Boss fell into soil stack

[terryb2]

I tried replacing a leaking boss today, unscrewed my 40mm waste pipe and tried getting the boss out to no avail - it must've been inserted into the pipe from either end before tightening. The boss fell about 4m and presumably into the soil pipe. I haven't connected the new boss so there's nothing pushing the old boss further into the pipe. I tried fishing it out but no luck. I'm thinking I can bore a hole into somewhere near the bottom of the pipe to retrieve it but I'm not sure how deep it goes before hitting the pipe.

Any ideas?

 

[Nige F]

you need to open the manhole where the drain goes to - then put a piece of wood in the channel over the outlet - flush the wc until the boss floats down and stops against the wood . Pull iit out.

 

[mattylad]

Perhaps if that does not work, In the last pic I can see that the waste pipe can be lifted about 2' above the floor, undo some higher connectors and raise the pipe until you can separate them, then go fishing

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

+1 for Nige's advice, however if there, not a manhole to try and catch it from, you could well be in a heap of trouble....

Best advice I can add is, firstly you may be able to cut the pipe near the floor, and see if you can see/feel the lost Boss before the rest bend at the bottom. Stack can be repaired with a Slip Coupling, just remember to chamfer the cut edges before fitting, and use a suitable lubricant to help you fit the Coupling. Hopefully pipe wont be so brittle it splits.

If that doesn't work, then you'll have to hope it gets pushed through, finds it's way downstream and into a bigger pipe, where it'll either end up at the Pump Station or the Treatment Works, whichever comes first.

If it doesn't and wedges somewhere, then you'll find out soon enough when the drains back up. At that point I'd say nothing and hope the Water Co. clear it for you.

 

[terryb2]

you need to open the manhole where the drain goes to - then put a piece of wood in the channel over the outlet - flush the wc until the boss floats down and stops against the wood . Pull iit out.

Yeah that'd be where the guttering drains to I believe.

Perhaps if that does not work, In the last pic I can see that the waste pipe can be lifted about 2' above the floor, undo some higher connectors and raise the pipe until you can separate them, then go fishing

The stack is ****ed for the most part - seals are brittle and falling apart. If I'm gonna take it out to make adjustments I may as well replace it with a good cast iron one.

+1 for Nige's advice, however if there, not a manhole to try and catch it from, you could well be in a heap of trouble....

Best advice I can add is, firstly you may be able to cut the pipe near the floor, and see if you can see/feel the lost Boss before the rest bend at the bottom. Stack can be repaired with a Slip Coupling, just remember to chamfer the cut edges before fitting, and use a suitable lubricant to help you fit the Coupling. Hopefully pipe wont be so brittle it splits.

If that doesn't work, then you'll have to hope it gets pushed through, finds it's way downstream and into a bigger pipe, where it'll either end up at the Pump Station or the Treatment Works, whichever comes first.

If it doesn't and wedges somewhere, then you'll find out soon enough when the drains back up. At that point I'd say nothing and hope the Water Co. clear it for you.

Gonna go ahead and bore a hole out and fish. If that doesn't work I'll take Nige's advice and flush some water down there to push it to where my guttering drains.

Thanks all.

 

[terryb2]

Used an endoscope but it was sadly to short at 2m and kept orienting itself towards the walls of the pipe. I dug 4m down from the beginning of the pipe today so I should be in a good position to find the piece of boss. Any ideas on how I'd cut and patch this clay pipe up? I'm thinking about using a diamond core bit of ~40-50mm, grabbing the boss then carefully breaking it into pieces to pull out through the hole. Maybe I could bond a plastic 110mm offcut to the clay pipe with epoxy?

 

[Notch7]

When I first saw the title of this thread “Boss fell into soil stack” , I thought it was a grisly story about a manager of a company……

 

[Koolpc]

PVC, Clay & Cast Iron Pipe Repair Kit - 110mm

PVC, Clay & Cast Iron Pipe Repair Kit - 110mm

www.drainagepipe.co.uk

 

[opps]

The stack is ****ed for the most part - seals are brittle and falling apart. If I'm gonna take it out to make adjustments I may as well replace it with a good cast iron one.

That sounds expensive (£1k+ ?). And how will you deal with the waste pipe coming out of the wall?

I am only guessing, but I suspect that painting the existing soil pipe (where salavable), will help to dissipate the UV light and prolong the life of nay new fittings.

 

[Exedon]

When I first saw the title of this thread “Boss fell into soil stack” , I thought it was a grisly story about a manager of a company……

Some 30 odd years ago I was contracting on a large mental hospital in North Notts.
This included work on the sites own sewage farm, the clerk of works on that part of job had the misfortune to fall into the primary separator (30 ft deep) drowned in crap.

 

[Koolpc]

Some 30 odd years ago I was contracting on a large mental hospital in North Notts.
This included work on the sites own sewage farm, the clerk of works on that part of job had the misfortune to fall into the primary separator (30 ft deep) drowned in crap.

You are talking sh.t!