Ultrasonic cleaning for pipes?

Hi all,

I just dealt with a clogged drain (washing machine sludge + fatty deposits) by messing around with an auger for half an hour -- I had the devil of a time getting the thing past some rather sharp bends. And cleaning up afterwards also took half an hour.

This made me wonder if there is a way to do this with an ultrasonic device. I have an ultrasonic cleaning tank, and that works pretty well with all sorts of caked dirt and grease, similar to what blocked the drains. I'm thinking of a sort of high-power ultrasonic probe which more or less dissolves the mess when it gets near the blockade; even handier would be a type of ultrasonic transducer which could simply be firmly clamped on to a pipe from the outside. The pipe of course would need to be filled with water for this to work -- but having a pipe filled with water is exactly the problem with a blocked drain ;-)

Are things like this available? And if not, would the principle work? And would any risk be involved with high-power ultrasonic vibrations in a less-controlled environment than a special ultrasonic tank?

Any ideas are appreciated.

Richard Rasker

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Richard Rasker
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Boiling HOT water. Note: I am not a plumber, but that sure worked well on a stubborn tub clog a few years back (after everything else failed).

Takes a while... And several attempts.

Reply to
mpm

My dentist used an ultrasonic device for cleaning a tooth before the root canal therapy. You'll hear some high pitched scratching sound when the device touches the tooth, but I'm still alive. But maybe a high power ultrasonic generator for cleaning pipes will be more dangerous.

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Frank Buss, http://www.frank-buss.de
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Frank Buss

Just a caution: this works for most drains but should NOT be used for commodes, as there's a good chance of cracking the porcelain bowl or opening the floor seal.

Had a similar issue last spring, except the blockage was in the combined drain line for the whole house. Sealing the tub overflow drain and then going hammer and tongs with one of those "turbo" plungers (looks like a bicycle pump) from the tub drain was needed to get enough flow to get the boiling water to the blockage to finish the cleaning. After that, though, so far it's been clear sailing (so to speak).

--
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
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Rich Webb

Something like "industrial-strength" Liquid-Plumber?

I wouldn't recommend hot water; that just melts the greasy crap enough to move it down the pipe far enough to cool and congeal again, even farther out of the reach of the dreaded snake.

Good Luck! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

As soon as you get things flowing at all, even if slowly, then:

Should the clog be a biological grease or a combo of biological grease and hair, use strong KOH or NaOH. This means "Drano" or "Liquid Plumber" or lye or the like.

Please heed the cautions on the containers of these strong chemicals. One thing to beware of is heating, especially if you use a solid form of strong chemical such as lye or "crystal Drano". Water with solid KOH or NaOH added to it can experience boiling, which can splash out harsh chemical in bad ways such as into your eyes. Even liquid strong alkali products are not perfectly safe from splashing due to heating effects.

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 - Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)
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Don Klipstein

I'm fond of the "balloon" nozzle type. Screw this thingy on the end of your garden hose. Turn on the water. The "balloon" inflates tightly again the pipe wall, blocking back-flow and pressurizing the blockage.

For big drains, like going to the septic tank at my old house, they had a RF-controlled robot gadget that cleared the drains. (Required to sell to an FHA buyer of my house.) ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Jim Thompson

Same goes for clay sewage pipe, and sometimes one never knows what they used when building the house because it ain't visible unless you go in with a camera first.

All this hot water and chemicals stuff can work but relief is often only temporary, and that's a reason why ultrasound may never really become popular: Roots that grew in through joint cracks, hard-caked deposits that even chemical can't thoroughly penetrate, calcified stuff, sticky things that li'l Joey threw in the toilet and flushed, and so on. That can require lots of power on the rotating blades.

I remember the last clog where the plumber wheeled in a huge motorized snake. When he hit the obstruction you could hear the motor work real hard, and this motor was at least a one-horse deal.

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Regards, Joerg

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Joerg
[snip]

My worst ordeal was when a grandkid flushed a hard rubber ball down a toilet drain. Stuck in the vertical in the wall.

Fortunately plumber was able to come down from the roof via the vent pipe, but still took quite awhile :-( ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

I did see a TV ad for a gadget that hinted at possibly being some form of ultrasonic vibrator for attachment to sewer pipes.

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Reply to
Greegor

Ultrasonic cleaners make cavitation in water, and the collapse of the bubbles creates shockwaves that do a good job of scrubbing at surfaces. But, it won't dissolve fibers (hair, paper, roots), nor penetrate grease (it's WATER cavitation, not other liquids).

A snake, and a quick flush with lots of water after the blockage is pierced, is going to work better than ultrasound.

Reply to
whit3rd

Ah, yes, that's what I meant. But it would appear that there are no actual devices available at this moment -- none that I can find, at least. And if any are available, they probably don't do a very good job, otherwise it'd be standard equipment for any plumber by now.

Richard Rasker

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Richard Rasker

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Seems as good a time as any to tell my plumbing story... again.

Five or six years after I moved into this house the drains got slow. I tried the usual chemicals, even tried a small diameter twenty five foot hand held snake at the far end, through the washer drain. Didn't get much improvement. It became apparent I'd have to dig around the drain pipe, cut it and install a clean out, so I could use a real motorized rental snake. A weekend job I didn't want. I got a 3ft 1/4" steel rod and poked around in the yard until I located and marked out the drain line. I got my mind ready to dig a hole big enough so I could get around the pipe cut it and install the clean out. I removed 3 shovels of dirt and hit.... I can't believe it, I hit a cleanout! Yipee, Yahoo, I didn't know there was one. I broke out the brass cap and went to rent the auger. All is well. If I had started digging one foot farther from the house I would have missed the cleanout. I have the cleanout marked for the next time. Mikek

Reply to
amdx

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I would think a sonic or subsonic device might work even better. Something like the "snake" they use for vibrating freshly poured concrete.

-- Joe

Reply to
J.A. Legris

Right after we moved in, my wife was taking a nice, LONG relaxing shower in our new 3/4 bath when I walked by, and noticed a lot of water on the floor. At first, I thought she had just left the shower door open a crack at the back, untill I glanced down and saw all the water flowing out from UNDER the toilet!

Called the builder, and they agreed that there was a problem... 8-)

They brought out an auger thingy, and went to the drain cap just outside the bath, and started digging, yes DIGGING! Seems that when the drains were put in, nobody was smart enough to cap the clean outs during the rest of the process, and had filled the drains with dirt and rocks. No hot water would had disturbed those! It took them over an hour with the auger to finally clear that junk out. They then took the auger up and down the street to clean out the rest of the dirt filled drain pipes!

Charlie

Reply to
Charlie E.
[snip]

Those work well as long as the clog isn't beyond the vent connection. Or you'll just have a geyser up on the roof (harmless but ineffective).

Also, beware of hubless cast iron connections. They aren't designed to withstand supply pressure. If the clog holds against that, you could blow a clamp or rubber gasket on a sewer line in a really hard to get to place.

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Paul Hovnanian     mailto:Paul@Hovnanian.com
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Paul Hovnanian P.E.

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=A0 =A0...Jim Thompson

Don't get me started. We had so many problems with our bankrupted builder, or re-born builder somewhere else.

One of the problem is the upstair bathroom that we use occasionally. It's fine for me and my wife. But for our son (when he was younger) shower, water leaks into the ceiling below.

It turns out that the shower base was press-fitted into the pipe, and the pipe was tilted. For adult, the weight is enough to seal it. So, not much leaking. For kid, the joint is loose.

We ended up remodeling the bathroom. Redoing the pipe. Repairing the ceiling.

Reply to
linnix

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I successfully sued our builder ;-)

He had to fix all the defects _and_ the neighborhood sidewalks, and had to cough up my legal expenses plus $18K (total, see below).

He was such an obstinate bastard that the judge slapped him down, called him a liar in court, fined him $5K payable to the court plus $5K payable to me.

He couldn't dodge me by bankruptcy because my lawyer traced his funding to his father-in-law, one of the richest builders in Arizona. ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

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Our HOA forced him in bankruptcy, but he was born again somewhere else. The problem is that there is no check and balance in the system. City inspector? What inspector? You mean the guy dinning with the builder?

Reply to
linnix

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My builder tried to get me to agree to the State Registrar of Contractors Board of Arbitration. You can guess what I told him ;-) ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Jim Thompson

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