in the dirt. We fired up the vac truck and sucked the hole dry and found a hole knocked in the top of the pipe, some handy-hack's version of a cleanout. The sewer appeared to be running into the slope. It was only about 16" deep at the exposed spot, but we reasoned that if it continued that direction it would get very deep at some point. My one hard rule is to know where you are going when cleaning a line. We had no idea where the main was and I couldn't find any manholes in the street in front, so I called the city engineering department and gave them the address. They told me there was a manhole on the next street to the west and that the tap for our job was 385' east of that manhole. I got in my truck and drove around the block, located the manhole, popped the lid, and observed a 12" main coming in from that direction. Ok, so we measure off roughly 385' and it hits at about the corner of this property. Meanwhile, we had located another cleanout which was for an RV dump further out from the house and almost directly in line between the sewer leaving the house and the location where the city said the tap was. At that point it was pretty straightforward. I sat at the manhole, on the phone, while my Dad and brother jetted. I would tell them to stop when I heard the nozzle enter the main. We ran it once at low pressure since we weren't sure if the line was Orangeburg, and the line drained, but slowly. We tried to camera, and could see that it was a clay line with roots at every joint, but we quickly ran underwater and couldn't see, and then came to a spot where we couldn't push past. OK, so now that we know the line isn't Orangeburg we can crank up the pressure and shred some roots, which is exactly what we did. There was one spot where the nozzle would stop, and we would pull back and pop through it. We also observed that the line would not drain until we had pulled back through that spot, which told us that whatever it was, our hose was blocking the opening until we pulled back, whereupon the line could drain. We assumed (wrongly, but it was logical) that it was probably a badly settled joint where they had cut and Fernco'ed in the RV dump. We continued to jet 3 more passes, each time stopping when I heard the nozzle enter the main.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

We tried again to camera but the line was still holding water enough that we couldn't see anything. Bellies, we thought. Or a root ball holding back water. We pulled back and decided to work that tough spot for a bit. Each time we would get to that point the nozzle would stop, then we would pull back and punch it and pop through. We decided to work that spot, in case it was a heavy root nest. We were just going out when the tenant came out and said, "Did you guys put a bunch of air pressure in the line or something?" 

I'm like, "No, water pressure, but no air. Why?"

He says, "Well, my basement bathroom..." at which point my mind sort of fuzzed out and I'm not really sure what he said except that he motioned for me to follow him inside.

This is what I saw. 

Notice the nice little ABS cleanout cap right in the floor.

Anyway, I never once thought about a basement bathroom. It was all so straightforward. I had done my homework. I had called the city. I had spent a good half hour making sure I know where the sewer ran to. And that sewer was only about 16" deep.

What in this world is going on here?

Folks, it was horrible. As you can see, there are roots hanging from the toilet, there were roots in the sink, there were roots in the shower, there was crap on the ceiling above the shower drain, it had blown the shower drain grate clear out, and there were large clumps of roots on the floor, which you can see in the one pic is just about to be washed down the drain. (I stopped him before it went down). Their bedding was laying in front of the washing machine, and the black crap had totally flooded it. There is no way to describe how bad we felt.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

We could not figure out what had happened, but the fact that there was a basement bathroom was a fact that had never been mentioned. Now here we were, and it was our fault. Funny thing was, the bathroom drained fine, and now the tenant says that it hasn't been giving any problems whatsoever. We cleaned it up some, then decided to do some camera work to see what was going on. We camera'd the backed up line first and then located, and found it not south of the house but west of the house, running toward the street on a 45* angle. What???? We drove up the street and found two manholes east of the property, on their side of the street, so we thought maybe the city had given us false info. We went downstairs and camera'd through the cleanout in the floor, and went 178' before hitting a main. We searched a wide area and finally found it in a totally unexpected spot. You can see the red lines in the pic that illustrate the layout. The two shallow cleanouts are marked, and you can see how the line wrapped around the house and dove down to wye into the other main which left the west side of the house. 

We finally determined that the tough spot we were feeling was a huge root ball right at the wye (yellow circle). Using the camera from the basement to prevent any further problems, we jetted with a smaller 3/8" Warthog and shredded the root ball.

We also now know that we cleaned about 100' of the city's main very well. 

I have talked at length to people with knowledge of jetting, and was always told that blowing a toilet was due to venting problems. I thought that it couldn't happen to us since we tried really hard to understand what we were dealing with. However, that is what this essentially was. For those of you who don't know, a 1/2" Warthog creates a lot of suction in a pipe, which is usually vented through your access point. In this case, instead of shredding the root blockage, we were popping through it and immediately entering the wye into the other line. The roots were sealing back off around the hose, preventing any venting in that direction. This also explains why it would hold water until we pulled back past that spot, at which point it would drain slowly. Anyway, once we popped past that spot the suction from the nozzle had to vent through that basement bathroom, which the vents were not adequate for. Thus, it blew the trap seals. Once we jetted the root blockage away, the upper line drained very well and we were able to camera the entire line. It was clay all the way, with evidence of roots at the majority of joints, and some broken spots. Oh, and we also found an actual cleanout that somebody had at some point installed which was mostly covered with dirt. It was in the field to the west of the house, about 50' past the wye.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

After the final inspection, we buckled down to cleaning. We spent a long, long time with a garden hose and a shop vac, then a floor squeegee, then paper towels and disinfectant. When we were done the tenants wife said she would just go over everything again with bleach. 

We are so very fortunate that the tenants were nicer and more understanding than a person could even imagine. They didn't even think it was our fault. She said she would give it the final once-over with bleach. She said it was no big deal, the laundry was washable, and that it was the third time she had to clean up the mess. The other two times, she had to do it all herself. Apparently at some point one of the previous companies had cabled the line, and that same root blockage had been cut loose just enough to fall down and block the lower sewer, allowing the upper line to drain into the basement. He had cabled from the basement before it would drain. The only difference, she said, was that the other two times the sewage hadn't sprayed the walls and sink.

We are also fortunate that it was a linoleum floor on concrete, in a mechanical room / bathroom. If it had been a carpeted, plush, nicely finished bathroom it would have been an insurance claim.

We felt so bad, we did what we could to make it right, but when we finally went to lunch at around 4:00 we stopped by a popular steakhouse and bought the tenants a $50 gift card as a token.

In hindsight, I know that one or two more questions would have maybe prevented disaster, but we thought we had it all figured out and got so focused on our assumptions that we just missed the obvious. Just like I always make sure I know where I'm going to, I also have this rule that I look at the plumbing inside the house if possible. I broke that rule and it cost us. I have beat myself up over this for two days now, but keep coming back to the fact that it was, in fact, a very unusual layout for sewer tie-ins, and even had we known we may have not totally avoided it. At least the last guy didn't.

In our defense, we were told when we were called that the sewer was totally blocked, and that all the water being used in the house was running across the backyard. 

This concludes tonights installment of "Jetter Pitfalls." Take from it whatever you can to hopefully avoid a situation like this of your own.

And if you want, go ahead and shred away. I fully realize there are things we missed and shouldn't have, and if you care to name them I will tell you in advance I have already thought long and hard about them.

Again, learn what you can from other's, in this case our, mistakes.


----------



## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Wow, this was some real priceless information I just learned. Thank you so much for sharing. My stomach sank when I saw the pics....can't even imagine how you guys felt. Glad to hear it all worked out in the end.


----------



## bulldozer (Jan 11, 2009)

That is some crazy stuff!!!! Lets us know how human we are.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

gear junkie said:


> Wow, this was some real priceless information I just learned. Thank you so much for sharing. My stomach sank when I saw the pics....can't even imagine how you guys felt. Glad to hear it all worked out in the end.





bulldozer said:


> That is some crazy stuff!!!! Lets us know how human we are.


The good news is that although the line should be replaced due to a lot of cracks and bad joints, it is fully open and will work for a while while they save up for a new line.


----------



## theplungerman (Oct 26, 2011)

Great post. Thanks for the humility. I betcha you have saved me and others from a mess down the line with your candidness. 
How much psi gpm were you putting out w/ the 1/2 warthog. 
Thanks again, I'm very much appreciative of your time it took to post.


----------



## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

Our orifices are needing replaced on our Warthog meaning they are worn out to the point it won't build over 3200 psi wide open, at around 17 gpm.

Gotta get them replaced so it can build higher pressure but it still shreds roots.


----------



## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

I don't know if it has been covered here already but I learned a trick on a pipehunter 35/3k today. They have no jumpjett(actuator that starves pump of water and forces water hammer).

A SOV on the water tank partially closed will do the same thing on a jetter with a Myers type pump. Just keep pressure on the hose when doing it and it helps on corners/offsets ect. 

Use this lightly it's not that good for the pumps, but it saved my butt today. 

Also If your in the line and it's blowing back water at you you are still on this side of the blockage, once it stops blowing back your past it(or at an illegal tie in). 

just slowly pull back till you get more coming back and work back and forth there. This is especially true with low volume jetters that move the clog for some distance before it breaks up.

just my .0012 after tax.


----------

