Miscellaneous Plumbing Tips

Dear ICOT, I enjoy and appreciate your posts.

I would like to point out that even the metal-mesh washing-machine hoses need to be replaced every 3-10 years. They weaken, too, but not as fast as the rubber ones.

When the hose to a washing machine bursts, there’s nothing to stop the flow of water. If it’s in the basement, you will likely flood the basement. If you’re on a higher floor, you could do considerable damage to ALL the floors below.

Meta-tip: Shut off the water before working on any pressurized lines.

thanx for the great tips! what do you say about Drano?

Interesting though that it was an “80” floor building.

Hello folks.I,Koma am the plumber in this chabura, and you are all guilty of “Mishtamesh b’tachsisei malchus. Tsk Tsk. About the basement bathrooms, a quality pump is worth its price, but still has limitations. They are designed to handle the waste, and just toilet paper. Nothing else should be flushed, and kitchen connections and laundry connections are risky because of the grease, and because of lint and the occasional lost sock. In a power outage, obviously it won’t pump, and the average installation can only store two or three flushes. They are also maintenance heavy.

In terms of psak for use on Shabbos, I have seen, in a long career psak from every angle and flavor. My own Rosh paskined not to use them at all, I saw in a RY’s house a shabbos clock with one pin in one pin out (plumbing roulette), in a shul of an adam gadol, there were two canisters, one flowing into the other, and some large mikve sized industrial setups in large shuls and yeshivas where the size made psik reisha a non issue.

The best solution I saw was someone holding by my RY. He lived in a basement and had no choice but to use the pump. He rigged a washing cup on a hinge, with a faucet dripping into it. When full, the cup tipped and spilled into the sink, pulling a string, which by means of small pulleys mounted on the ceiling and floor, pulled the flush handle to flush the toilet. The drip was timed to flush once an hour,and a counterbalance brought the cup back into the fill position. Mi K’amcha yisrael. Just not a conservationist, or EY solution.

I can only try:I think that is how all the grama jigs by the Institute for Science and Halacha work, with a random (within limits)delay. I could also be melamed zchus for those instututions based on grama. In a really big system, there is not an immediate delivery of waste to the tank, and there can also be variability, and there can be multiple flushes at once as well. I don’t know if the hanhola of these places ever entertained the question, and the size of those tanks was 1000-1500 gallons, with monster 4″ discharge twin pumps. In the modern home size, it depends on the length of the float switch tether. If set short, one flush will do it, even the 6l flush. If left long, it can be three flushes, but then the float is subject to hanging up and other problems. You also have to figure the slow failure of the check valve. Before it totally fails, it leaks, and raises the level of the tank. About your on/off, I would not rely on ploni almoni to check that the flush was during the off cycle. I have the same kasha with the RY’s system, about flushing when the pin is in, it would be hard to tell, and a hard habit to learn. Being in the business made me an astute observer of human nature.

ICOT, we have a main drain line in the basement which backs up. I’ve got some idea of what it’s clogged with, and it’s beyond my little hand-powered wire auger. Would your recommend RR or just the local plumber for this sort of thing?

BS”D

Drano is best left for kiddush. It is a total waste of time and a very dangerous chemical to boot. Just reminds me I haven’t made harif in ages and I’m going to pick up some Sano-installator with a Badatz hechsher to use instead of salt with the peppers and tomatoes.

Sulfuric acid has no business in the home unless you happen to be a trained professional. In most states, acid drain opener “Hercules Clobber” can only be sold to licenced plumbers.

ICOT: Some of the old pipe here is from the Brit influence when they still used inches, and most of the cast iron is inch sized. Then there is asbestos pipe and concrete pipe, and clay pipe in whatever size the unsteady supply supplied. The modern media are plastic sized in 110mm, 50mm 40mm and 32mm closely matching 4″ 2″ 1.5″ and 1.25″ The wall thickness, and the way they do gas pipe here would land you in jail if you did that in NY area. In threaded pipe there is a mix of NPT, the American way (9 degree taper) and BSPT, the British strait thread. This gives one way too tight, and one way too loose. We also have stuff influenced by the European tzarut ayin mistaken for economy. Life for and American plumber here is challenging, but fulfilling. You can also walk into any hardware store and buy really caustic stuff with nary a safety label.

Can you get new main drain covers easily (the big round things with a square nut on top)? Ours doesn’t seal perfectly and if there is any clog, a slow drip comes out. Do they come in plastic or with rubber rim so they will seal better? The old one is metal, but I think water gets around the threads.

if anyone is buying a washing machine, here’s a tip- when you get it, make sure to take out the shipping bolts! If you don’t, your machine will jump up and down like crazy, and it isn’t good for the machine. Oh, and don’t assume the delivery men or whoever installed it took them out. we didn’t know this when we bought our machine and my husband had to hold down the machine it was jumping so hard!