Kitchen Sink Grease and the K-60

[TOPDAWG]

What is the best way to clean out a 4" horizontal cast line plugged with grease when you only have a 1 1/2" clean out which is the S-trap under the sink and have to clear about 5' of 1 1/2" pipe and about 12' of 4" cast? nothing else ties into the 4" cast before it enters a crawl space and then turns down into the ground. I tried running the 5/8" cable down with a grease cutter then pull it back without the machine to see if i could draw back the grease, no luck, then I tried to just let the cable spin while in the line again no luck as there is no way to run water while the cable is in the line. We do not own a jetter as we have a k-1500 for 4" and larger sewer lines and a K-60 which we thought would do everything we needed from 1 1/2" drains to 4" sewers but it just cant cut the grease in this 4" line. Is there a trick on getting the grease out? We used to refer kitchen lines to other company's that we know have jetters but we thought now that we have the K-60 we could tackle anything. I'm sure the machine can do it if the user (myself that is) was educated in the art of grease extraction.

[DUNBAR PLUMBING]

I don't think a drum machine or a sectional is the best bet for a grease clogged line....


and I'd hate to see the freaking mess that sectional cable would look like if it was taken through a grease filled line....horrible.


Oh wait, I remember those days where it took less than 40 minutes to clear a line, 2 hours for the cleanup, plus the great smells of your earned money on the way home or to the next job.....YEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUCKKK!

:smile-us-down: Sorry, repressed memory comes back to haunt me every now and then. :smile-us-down:


Jetting along with setting them up with a enzyme product like Bio-Clean, or Drain-Care would be a good start.


Jetting will be the best way to bring that drain back to original ID but it won't stay clean forever.

[gear junkie]

Can you get on the roof with the 7/8 cable and the 4 bladed cutter?

[drainman881999]

In the past,I have used an old towel wrapped around the cable,and tied on with nylon string,making a mop to push out the soft grease.I have aslo used a 7/8' cable with a bent end in 1.5' pipe & 2" pipe.Good Luck-any way You Choose.Kenneth.

[Herk]

Is it possible to cut a cleanout into the 4" line? It's not the K-60's problem that the plumbing isn't right. Sure would be nice to run some water while cleaning. Turn the cleanout tee up above the invert when installing, run water through the 1-1/2" while you grind away.

[PLUMBER RICK]

mike the issue is the trap. can you remove the trap and hit it with a better cutter and cable.

i know i have a section of 7/8'' with no male end on it. i actually made a giant corkscrew auger from it and even sharpened the end and tweaked it out. remember that the cable is reverse wound of the actual auger so you need to run it in reverse to really act as an auger end.

then you can actually bend and offset on the last few inches. this will straighten up in 1.5'', but unfold in the 4'' pipe. running water will defiantly help to wash it away.

have you tried the roof vent?

the great thing about a jetter is the fact that a 1/4'' hose with a nozzle the size of a Small grape will clean a 4'' line throughly.

since you know the distance, it's a matter of time to clean the line and get it flowing.

give me a main line any day over a kitchen with no c/o.

it's not the machine, it's the access:D

rick.

[TOPDAWG]

The problem is there is no other access other than the 1 1/2" S-trap and the 1 1/2" line makes to many turns in the short distance to run a 7/8" cable before it enters the 4" cast. The roof vent will clean out the rest of the system down stream from the kitchen but still does not vent the 4" kitchen line. Thanks for your responses, I think That I will just try to make up a make shift jetter out of my pressure washer for jobs like this.

[gear junkie]

It sounds like you're going through hard grease and this will require a cutting head at first. I would sharpen a spear blade first then go with the bent auger. I would sell sell a 2 way cleanout, use the big spiral blade to cut the grease out and give a good warranty. If they have a san tee cleanout that's not too deep, you can go upstream with the 7/8 cable.

[toolaholic]

Gear makes sense. The original plumb job,in My opinion, was never completed!!!

[Ace Sewer]

I agree with others, jetting is the best for grease. Also someone made this point and I agree; OLD grease sets up like soap and it is sometimes more effective to chop it up with a blade first, then jet to remove it.

If jetting is not an option, then (again) I agree with others; look for or create another access. Possible to come up from a downstream access point?

If no possible way to get a better access, then (here is something maybe new :eek:) put a kink in the leading end of your cable (or in a short leader cable) so that once it gets out of the 1 1/2 into the 4" it will swing around as it turns and scrape the walls of the larger pipe. I'd also advise a camera afterward to verify you've got it clean.

Can you hook a hose or a supply line up to one of the sink stops and shove it in the line a little bit to run water while you cable it?

Good luck, it sounds like a cluster. Impossible access is not a problem you created; don't beat yourself up for it taking forever, and bill appropriately.

[Jay Mpls]

I had a 2 incher Kit. sink with a fake island vent (just a loop done above the trap! dishwasher hose too low.) close to this today. Blow bag after I cabled did the job!
double blades on a 3/8 cable did well on this 40' grease/soap scum sludgy mess.

[drainman881999]

TOPDAWG,did you ever get the drain unclogged? If so, by what method ?