Sewer / Drain ventilation advice required please.

[dm999]

Hi, Can someone please tell me what this is for (see pictures) and advise?

a) Is it essential or can it be taken out and capped off?

b) If it is essential is there a modern replacement that would be less obtrusive (it's in the front garden) or should I just repair it (previous house owner has used sealant to 'fix' it...) ?

Thanks, DM.

Untitled

• dm999
• 28 Oct 2011
• 1

Untitled

• dm999
• 28 Oct 2011
• 1

 

[DeltaT2]

It's an old style slot machine, you put your penny in the slot & the great god Turdious grants you a wish.

If you hear a 'plop' when you put your penny in, you've got a choked drain. Call out a Bona Fide time-served Plumber directly.

 

[Nige F]

It's an old style slot machine, you put your penny in the slot & the great god Turdious grants you a wish.

If you hear a 'plop' when you put your penny in, you've got a choked drain. Call out a Bona Fide time-served Plumber directly.

Your answer cracked me up particularly as I have a couple of coin -op machines and a Penny lock for my bog door I`ll probably contravene regs. and alert the turd police with my answer , but here goes . The device in the picture is an air inlet for an old domestic sewer system , where the house drains were separated from the main drains by an interceptor trap in the manhole next to "the device" - which should have a mica flap behind the grille to allow air in but not out . If it was in my garden I would cut the saltglazed pipe off level with the manhole bricks - then cement it over after bunging the hole - then I`d lift the manhole and remove the bung above the trap @ the end of the gulley- and both these redundant items would be binned If the interceptor gave problems with blocking despite the water being allowed to flow through the bung hole - I`d dig the whole lot out and remove the interceptor . Of course this is all hypothetical

 

[spraggo]

It is an air vent to allow fresh air into the ceptic tank and for gases such as methane to escape. If this vent was blocked it would kill of the bacteria (by suffocation) which break up the solids, this is essential so it would be very unwise for you to remove it

 

[dm999]

DeltaT2 - thanks for the laugh, I spent all weekend feeding pennies into it - no plop was heard but I did discover that it's a actually a juke box with all my fave punk rock tunes on it

Nige F & spraggo - thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I'll give it some thought as we're re-planting the front garden at the mo.

Cheers, DM.

 

[DeltaT2]

DeltaT2 - thanks for the laugh, I spent all weekend feeding pennies into it - no plop was heard but I did discover that it's a actually a juke box with all my fave punk rock tunes on it

Nige F & spraggo - thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I'll give it some thought as we're re-planting the front garden at the mo.

Cheers, DM.

Oh man that's great 'The Pistols', 'The Clash', 'Johnny Durex & the Snot Heads'(Local Band!), 'The Ramones'............etc, etc. Now that's a quality Weekend mate, just sitting on your manhole & listening to your new iDrain!!! Kids nowadays don't know how to enjoy themselves eh?!

 

[Nige F]

Spraggo is right about a septic tank - I kind of assumed it was an interceptor trap manhole to a public sewer as it was in the Front garden . Not unknown for cesspools to be @the front , just unusual One of my coin op`s is indeed a jukebox , a 1955 Bal- Ami model E - loads of 50`s and 60`s records

 

[dm999]

DeltaT2 - thanks for the laugh, I spent all weekend feeding pennies into it - no plop was heard but I did discover that it's a actually a juke box with all my fave punk rock tunes on it

Nige F & spraggo - thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I'll give it some thought as we're re-planting the front garden at the mo.

Cheers, DM.

Oh man that's great 'The Pistols', 'The Clash', 'Johnny Durex & the Snot Heads'(Local Band!), 'The Ramones'............etc, etc. Now that's a quality Weekend mate, just sitting on your manhole & listening to your new iDrain!!! Kids nowadays don't know how to enjoy themselves eh?!

LOL, iDrain - I like it. This weeks number one in the (s)hit parade is The Stranglers with 'Down in the Sewer'

 

[dm999]

Spraggo is right about a septic tank - I kind of assumed it was an interceptor trap manhole to a public sewer as it was in the Front garden . Not unknown for cesspools to be @the front , just unusual One of my coin op`s is indeed a jukebox , a 1955 Bal- Ami model E - loads of 50`s and 60`s records

There is no septic tank, it is mains drainage. Until recently (this month in fact) the drains/sewers in our road were the joint responsibility of all the residents, wesex water have now taken responsibility for them.

 

[spraggo]

I suspect that this was originally a ceptic tank but has been adapted for use for main drainage using the original manhole cover. Therefore, you can safely remove the air vent.

 

[dm999]

I suspect that this was originally a ceptic tank but has been adapted for use for main drainage using the original manhole cover. Therefore, you can safely remove the air vent.

Yeah, that would sound reasonable. Thanks, DM.

 

[dormermike]

Interesting !

I too have one of these in the front (about 2ft from the pavement) and wondered what it was. A few of my neighbours have them too.

Are they only ever for septic tanks? I doubt my house ever had a septic tank?

 

[spraggo]

I am not aware of these vents being used for any other purpose than for the ventallation of cesspits or ceptic tanks. Please visit:
http://www.wte-ltd.co.uk/cesspools_cesspits.html
for further details