Frozen Jobbies

[C12awa]

Hi guys,

Went to a job tonight with the customer saying that there WC bowl was overflowing into there kitchen below.

Arrived and noticed that the diaphragm washer was passing - overflowing into bowl - then overflowing out of the bowl. I automatically presumed it was a blocked waste (too much toilet roll being put down etc) so got the plunger out and no movement at all. So had a look at the cast soil stack and took off the inspection cover to find it was completly frozen and there was some undesirable (Frozen) sights there, to put it nicely. The problem is that its frozen from the ground up to the inspection (3-4ft up) and a little above the inspection going from the sounds of the pipe when i tap it with my hammer.

I was just wondering what would be the best way to defrost it so that it defrosts right down into the ground and lets the water / sewage drain away.

The bathroom is on the first floor and the pipe is full of water from the inspection up. The toilet is the only appliance connected to the stack (WHB & Bath go into another stack) so cant put hot water down the pipe.

Any help would be great as this is the customers only toilet and i don't want to leave them without a toilet for the next few weeks or until it gets warmer.

 

[dextrous]

Only thing that comes to mind is to get to an inspection chamber and hose up from there.

 

[C12awa]

i had thought of that as there is a manhole beside it but i couldnt see any pipes entering the manhole from the direction of the pipe so dont know if it branches in before or after reaching the manhole.

What bout facing some heaters at the pipe and just hope that it thaws through it?

Alan

 

[dextrous]

Worth a try, but I suspect that you're as skeptical of this succeeding as I am.

If the manhole cover is close enough to the inspection cover, suppose you could try hosing through the inspection cover and, er, wash anything emerging from this down into the manhole.

 

[Homesafe]

if you can get salty water down it you may get the ice to melt.

 

[kirkgas]

i remember about 1982-83 when the winter was a bit mental up here we had tons of external CI stacks frozen and we used propane torches (the ones the builders use for bitumen on the flat roofs) worked a treat,

 

[Agile]

You will find it very difficult to use normal heat sources when the problem is so severe.

Mains water luckily comes in ( usually ) at a few degrees above freezing. So hozing it with mains water might do the trick.

Another way is to depress the freezing point by adding salt solution!

Both of those suggestions should earn me a "thanks".

Tony

 

[dextrous]

if you can get salty water down it you may get the ice to melt.

True - think the real point is that if you can get any f***ing water down it ......

 

[dextrous]

You will find it very difficult to use normal heat sources when the problem is so severe.

Mains water luckily comes in ( usually ) at a few degrees above freezing. So hozing it with mains water might do the trick.

Another way is to depress the freezing point by adding salt solution!

Both of those suggestions should earn me a "thanks".

Tony

Thanks Tony In particular, thanks for plagiarising other's solutions and wanting to be thanked for it

 

[Agile]

I had not read any of the replies.

Now that I do, I dont see anyone suggesting using a hosepipe?

Tony

 

[Homesafe]

if you can get salty water down it you may get the ice to melt.

True - think the real point is that if you can get any f***ing water down it ......

hey dex, you missed the bit where he said took the inspection chamber cover off. he could maybe get some in there.

I did'nt know you spoke french?

 

[TicklyT]

I sorted out a frozen stack with a bag of table salt and a couple of kettles of boiling water poured down the top of the open vent. Fortunately, it was a bungalow, so the top of the stack was reasonably easy to get to.

The root of the problem is the diaphragm washer passing - the stack should be dry unless the WC is flushed, and a proper flush doesn't hang about long enough to freeze. A slow leak will let an icicle (crapcicle?)form in the stack, eventually blocking it, then the next flush adds to it etc.etc.

Just thinking out loud here.... I've never tried it, but.... How about winding a few turns of garden hose around the stack, wrapping the whole lot up in a few old blankets, corrugated cardboard etc. etc. for insulation, and hooking the hose up to a hot tap.....?..... Or maybe just hosing the outside of the stack with hot water would be enough....?

 

[dextrous]

I had not read any of the replies.

Now that I do, I dont see anyone suggesting using a hosepipe?

Tony

um

Only thing that comes to mind is to get to an inspection chamber and hose up from there.

If the manhole cover is close enough to the inspection cover, suppose you could try hosing through the inspection cover and, er, wash anything emerging from this down into the manhole.

Not that it matters really, but in the interest of accuracy

 

[Garfeild]

 

[Rico99]

Bit "out of the box" here,

How about temporarliy hook the toliet fill valve up to the hot water supply and flushing from above.

Rico