The Jetter Versus The Eel.
October 26, 2009 by yoursydneyplumber
Filed under Blocked Drain, Sydney Plumber
We are asked on a daily basis, what’s the best way to clear a drain? As far as we are concerned, it’s no contest. We use Water Jetters for 100% of our drain clearing. We have an old Electric Eel sitting in our shed covered in cobwebs, it cost us a fortune to buy at the time too! ( I better put it on E-bay now). You may be thinking this comparison is biased, well it’s not. For years we used Electric Eels, lugging around big drums of metal sprung cables that we slowly wound into the sewer. Thrashed them around inside the pipes, leaving mess everywhere and most importantly – leaving a lot of the blockage behind in the pipe we were supposed to be clearing.
Then we had an epiphany. We invested money into purchasing Drain Cameras. Our first cameras were black and white had terrible picture quality but they showed us very clearly how many roots were being left behind after an Eel was used. At the same time we invested in our first Water Jet machines. We repeated this process and saw entirely different results. The inside of the pipes were crystal clear, all of the roots were gone and the inside diameter of the pipe was back to what it should have been.
So what exactly is a Water Jetter you ask? A water jetter is a drain clearing machine that combines the use of a motor and pump to deliver water at very high volumes and pressures to cut whatever is in its way. There are many variations on Jetters. Some expel more water per liter than others, other expel a lower quantity of water at a higher pressure to cut. We prefer the high pressure machines. They are perfectly suited to domestic applications. Coupled with the correct cutting tips and used with well trained technique these machines can be undefeated at clearing drains. Note how I said used with correct technique, as our marketing states – “Not all plumbers were created equal”. The use of these machines is something that takes years of practice. Don’t get me wrong, a poor operator can still do a poor job at clearing a drain with a jetter – we see this all the time.
A word of warning: If a plumber is advertising to clear a sewer with a jetter for $99 or a price that seems too good to be true, then beware, because they are not even going to try to clear your drain. They’ll put a camera in your pipe and then try to convince you to renew it and charge thousands. Even if it didn’t need replacing. A proper attempt at clearing the drain would have fixed the problem and saved you thousands.
The moral of the story is to choose a plumber who is genuinely going to try their hardest to clear your drain. If it is found then to be broken, then that’s a different story.
Every Highlander Plumbing truck you see around Sydney has a Water Jetter built into it. Our entire fleet uses Honda motor jetters running at 4500psi. We find this to be the perfect pressure for our day to day drain clearing. All of our trucks are also fitted with 100 meter long self levelling colour drain cameras as well. We can clear drains and view them all in one visit.
Your Sydney Plumber is brought to you by Highlander Plumbing, Sydney plumbers with the experience & know-how to handle all your plumbing needs. Whether you need help with clearing a blocked drain, hot water systems & tanks, gasfitting, rainwater tanks or many other plumbing services…Highlander are Sydney plumbers you can trust!
Cisterns…how many litres is enough?
August 18, 2009 by yoursydneyplumber
Filed under Toilet Plumbing
A Big Stink is Looming…
It’s July 09 and we see a big problem slowly rolling towards us. In fact, this problem is rolling too slow and may stop along the way. No, we are not talking in code; we are worried about a basic issue of how many litres it takes to flush number ones and number twos.
Before we dive into this problem (sorry, that image in the film “Slum Dog Millionaire” flashed in my mind) we have to let you know that we are certified enviroplumbers, we care about water wastage, so what we are about to write is in no way “green bashing”.
Around the late nineties we were told that no longer would 11 litre flushing cisterns be sold. The 11 litre single flush cistern was the most common cistern around. Very soon after that we were told that the next step down, being the 9 litre cistern was being taken from production too.
Dual Flush Toilet Cisterns
Government insisted we start installing dual flush cisterns. The new dual flush cistern used 3 litres for a half flush and 6 litres for a full flush.
What a lot of people didn’t realise was that their new dual flush cisterns wouldn’t work when they were retro fitted to an old pan that was designed to take 9 or 11 litre flushes. This would cue the customer call:
When I use the toilet I have to flush it five times for everything to get flushed away!
This really defeated the purpose of saving water. The fact was: an entire new suite was required – the pan and the cistern.
So why did we have to bang on about a very brief history of flush capacities you ask?
Well the problem is, there are still lots of old water wasting 11 litre toilet suites out there, and there are still plenty of 9 litre water wasting toilet suites out there. And even worse, there are plenty of miss matched dual flush toilets and 11 litre pans out there.
This problem is now about to get worse… a lot worse.
You see, as drain clearing, drain fault diagnosing and drain repair specialists, we are noticing our drain clearing arm is busy… very busy. We thinks it’s no fluke that sewer blockages are on the way up as these new water saving toilets appear in more locations.
Caroma Smart Flush Toilet Suites
In about 2007 Caroma introduced its “Smart flush” range. This new range of toilet suites were only going to use, wait for it, 4.5 litres for a full flush and 3 for a half flush.
We could be cynics and declare the Smart flush toilets the greatest thing to ever happen to drain clearers, but that wouldn’t do the customer any good.
The Facts
What is needed are some facts right between the eyes. Caroma may bury some of these in the fine print section. We will just give you some basic tips. If you have an old house with original sewer, do not even consider installing a Smart flush toilet suite. Stick with suites that use 6 litres for full flush. We think even 6 litres for a full flush is pushing it for a house with an original sewer.
If you live in a new house or an old with a new, perfectly graded, PVC sewer system, then go for it, knock your socks off and install Smart flush gear everywhere. You will be saving bucket loads of water.
We have just learned that Caroma and Fowler are phasing out a lot of their 6/3 dual flush cisterns. In fact, at the time of writing, we have found that Caroma are only manufacturing 2 styles of 6/3 cisterns and everything else will be 4.5/3. This cuts down the customers’ choice significantly.
We had a customer accidentally break a ceramic cistern last week. It was a 6/3 Caroma. She didn’t want a plastic cistern and didn’t like the look of the new Caroma cistern that we could have retro fitted. Her house already had a dodgy sewer history, so in the end she we supplied and installed a new Kohler toilet suite that was a 6/3.
Before you buy a new toilet…
The moral of the story is before you buy something speak to us. See what will work in your house first. We think the Smart flush options from Caroma are fantastic, but we are annoyed they are not running more styles in the 6/3 range. We want you to be thinking about possible blockages. If you really want to install water saving toilet suites and you have an old sewer system, then give us a call to quote you a new sewer system. Removing drain clearing costs and potential water savings are two things to consider.
Your Sydney Plumber is brought to you by Highlander Plumbing, Sydney plumbers with the experience & know-how to handle all your plumbing needs. Whether you need help with clearing a blocked drain, hot water tank installations, gasfitting, rain water tanks or many other plumbing services…Highlander are Sydney plumbers you can trust!
Fix a Blocked Drain
March 27, 2009 by yoursydneyplumber
Filed under Blocked Drain
Fixing a blocked drain can be a nightmare. Whether your bathtub got blocked up with hair, your kitchen sink got clogged with bits of food, or you have a complete drainage problem, trying to fix it yourself can drain your pockets of cash.
If you think it is a minor issue and the blocked drain only seems to have occurred over the last few days then store-bought drainage cleaner may do the trick, but if it doesn’t, the worst thing you can do is shop around for more drainage cleaners or over-hyped products. In this case you will be wasting money, because you need to hit the source of the problem, which these products clearly aren’t reaching. In some cases they can make the situation worse, or overflow your system entirely.
DIY or Hire a Professional?
Often a recently blocked sink can be fixed by carefully turning off your water and inspecting the pipe. Make sure you have all the required tools and some old towels to lie down because there could be a buildup of water and gunk. Using some rubber gloves and the required wrenches, remove the pipe directly below the sink and inspect it. If it is blocked, simply clean it out and reconnect it. If you can reach down or prod further in to the pipes, do so carefully to unblock any excess waste. This will generally fix most blocked sinks. However if the problem is rooted deeper in to the plumbing then it is time to call a professional plumber.
Poor Drainage
Poor drainage can occur for a number of reasons; however it is more prevalent in older homes. Over time materials wear out and become less efficient, years of waste, grease and oil can buildup, there may be ground movement causing the pipes to move or break, tree roots can force their way through the system, and neighboring problems can seep through in to your own system.
Contacting Sydney Plumbers
Contacting a plumbing company in Sydney to fix your blocked drain is highly advisable. They have the tools and knowledge to really get in to the system.
Professional plumbers use high powered water jets, core lining and even cameras to survey the situation, something not available for DIY.
To save you money in the long run you should make sure your plumbing is fully up to date with today’s standards and if you ever find a blockage, it should be fixed immediately to prevent further and more costly damage.
Your Sydney Plumber is brought to you by Highlander Plumbing…Sydney Plumbers with the experience & know-how to handle all your plumbing needs. Whether you need help with clearing a blocked drain, hot water tank installations, gasfitting or rainwater tanks…Highlander are Sydney plumbers you can trust!