drain pipe location via kaboom, etc

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pybyr

Minister of Fire
Jun 3, 2008
2,300
Adamant, VT 05640
I have a friend whose cellar drain is no longer draining- it's partly probably due to saturation, but also the exact outlet point is a mystery and we suspect it may have become overgrown with vegetation, or inadvertently covered when some other site work was done a few years ago for a new septic.

A pro drain-unclogging company ran a snake down the pipe with no results- it dead-headed about 25 feet out

I gave the friend some flourescent dye and a UV light, but unfortunately that did not reveal anything.

My next inclination is to load up my blackpowder revolver with some newspaper wads and melted wax and fire it in the pipe (after pulling the water out with a temporary sump arrangement) while the homeowner and maybe my son walk around outside to see if they can sense where the boom/ thump may come from on the outside side..

Any other suggestions on effective DIY methods for finding the outfall of an old cellar drain?

Thanks!
 
This is a bit off the wall, but - can you run a metal snake as far as you can down the pipe, then use a metal detector to follow it? I assume the pipe isn't metal, that would be too easy. If this worked, you would at least have a direction to go in. If the pipe is too far underground, this wouldn't work, unless the metal detector was really sensitive.
I'd be leery of firing a pistol into an enclosed area (the pipe). Ear and eye protection, at the least!

Another thought - what kind of tool did the pro's use to clear the pipe? If they used a screw-type end (used for grease clogs) any roots and dirt would stop it. There is a tool that sort of looks like a spiral hacksaw that will cut through roots and dirt. I learned that the hard way when I had roots blocking a pipe. The hacksaw tool cut right through them all.
 
Your black powder charge is going to "thump" exactly 25 feet out right where the auger stopped.

that's ( I used a heavy duty snake flat wire) exactly how I located my groundwater recharge tanks so I wouldn't dig near them with the backhoe. Mine are a century old and likely made of stone walls rather than any kind of manufactured tank.


If that auger was headed for the street you likely have a collapsed clay pipe where it stopped.
If you were in the street drain then the town has to come dig it up.


Know someone with a pipe camera ?
 
It may also be what we call a "french drain" It is just a perforated pipe which allows the water to leech into the ground (has no real outlet). These were very common, problem is, after so many years the holes fill up with crap and it can't allow the water to leech any more. Could also be what you said and the ground is already saturated.
 
the metal snake with a metal detector is a good option to go with. I would also believe that where that snake is detected to have stopped, will show a collapsed clay or orangeburg pipe.

Any sewer and drain company should have the equipment to do the above. They could also run a camera down there to see what the issue is, as well.
 
Make a fitting for the pipe that you can hook a air compressor to. Let the air compressor build up about 120#'s. Snap the hose onto the fitting and you might hear where the pipe outlets and clear it at the same time. I do this to clear condensate lines for HVAC units that are up to 200' long and 2" in diameter. I just have a small portable electric a.c.
 
I vote to blow it up. But I want pictures of the guy looking into the pipe when he lights the fuse.
 
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