Any Plumbers Out There NF

[bushart]

Ok where to start

 

Yesterday my wife comes to me and says that our kitchen sink is not draining..

 

So I did the typical things--1st poured what turned out to be 2 bottles of liquid plumber--no go

 

Now we have a house over a 100 yrs old so this sink was an afterthought---so the double sink runs with a cheater on the drain line for venting---now this has worked fine since we've been here---4 years and 30 or 40 before that with this system

 

So i Take a screwdriver--push down on the spring plunger a bit---whoosh---drains right away

 

Ok I figure the cheater is done---screw in another---no diff---end of day 1

 

day 2

 

Get my neighbor involved---go and buy the cadillac of vents--3x reg price---no go

 

Thinking that the flow is blocked bad enough not to pull down plunger----neighbor has a snake---snake from trap for a long ways---no go

 

he cuts the line down the road--finds a beauty blockage---snakes down even further----water runs thru drain when apart like 90

 

He re-asssembles it---no drainy---push spring down---whoosh again

 

Any ideas??

[mercman]

Where are the Plumma brothers.They are the board plummin experts.

[Oryx]

How long did you let the liquid plumber sit?

[bushart]

30 minutes and 45 minutes---I'm thinking it's not plugged or it would'nt go down when depressing the cheater

[Whitespinnerbait]

Stack Vent is Clogged

[Oryx]

Is the sink the only thing that is plugging up? Like the previous poster said, stack vent. Are your pipes exposed? Are they copper (my assumption) or ABS plastic ? If they have drained and you have access to them. Have someone turn on the taps when you are near the stack. You should be able to hear water going through the pipes. This may lead you to the blockage of there is another one.

[bushart]

Every other drain in the house flies away

 

This sink's only vent is and has been the cheater vent

[Oryx]

I did a quick search on the googleator

See if this helps?

 

http://www.plumbinghelp.ca/howto_island_vent.php

[cheaptackle]

Everything I've checked says the new valve is defective, imagine that? Is there any way air is getting in somewhere else? Loose coupling, pinhole or some such? If the sink drains overnight for example (or at least gets lower) it would evidence air getting in somehow, and it's just enough to defeat the air admittance valve.

 

Michael

[bushart]

Thanks Guys---I'll have to check to see if it's gettin air from elsewhere

[aplumma]

Please post a picture of what is existing and I will look at it for design changes to make it work correctly. If the line is not flowing correctly it can not over come the spring in the air vent. Most of the "STUDDER VENTS" as you have are poor in design and a loop vent is a better option. Was this system working correctly before for the 4 years or did it bubble as it drained? What material are the pipes made of and do you have access to the run of pipe? I'll check on this post tomorrow and look at the picture. BTW the use of Drano or other products will not help they are a sucker bet and a snake is the only answer for drains that are slow or clogged. They release soap scum but leave the blockage behind thus a temporary improvement is all you will get from them.

 

 

Art

[bushart]

Thanks Art

 

I had just put that duct tape (Red Green) on the drain spuds in case it was sucking air there

 

The chrome cheater is in the back

 

The copper inlet is the dishwasher discharge--also tightened and taped

 

It worked good before on this configuration--no bubbling

 

Edited August 23, 2011 by bushart

[Jigger]

Knowing whats behind the wall and accessability to the venting system would help. Just because something works in the beginning, doesnt mean its good. Right from the pic your setup is all wrong and i wouldnt allow myself to leave knowing that youd have problems down the road. Does the dishwasher operate properly?

[bushart]

Well it did the last time we ran it--maybe 6 mos ago

 

Remember----this house is very old and running water was put in long after construction

 

Now what I understand is that this has been running this way for 30-40 years---it is not hooked up to the main house vent---the kitchen was an add on built in 1905

[Jigger]

Looks like theres Abs sticking through the wall. How far does it go and what does it terminate at?

[bushart]

It goes about 12 feet and thru a cupboard--then into a brass pipe thru the floor

[Jigger]

I guess what im getting at is, is there access to another vent nearby? A bathroom group, laundry or something of that nature that is tied into the building vent? Cheater vents IMO, are a big waste of money and bound to fail eventually. I think the loop vent Art is describing is actually a circuit vent and would still need to be piped to open air eventually. Hell be able to clarify that one.

[aplumma]

O.K. this is a good one lots of illegal things going on but lets see if we can make sense out of it. The way I understand it is your sink was draining correctly until it stopped draining however when you pushed the vent to open it it drains fine. Here is what I see The drainline is roughed in to high for the sinks you have. The drains have excessive trap backpressure to overcome that means the water flows down further and then up further than normal making it drain poorly. This is not the problem but is an issue. The dishwasher is hard piped but has been leaking I see the stains and your statement of not using it for 6 months is a clue. If you didnt use the dishwasher and it is dry in the bottom you do not have a trap loop to keep it from sucking air. It has been acting as your vent is my guess. Since you taped up the pipe you took away its attempt to vent. I think that if you pipe it in correctly using a continuous center waste assembly from the basket strainer to the dishwasher tee. Then run to the trap keeping it all as high as possible then place a tee into the pipe rolled off to the side with an 1/8 bend. Hook up the line to the wall and then come off the 1/8 bend over to the edge of the cabinet to a 90. You will face the 90 up and place the vent in the highest point above the bottom of the sink but below the counter top. That should get you back in business.

 

 

Art

[bushart]

Thanks Art

 

We'll have a look at it

 

Thanks Again