a trivia question - how long does it take for solids to get to the sewer main?
#1
09-12-20, 07:45 AM
a trivia question - how long does it take for solids to get to the sewer main?
A bit of a trivia question here.
When you flush a toilet with 'solids'.... normally does that get all the way out to the street sewer mains just with that 1 - 2 flushes / water in the bowl / tank? And about how quickly?
The slope is very small, right? Seems to me, a noob, that cast iron is rough inside and for a pipe thats 10 - 20 - 30 years old, so many more rough spots for paper / solids to get hooked on / cause clogs?
I've heard that a greater slope is not good, but sewer lines are very gradual per code?
And yeah, there's cases (roots, misaligned pipe segments) when clogs do happen. But I'm speaking of a working system.
And any idea how long does that take to get out to the street? Not seconds, right? not hours?
When you flush a toilet with 'solids'.... normally does that get all the way out to the street sewer mains just with that 1 - 2 flushes / water in the bowl / tank? And about how quickly?
The slope is very small, right? Seems to me, a noob, that cast iron is rough inside and for a pipe thats 10 - 20 - 30 years old, so many more rough spots for paper / solids to get hooked on / cause clogs?
I've heard that a greater slope is not good, but sewer lines are very gradual per code?
And yeah, there's cases (roots, misaligned pipe segments) when clogs do happen. But I'm speaking of a working system.
And any idea how long does that take to get out to the street? Not seconds, right? not hours?
Top Answer
09-12-20, 11:13 AM
Group Moderator
That is not a wives tail. If the water moves too fast it leaves the solids behind.
#2
09-12-20, 08:49 AM
Years ago when the town I lived in mandated low flow toilets a local plumber set up a mock system with PVC pipes cut in half to watch the flow but the slope was to code. No real poop was used but paper was flushed. Seems like a flush carried its own stuff many feet. Remember there are other sources of drainage water. I think if the solids from a flush get below where the dishwasher and clothes washer empty into the line that everything would be carried out to the main in that flow.
#3
09-12-20, 11:10 AM
Member
I've heard that a greater slope is not good
#4
09-12-20, 11:13 AM
Group Moderator
#6
09-13-20, 10:14 AM
Member
There is no such thing as too much slope, another wives tails dismissed!
That is not a wives tail. If the water moves too fast it leaves the solids behind.
#7
09-14-20, 09:57 AM
I think the goal is that the flush should move most of the solids (waste/paper) all the way out to the sewer. There generally shouldn't be solids left behind. But of course I'm sure it varies based on the amount of water used in a flush and how much is.. ahem... being flushed.
If you've ever camera snaked a line, you'll see that a typical line is pretty clean. If you see something in it, there's usually something it snagged some other reason.
If you've ever camera snaked a line, you'll see that a typical line is pretty clean. If you see something in it, there's usually something it snagged some other reason.
#8
09-17-20, 01:10 AM
I, for one, have never had to clear a drain that stopped up because of too much slope. I've never heard of a drain that stopped up because of too much slope either.
Flat pipe... all the time.
Too much slope...never.
Flat pipe... all the time.
Too much slope...never.
