Freeze storm drains from below what to do. How to properly route the pipe so that the sewer does not freeze. How to locate ice blockage spots

Stagnation of moisture on the site is the cause of many inconveniences, moreover, moisture inevitably destroys the foundation of the house, provides dampness in the basement, etc. You can get rid of excess moisture by laying a storm drain. It allows you to significantly prevent flooding of a private house.
It should be noted that storm water drainage is not a complete solution to the problem of foundation flooding; it complements the classic foundation drainage, helping it to cope with the required amounts of moisture from rain and melting snow.
Installation of storm sewers on summer cottage is not particularly difficult, so the work can be done with your own hands.
The stormwater drain is a collection of filters, water pipes and other elements that allow you to divert excess water outside the site.

The composition of the storm sewer

Correctly selected storm sewers are collected like cubes in children's designer, and consists of the following components:
● linear and turned water intakes;
● revision, rotary wells;
● filters for oil and gasoline - used for garages, parking lots, highways, gas stations, etc .;
● sand traps;
● absorbent block - can be used on sandy, water-unsaturated soils.
In addition to purchasing materials, you must have an idea of the SNiP requirements and the principle of the entire system as a whole.

Installation of an efficient storm sewer

First, you need to draw up a project - for this you can use the standard version, making adjustments taking into account the real features of the existing site. It is worth considering the presence of slopes, relief, choosing the location of the well for storm sewers - in most cases, such a well is located in a corner or lowland.

If the site implies the arrangement of the drainage system, then first they take up the arrangement of the drainage and only then the storm drain. The communications of both systems can be laid in one trench, but the drainage system is located lower, while the storm drain is closer to the surface.

Important points:
● When working on the creation of storm sewers, it is necessary to use water- and corrosion-resistant materials;
● Pipes with an inner corrugated layer for storm sewers are not used, as they quickly become clogged;
● It is not recommended to use complex circuits for pipe routing - it is worth striving to lay pipes without laying additional turns and routing;
● All structural parts of the pipeline are hermetically connected, although according to the current legislation leaks are allowed, of the order of 10-15%;
● The slope of the storm sewer is directed towards the water collector - it is necessary to adhere to the specified standards, preventing freezing of water in the system and its failure.

Having decided on the plan, it is necessary to calculate the footage of pipes and other elements necessary to start installation works... Our recommendation: after calculating the length of all storm pipes, it is necessary to take into account an additional 5-10% that will be lost at the connections, and minor deviations when digging a pit. In case of sewer PVC pipes are used instead of specialized storm pipes, then the lights are available in various sections, for example, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 meters, and it is advisable to collect the entire length of the route from the entire range, so it is easier to choose the required section without complicated cutting.

When installing storm sewers, it is necessary to plan for the presence of protective gratings in order to avoid bulky debris entering the system.
If the drainage area is large, additional treatment wells need to be planned for cleaning.

When choosing pipes, you should give preference to pipes made of polypropylene and pvc - such materials can be cleaned without problems using a metal cable, they are more rigid than polyethylene pipes, and at the same time have a low internal roughness coefficient - which will have an excellent effect on performance.

Installation work

The rules for installing storm sewers imply the following sequence of actions:
● We select places on the site where rotary wells and storm water inlets will be located. If it is necessary to ensure the collection of water from the porch, then special trays equipped with gratings are also provided. Great solutions offers the ACO concern, producing door systems with a fixed width, and see.
We install point water intakes under the drain, which in most cases are selected according to outward appearance and the way they receive storm water.

Water inlet funnels are produced both with a classic jet break, where water from the drain pipe enters a plastic or cast iron grate, and completely closed - in which the drain pipe is tightly and hermetically connected, there is no jet break and no spray falls on the blind area and the building.
Along pedestrian paths, parking lots, and across the entrance to the site, it is necessary to arrange linear water intakes, these are special canals closed with gratings, the main purpose is to receive water flows coming from hard surfaces, and transport collected water into storm inspection wells. After all of the above, you can start preparing pits and trenches for the installation of all elements of the system.

● First, you need to mark the site in accordance with the approved plan. You should not strive to fit the entire storm drain into one branch, it is much wiser to divide it into independent parts that will collect water from the roof, paths and plot. For each of the branches, it is worth making a control well and, accordingly, a separate pipeline system.

● We carry out excavation- the trenches into which the storm pipeline will be laid are leveled with a sand cushion - after checking the slope, the installation of the storm sewer can be started. We lay pipes in equipped trenches, connecting them in a well - such work must be carried out for each branch of the storm sewer.

If there are linear sections of stormwater on the plan, it is necessary to dig grooves for trays - a sand cushion is also laid in them and carefully compacted. After that, you can lay the trays themselves, which are attached with a solution; for areas where transport is supposed to travel, it is necessary to equip a special foundation for the trays. Storm drain grate fixed different ways, it can be latches, clamps, and the classic bolted connection. For premium systems, slotted grids are used, in which the visible part is two stripes of stainless steel, with a gap of about a centimeter.

● Installation of storm water inlets - remember that after installation and backfilling, it will be very difficult to transfer the location.

● All elements of the system are connected using standard, generally accepted sizes 110 and 160mm, in some cases 200mm. Try to avoid unique solutions with connection sizes 90, 100, 125, 150 and 175mm, if an element that has not been taken into account in planning is required, then it will be very problematic to purchase it.

● After the completion of the installation of the storm sewer, we fill the trenches with soil and compact it.

● The final stage of creating a storm drain is a verification test that will confirm the correctness of all stages of work. It is necessary to start the process of flushing the stormwater from the roof and track the ingress of wastewater into the stormwater inlet, and then into the main collector and into the stormwater well.

For beginners, it can be difficult to balance the flow rate of each of the branches of the stormwater.

The amount of water supplied to each water intake and the throughput of the pipes must correspond to each other.
As for the calculations, they should be carried out based on the area of the serviced surface. These are the requirements that ensure the normal stable operation of the rain and flood water collection and removal system:

● When calculating the cross-section of the pipeline, you should not choose pipes close to the calculations made - it is better to make a margin, which should be at least 20%. This will make it possible not only to survive peak loads without destroying the system, but also to obtain a workable stormwater, even if there are errors in the calculations.
The angle of inclination of the drainage pipes should be within 4-5 degrees - such a slope is necessary in case of contamination inside the pipeline. A perfectly clean pipe without obstacles allows water to pass through even at a slope of 1-1.5 degrees - it moves under the influence of gravity.
But if the pipeline becomes dirty, which means that its diameter decreases, this can cause a decrease in the system's performance to almost 0.

● For linear storm drainage, it is necessary to provide an additional sand and mud filter, which is installed in the inspection well, or at the end of the flow formed by the channel.
In other words, it is necessary to mount a sand trap on each branch of the linear storm inlet, which, when installed, will look the same as the entire system, but its underground part has a larger volume, designed to trap sand and various candy wrappers and leaves that can get inside.

● Each separate branch of the storm sewer should have one inspection well, which will effectively remove blockages and, in general, monitor the state of the system. It is also worth equipping a well that will be used to collect water from all water intakes in the area around the house. Another well can be made directly for a water intake that collects water along paths and platforms. With the help of a bypass pipe, we connect both wells - this way it will be possible, if necessary, to balance the load on the storm sewer.

Installation of storm water inlets

The depth of the drainage pipes for storm sewers is approximately 30-60 cm (below the main depth of freezing of the soil), therefore, trenches for drainage systems must be dug to a depth of 60-90 cm.
To install a point rainwater inlet, you will need to prepare a solid foundation, not forgetting about a number of points related to the design, for example, common square storm water inlets 30x30x30cm made of plastic, structurally during the entire period of operation contain a decent amount of water, which in winter period freezes, and can cause destruction not only of the product, but also of the blind area. Such products require a very solid foundation and a monumental embankment with a cement mixture.
Pipeline installation involves not only connecting pipes, but also connecting other stormwater elements, be it couplings, tees, sand traps, inspection wells, and so on.
Building level we check the presence of a bias throughout the communication.

The most common mistakes when installing storm sewers

1. Unjustified savings
The desire of the developer to save on little things can cause inconvenience for the future homeowner. If, instead of a point rain collector, ordinary blind areas are equipped, then this does not give any effect. Water will still drain into the ground, flow under the foundation, causing subsidence and deformation of materials.
An attempt to save money during the construction phase always leads to expensive repairs.
Pipes are an excellent example of unjustified savings, most specialists, I choose communications do not think about the operating conditions, namely, what is happening and at what temperatures, what loads are on the communications.

2. Absence Maintenance
The next common mistake that owners of sites with built storm sewers make is the lack of maintenance and prevention. The system should be cleaned 2 times a year - it involves the following steps:
● we clean the wells from silt;
● we remove garbage from funnels;
● we wash the trays - for this it is enough to have a garden hose;
● cleaning of sand traps;
● if there is a waste basket in the rain collector, we also empty it.
Easy maintenance of storm water allows the system to operate without interruption long years, and homeowners - not to spend money on repairs.

3. Insufficient slope of the pipeline
Insufficient slope of the storm sewer pipeline leads to silting, clogging, freezing of pipes in the autumn-spring period. But you should not be guided by the rule "the more, the better", since an increase in the slope of drains above the standard leads to an increase in the speed of water movement through the system, and oddly enough, the particles of silt and sand simply do not keep up with the water flows and settle on inner walls pipes.

All this provides an increased load on all elements of the storm sewer, and therefore the sewage itself begins to wear out intensively. As a result, one of the sections will inevitably fail, unable to withstand the intensity of operation for which it was not designed.
If at the stage of construction of the storm sewer all the requirements and standards were met, and all the work was carried out with high quality, such a system looks aesthetically pleasing, does not spoil the landscape and has been operated without problems for decades.

Sewerage operation is invisible as long as everything goes as it should. The design and installation of a sewerage system is accompanied by taking into account many factors, including work in conditions of low temperatures. However, the situation is not excluded when the sewage system freezes in the ground (a certain section of the pipe freezes over). Under normal conditions, this should not happen, but stacking errors can occur in winter.

By the way, trying to understand at what temperature the sewer freezes, one should take into account not only the location of the pipes, but also the material from which they are made (the thermal conductivity of plastic and cast iron is very different), the diameter of the pipe, the angle of inclination, i.e. the action of many factors in the complex.

Why is the sewer freezing?

Reasons for freezing sewer pipes:

incorrect design of the angle of inclination sewer pipeline... Water does not have the ability to move by gravity, stagnates in pipes, which leads to freezing in winter;

insufficient burial depth. According to SNiP, the septic tank is installed at a depth of at least 2 meters from the soil level, the pipe system is located below the freezing point typical for the region. But a situation is possible when it is simply too lazy to dig a trench for laying pipes deep (or there is no possibility) or frosts exceed the average and the soil freezes deeper;

lack of insulation. Sewer pipes laid above the freezing point of the soil need to be insulated. The place where pipes exit from the room must also be insulated. However, in practice, such a requirement is either ignored or an inappropriate one is used. thermal insulation material, or it was installed incorrectly;

small pipe diameter. If we consider consumer reviews, then most often those who have laid pipes with a diameter less than the recommended 110 mm are faced with the problem of freezing of the sewage system. This is especially true for the owners of summer cottages and houses that are seasonally operated. Due to the insufficient diameter, the sewer pipe freezes faster;

blockages. They happen due to the ingress of large objects into the system or insufficient water flow, in which plaque forms in the pipes.

Reasons for freezing a septic tank:

the drainage from the septic tank is broken. In this case, the septic tank overflows, heavy fractions settle, and the water freezes;

the septic tank is removed from the wastewater source. Then the water moving towards sewer cools down, which leads to its freezing at the junction of the pipe to the septic tank.

Many users who perform work on their own do not even think about whether the sewer freezes. After all, the very principle of operation of a septic tank is that it is a tank for storing wastewater with actively proceeding decomposition processes. Since heat is generated during the decomposition of solid residues, freezing is practically excluded. In addition, the septic tank, according to the standards, is installed at a considerable depth.

However, no one is insured against force majeure and the owner country house it is better to know in advance what to do if the sewer is frozen.

How and how to defrost the sewer in a private house

Exists different ways and means how to warm up frozen sewers (how to melt the ice in a pipe). All methods can be combined into two large groups:

thermal method... Provides for the organization of heat supply to the place of freezing. Work is proceeding slowly, but there is no risk of damage to the pipeline system. This method is most suitable at home when special means not at hand, and calling specialists is impossible or too expensive;

chemical method ... Nowadays, chemical defrosting is rarely practiced. First, because not all chemicals will cope with icing. Secondly, because it is a costly method. And, thirdly, because many users prefer local sewerage systems, i.e. systems that are capable of performing partial wastewater treatment.

One of the components of local systems is the presence biological treatment, and chemistry can negatively affect the vital activity of bacteria. Nevertheless, its simplest variety - a steep saline solution, is still used according to reviews.

A more technologically advanced option is the use of a drug such as Mellerud. The components of the Mellerud pipe cleaner react with water to generate heat.

Note. Care should be taken to use the chemical method for defrosting plastic sewer pipes. Because strong overheating can cause them to deform.

Defrosting the sewer - the order of work

If there is a problem and the sewage system in a private house is frozen, you must first determine the place where the ice plug occurs. Masters note the importance of observing the order of work, and it is better to start from the place where the water comes out of the septic tank. This procedure is due to the fact that the sewer pipe system is designed with a prerequisite ensuring the smooth flow of water. This means that all pipes, incl. the drain pipes are located at a slope towards the outlet.

Ice plugs must be melted so that water can drain naturally. Otherwise (when performing work outside), you need to be prepared for the drains to go to reverse side, which will cause the need to pump them out. This convincingly proves that you need to start work in the direction from the septic tank to the inner pipes.

But there are exceptions to this rule. Ultimately, the order of work will be determined by such factors as:

the place where the ice plug was formed. If the water is frozen in the inner part of the sewer (unheated house), then defrosting will be much easier;

plug dimensions. Perhaps the size of the ice plug will be only a few centimeters, then the volume of water that needs to be pumped out can be neglected;

the geometry of the sewer system. The more straight sections in the system, the easier it is to remove the ice plug;

way of laying. Sewerage is usually located underground. And if ice has formed in pipes deep enough under the frozen ground, the number of options for use is sharply reduced. You can't get out of the septic tank - you have to work from the premises of the house.

The most in a simple way to establish the winter functioning of the sewerage system, there will be an appeal to specialists who provide services for defrosting the sewerage system. Craftsmen not only know how to defrost frozen sewers, but also have special equipment, and also give a guarantee for work. However, for various reasons, many people prefer to solve the problem on their own. And as testimonials from members of the forum testify, it is quite successful and fast.

What to do if the sewer in a private house is frozen

Heating methods will differ depending on the location of the ice block. Let's consider each problem and solution options.

Frozen sewer drain

Sewer drain or drainage from a septic tank rarely freezes, because it is located deep in the ground. However, if the water is not drained off, the septic tank will overflow and freeze.

What to do if the sewer drain is frozen?

To defrost the drain, experts advise pouring a septic tank hot water or saline. Then you should pump out the wastewater from the septic tank, and repeat the water filling. With time warm water will remove the ice block and the system will function normally.

A sewer drain is also called a pipe that drains wastewater from the source of their formation: in the sink, toilet bowl, bathroom. It can freeze if the room is not heated and the drain water has not been drained. Or, the water flow is too weak. As a rule, an indoor drain freezes at the point of adjoining the drain and can be easily eliminated by using a hair dryer. In the same way, the problem is solved if the sewer riser in a private house is frozen.

Frozen septic tank sewerage

This is possible if the drain is not properly organized.

What to do if the septic tank is frozen?

To fix the problem, you can take the following measures:

heating with a light bulb. The light on the carrier fits inside the septic tank. Thanks to the power of the lamp, heating occurs environment, and the ice gradually thaws. The method is very slow, in addition, you need to monitor the water level and lower the lamp below. From practice: 1 meter of ice melts per day, at a temperature outside of -15 degrees;

pouring hot water with subsequent pumping out;

backfilling of quicklime in a septic tank. Users note the effectiveness of the method in a cesspool, but this method is unlikely to be suitable for a septic tank.

Sewer pipes are frozen

The hardest of possible situations, since there are two obstacles: firstly, the pipes are located underground, which makes it problematic to use external heating, and secondly, it is difficult to accurately determine the exact place where the pipe is frozen over.

How to find places where ice plugs are formed?

You can determine the freezing point using two pieces of wire. To do this, one of them must be brought into sewerage system from the side of the house, and the second from the side of the septic tank. Knowing the length of the sewer and the sum of the distances to which it was possible to move the wire, it is possible not only to find (identify) the place of formation of the ice plug in the pipe, but also its dimensions.

What to do if the sewer pipe is frozen?

Methods for removing ice plugs by heating.

Outdoor heating

It involves extracting soil to the level of pipe-laying. After direct access to the pipes has appeared, you can:

use an open flame: a burner, blowtorch... You can wrap the pipe with rags or put wood over it and set it on fire. The method is suitable only for metal, cast iron sewer pipes;
wrap with foil, then with a heating cable and connect to the network;
use a heating tape;
use construction hair dryer for plastic pipes.

Recommendation. Users are advised to cover the warming up place with insulation, so defrosting will be faster. At the same time, passive heating in itself in the event of freezing of the sewer pipes is not suitable, because the heat-insulating material does not heat, but only conserves heat.

External heating is not very popular due to the difficulty of extracting frozen soil above the pipeline system. This begs the question of how to warm up a frozen sewer, access to which is impossible? The answer is obvious - only from the inside.

Internal heating

The technology assumes the impact on the ice from the inside, i.e. directly inside sewer pipe... Among the options you can offer:

heating the wall if the sewer pipe is frozen in the room;

use hot water.

In order to clean the straight pipeline, you need to bring a rigid hose into the sewer, connect it to a funnel into which you pour water. As the ice melts, the hose can be advanced further. You can increase the effectiveness of the procedure by using water and salt. The ratio is different from 1:10 to 1: 1 (salt: water).

To defrost a sewer pipeline of a complex configuration, the same actions are performed, but used flexible hose... The hose is attached to a flexible wire with a pitch of 500 mm, so that the edge of the wire protrudes 20-30 mm above the edge of the hose. The end of the wire is folded inward for rigidity. The free edge of the wire should be 10-15 mm, its task is to bypass obstacles and lead the hose. As the water melts, the hose is pushed further. You can use a pear instead of a funnel.

When choosing this method, you need to take into account that:

a) the water temperature must be more than 80 ° С;

b) water supply is carried out continuously;

c) excess water will come back, so a container must be installed under the pipe to collect it.

The productivity of the method is 1 m per hour, with a pipe diameter of 110 mm.

usage welding machine connected from both sides to the pipe. Suitable for metal pipes;

using any hot liquid, such as alcohol. From practice, the volume is 1 lm. pipe with a diameter of 110 mm is 8 liters. This method is costly;

use of a steam generator.

What to do to prevent the sewer from freezing in winter?

To exclude repeated freezing, it is necessary to periodically drain (especially during severe frosts) significant volumes of hot water into the pipeline.

The solution to the problem of freezing water in the sewer should not be limited to bringing the system to full operational readiness. After all, the likelihood of re-freezing is not excluded.

Among the measures for the prevention of freezing of the sewage system, one can single out:

correct. This procedure must be carried out at the stage of laying the pipeline;
laying pipes to a depth below the freezing point of the soil;
heating cable connection (resistive or self-regulating).

ElenaRudenkaya (Builderclub expert)

Good afternoon.

1. Gutters, in the modern sense, are not entirely concrete trays. These gutters about which we are talking are called SLV - a linear drainage system (such a plastic or metal tray with a grid on top). And all that I wrote about the gutters, it was about them. I call the trays either concrete trays or concrete gutters.

How gutters work:

The gutters can be laid against the slopes (steps, cascades, multi-level layers), and then the water will flow into them in the direction you need, as you dig them in, it will flow. Moreover, the upper gutters (roofing) will certainly drain into the lower (earthen) gutters and carry away water under a slope. You need to think about how to correctly make the slopes from the house to the pit, so that the water flows by gravity onto the road through the gutters. To do this, you will most likely have to either raise the paths near the house, make them higher, or cut and hollow out pieces of soil for installation. There are also gutters right away with built-in slopes inside them, but this is still more expensive option, but it could be partially used where the counter-slope cannot be made on our own. In fact, there is such a variety of gutters on the market right now that you can spend money on it, but within budget. The main thing is to find an adequate fitter with experience.

Previously, for example, a drain from the road was done with a counter-slope and ditches along the side of the road (there are still many places where you can find). Now it is not even necessary to dig a ditch, you can simply install the gutters.

The pricing policy is completely different, the more expensive, the more different "chips" in the gutter are thought out.

What does the gutter look like for routing around the site:

2. I immediately told you and say that the first option with downpipes under the finished blind area is a bad option. Either break the blind area, or mount "no chance" with the existing blind area.

It will be possible to repair such a system only if the entire tile is taken apart, and the pipe is dug out - as communal services do. The blind area will have to be disassembled during installation.

We are engaged in this type of work, so I know what I'm talking about and I know that the people who sell these systems and install them. When you come to such an object and nothing works, you have to disassemble everything to the base of the foundation in order to understand where they messed up. I suggest you simple options solutions to problems that work. Complex ones will be difficult and expensive.

3. Regarding garbage and cleaning, I strongly disagree with you.

If "the pipes are eternal and are not clogged by anything," why in this case do they require 2 cleaning a year, and in areas with the correct design, a viewing well is placed on each branch of underground pipes? It is possible to clean and rinse the gutter with a grate within 3 minutes, to clean the pipe system underground - it is several times more difficult and longer. What then to say about the maintenance of concrete trays ... it's generally as easy as shelling pears.

The pipes of such a system as your first option get ALL dirt, dust and debris that was on the roof. And the only obstacle is the mesh in the drain.

Also, you can control the operation of the pipe only through inspection wells, or with the help of a telezone (for example, in Kharkov there are only 2 of them for the whole city).

I don’t want to deceive you, I say it as it is. We live in neighboring cities with you.

Ask.

reply July 6, 2016
Specialization: professional in the field of construction and repair (full cycle of finishing works, both indoor and outdoor, from sewerage to electrics and finishing works), installation of window structures. Hobby: see the column "SPECIALIZATION AND SKILLS"

The question of what to do - if the sewer is frozen in a private house, it usually arises suddenly. As a rule, the problem is discovered either the next morning after a frosty night, or upon arrival home after a fairly long absence. In any case, there is little pleasant here, but the problem is quite solvable.

Why the sewage system freezes, how to restore its working capacity and how to prevent such a development of events - I will tell about all this in the article, based on my own experience.

Causes and consequences

With the onset of cold weather, when night temperature falls below zero, there is a risk of freezing of sewer pipes. As a result, ice plugs are formed in the cavities, which block the movement of effluents.

Normally, a properly laid and normally functioning sewage system should not freeze through. However, there are factors that can provoke the failure of the entire system. I will list the most important of them in the table:

Cause	Why does it freeze?
Shallow gasket	As a rule, the outer part of the sewer network is laid in the soil column. In addition to purely aesthetic reasons, this is due to the desire of each of us to protect the pipe from the cold, since the temperature on the surface of the earth will always be lower than at depth. However, in severe frosts, freezing can also affect the deep layers of the soil, along with the pipes laid there. To avoid this, I strongly recommend that you study the climatic information about your region and determine to what depth the ground freezes before starting work on the sewerage system.
Lack of insulation	All pipelines that are laid in the open air, in the ground, in unheated or periodically heated rooms must be equipped with thermal insulation. If this is not done, then even a small area in the basement of the building can become a source of problems with the formation of ice plugs. Of course, thermal insulation of pipelines increases the cost of the structure, but still the price of insulation is much lower than the cost of repair or capital reconstruction the entire system after a gust, especially unpleasant in winter. As my personal experience, attempts to save on thermal insulation only lead to increased costs.
Blockages inside the pipe	In order for the pipe to freeze and form a critical mass of ice in it, it is necessary that there be some content inside. Normally, sewer pipes are empty most of the time, but if you neglect their regular cleaning, then a blockage can form at the turn or the junction of the knees, on which ice will gradually accumulate. The result is predictable - sooner or later the entire gap will be blocked. By the way, a decrease in the flow rate is a universal diagnostic feature. If you notice it in time, you can fix the problem before it reaches a critical stage.
Insufficient bias	The prompt removal of wastewater from the lumen of the pipe is facilitated by its laying with a slope towards the collector, septic tank or cesspool. Optimal angle the slope is 3-4 degrees, and if you make it less, then the risk of liquid stagnation and, as a result, freezing, increases significantly.

In addition to the above reasons, the efficiency of drainage in a septic tank or other reservoir also plays a role.
If the storage tank is overfilled, then the water from the pipes will simply have nowhere to go.
That is why in my house before the onset of cold weather, I always inspect the septic tank, and if it is more than half full, I pump it out.

As a rule, one by one, these factors rarely lead to the formation of ice jams, but if two or three of them become relevant at the same time, then problems cannot be avoided. The results of this coincidence are usually quite unfortunate:

since the drain is blocked completely or almost completely, it will be impossible to use the sewage system until the reasons for the blockage are completely eliminated. Alternative - outdoor toilet- does not seem attractive in winter;
when the liquid freezes, it expands, which can cause the pipe to swell and burst. It is especially unpleasant if an accident occurs either in basement(sad personal experience - until I discovered the problem, it leaked pretty much), or underground (dig frozen soil to conduct renovation works- dubious pleasure).

Summing up, I would like to say one thing: it is better not to freeze the sewer pipes, timely identifying and eliminating possible reasons... However, we can all make mistakes, and therefore it is very important to know how to fix them, and how to break through the frozen sewer with minimal cost time, effort and money.

We solve the problem

Recipe one - rinsing with hot water

Finding that the sewage system is frozen and "no longer flows" through the pipes, many act purely instinctively - turn on full power tap with hot water and try to fill the entire pipeline with liquid.

This measure can only be effective if the freezing is light enough, but then it is enough to wait a few minutes, and the situation will resolve itself.

If the problem is serious enough, then its solution is complicated by the fact that by the time hot water gets from the tap, there is already cold water... Therefore, at one time I decided to act more inventively:

Before defrosting the sewers - if they are frozen, it is necessary to locate the location of the ice plug as accurately as possible. As I noted above, the problem areas are turns, pipe joints, as well as horizontal sections without proper insulation.
When we more or less accurately establish where the water froze, we get to the nearest revision and open it, gaining access to the pipe lumen.

I hope when laying outdoor sewerage Did you follow the instructions strictly enough, and were the revision wells equipped at every turn and at least every 10 meters on level areas?
If not, then I have for you bad news- you will be worn out badly ...

We take the cable, which is used for cleaning the sewer, and a long thin hose. We fasten the hose to the cable with adhesive tape so that the end of the cable with a spiral nozzle to destroy blockages protrudes 3 - 5 cm.In addition, you can fix the hose along its entire length with hooks every 50 - 70 cm.
We put a cable with a hose into the lumen of the pipe and gradually push it until we hit the ice plug. With a few movements we try to destroy it - we most likely won't succeed, but it's worth a try.
We insert a funnel into the free end of the hose, which we then additionally fix so that you do not have to hold it with your hands.

Now we are preparing a saving solution: we boil three to five liters of water, add five to six tablespoons of salt (as much as possible) to the water, mix and immediately after dissolving the crystals, pour it into a funnel.

If the revision is very close to the frozen area, then some of the boiling water may pour out of it (in my case it turned out that way).
We are taking precautions!

After waiting two or three minutes, we push the cable forward, destroying the ice plug. If not, we repeat the operations with boiling water.
When the problem is resolved, we close the revision and rinse the pipe with plenty of hot water to remove the remnants of frozen drains.

Second recipe - heat treatment

If the capacity of the plug exceeds 20 - 30 centimeters (it is not clear how the sewer can be brought to this, but I had to deal with such a situation at least twice), boiling water does not help. We'll have to use the tools at hand:

The old heating element (exactly the old one, since the probability of its failure during operation is very high, so we take what we do not mind) is connected to two insulated wires. We carefully wrap the place of contact with electrical tape so that no liquid gets inside.

We fasten the wire with the heating element to the pipe cable. If a rigid cable is used, then you can do without the cable - anyway, we will not use its attachment to destroy the plug in this situation.
Through the revision or the removed knee, we pass the entire structure into the lumen of the sewer and advance it to the place where the ice plug is formed.
We turn on the heating element, making sure that we ourselves do not come into contact with the wet walls of the pipe - although we took care of the insulation, it is worth taking care of.

If a metal pipe is frozen, then I would not risk using electrical appliances.

We gradually move the heating element deep into the pipe, trying to heat at least a small through hole.
As soon as the flow of drains is restored, we remove the heating element with a cable and simply rinse with hot water.

In fairness, it should be noted that in such a difficult situation I did not always manage to cope with my own hands. If the idea with the heating element was not successful, then you should contact the local Vodokanal: usually this organization has powerful steam generators with a rigid hose that allow you to melt ice inside the pipes. Naturally, you will have to pay for the departure of the repair team.

Third recipe - external heating

If we have access to the frozen sewerage section, or we can provide it (from my point of view, sometimes digging half a meter of frozen soil is a perfectly acceptable price to pay for the opportunity to solve the problem without losses), then the situation becomes much simpler. What to do - if the sewer pipe is frozen - we will tell you below:

Metal pipes (steel and cast iron) are quickly cleaned up with a blowtorch. We just turn on the device and burn the pipe walls opposite the ice plug with a flame: usually two or three minutes are enough for me to completely eliminate the blockage, but if you have no experience, it is better to carry on longer, but not damage the pipe itself.

Do not expose a plastic pipe to an open flame. The area under which the ice is located is wrapped with rags and poured with boiling water, creating a "bath effect". The procedure takes me longer than when working with a blowtorch, but not much.

Quite often, ice accumulates in tees, which are quite problematic to warm up. To enhance the effect, I tried to put a container with boiling water under the tee: the rising steam heated the walls of the pipe in their coldest part, and the cork turned out to be hot water.

Boiling water, of course, needs to be refilled periodically.

If you have a household steam generator, such as the one supplied with a car wash, great! We use it in the same way as a blowtorch: a jet of steam directed to a sewer pipe is not too inferior in effect to a flame, but it can be used for metal, and for plastic, and for ceramics.

Finally, there is a very extreme method - electric defrosting. To the surface metal pipe we install the terminals and apply voltage to them. The pipe heats up, the ice melts, the movement of the waste water is restored. The main difficulty: All operations must be performed by a professional electrician!

Prophylaxis

Thermal insulation

If we are only planning to lay the sewerage system, or we have solved the problem with freezing and do not want to repeat it, then it is worth figuring out how to avoid such a development of the situation. The easiest way is to initially lay the pipes correctly, and this can be done by performing the work as I did in my time on my site:

We lay the outer part of the system in trenches, the bottom of which is below the level of freezing of the soil... For most regions, this depth is from 0.8 to 1.5 m, but sometimes it is necessary to deepen to 2 - 2.5 m.
At the bottom of the trench we pour a sand cushion about 15 cm thick.
We lay the sewer pipe in thermal insulation... I used a casing made of mineral wool, but you can also take a "shell" made of expanded polystyrene or simply cover it with sawdust in a layer of 25 - 30 cm.

From above we fill the sewer with clay, and then - the earth taken out when digging a trench.
Areas passing along the surface are also carefully insulated using material with a thickness of at least 50 mm. The same applies to sewer pipes that run in unheated rooms.

Cable heating

However, even the thickest layer of thermal insulation cannot always cope with a sudden sharp drop in temperature. In addition, in some regions of Russia it is very difficult to lay a sewage system below the freezing level of the soil - you will have to dig a trench well for two meters. In this situation, active heating with the help of special ones saves.

Freezing prevention is carried out in this way:

A self-regulating conductor (my choice, since it will not overheat or burn out with a guarantee) or a wire connected to a thermostat (more cheap option), wrap around the pipe or lay along its surface.

Some cables are also designed for internal installation.
By the way, they can be used not only in sewerage systems, but also in water pipes.

We fix a heating element with the help of metallized tape, which helps to concentrate the generated heat.

From above, I mounted a heat-insulating shell - in any case, it will not be superfluous.
When cold weather comes, I connect the cable to the mains. With the passage of current, the conductive cores are heated, giving off heat to the walls of the pipe and preventing its contents from freezing.
except preventive work cables of this type (naturally, pre-laid along the pipe) can also be used to remove ice plugs that have already formed. It is enough just to turn on the heating element into the system, and in half an hour or an hour the problem will be solved.

Conclusion

So, I hope that I managed to explain in an accessible way what to do - if the sewer is frozen over, and how to proceed so that it does not freeze. The video in this article will help you solve the problem in a difficult situation, and if you have any questions, you can always ask them in the comments and get my detailed answer.

July 6, 2016

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In regions with low winter temperatures, icing on the outside of the sewer system is not uncommon. In such a situation, it becomes impossible to use the flush in the toilet, bathroom, kitchen. The problem requires an urgent solution. Let's find out what to do if the sewer is frozen.

Reasons for the appearance of ice in the sewer

With proper installation of sewer pipes, no water remains in them, therefore, it cannot freeze. If an ice plug has formed in the system, it means that the pipeline laying technology has been violated. Let's consider some of the reasons for this problem:

With an insufficient slope - less than 20 mm per 1 meter - the drains do not completely drain into the septic tank, but stagnate and freeze in the pipe. The second reason is diameter installed pipes less than 110 mm, the liquid moves slowly through thin channels and has time to crystallize.
Insufficient pipe laying depth. External sewerage wiring in a private house should run at a depth below the freezing point. If you neglect this rule, then in winter the cold will reach the pipes.
Violations in the septic tank device. Insufficient area of the filtration field to drain water from the septic tank, or shallow depth of placement drainage pipes lead to the termination of the liquid from the sump. The level of drains in the septic tank rises and closes the opening of the outlet pipe. Sewerage from the house does not drain into an overflowing well, it stagnates in the pipe and freezes. It will not work to redo the drainage system in winter; you will have to periodically call a sewer truck and pump out the sewage until spring.
Small leaks provoke freezing of a thin crust of ice on the walls of the outlet pipe. Over time, a plug of substantial length forms, preventing wastewater from entering the septic tank. It is necessary to identify the place of the leak (faucet or toilet cistern), eliminate it, and then defrost the pipe.

A universal way to warm up the sewage system

Hot water with the addition of table salt - effective method anti-ice plug for any kind of pipe. Before you warm up the sewer, you need to find a freezing point. To do this, a metal cable is pushed into the pipe, it is pushed up to the plug. The location of the ice is calculated from its length. If the pipe is frozen near the exit from the house, then the hose for pouring boiling water is started from the side of the building. If an ice plug is found near a septic tank, defrosting is carried out from there. Rigid hose or metal-plastic pipe is pushed into the sewer to the ice plug and salted boiling water is poured through the funnel. 1-2 kg of salt is poured onto a bucket of boiling water.

If the work is carried out from the side of the septic tank, then the thawed drains together with water will drain into it. When defrosting from the basement of the house, you need to stock up on containers to collect water. The work takes several hours if a massive traffic jam has formed. It is impossible to stop it until it thaws completely, because the sewer system is completely filled with water, and this threatens to freeze along the entire length of the pipes. If the process needs to be interrupted, pump out the filled water.

Note! This universal method is suitable for all materials and will not damage the pipes, but when installing a sewer with several turns, it will not work.

Defrosting a cast iron pipe

Metal pipes can be heated from the inside and outside; in the second case, the use of open fire is permissible. But before defrosting the pipe, you need to dig out winter soil to release underground pipes. You can warm the sewer by directing a flame at it gas burner if the farm does not have such a device, a fire is made directly at the place where the ice plug is formed. The use of a flammable liquid (gasoline, kerosene) will help to quickly build a fire; firewood will be required for a long burning.

Industrial hair dryer also good remedy for heating cast iron pipe, drive them throughout the frozen area, trying to warm it up evenly. At the first signs of thawing, the actions are supplemented by pouring boiling water into the system.

The system can be heated using electricity. There are several ways:

A special heating cable is wound around a pipe and covered with heat-insulating material so that the temperature does not drop due to frost. Extension cords are required to connect to the mains.
Electricity is passed through the entire pipe, if no freezing point is found, or through its section through two connected terminals. To ensure the safety of others, a step-down transformer or device specially designed for this purpose is used. Warming up takes several hours, after which boiling water is poured into the sewer.

Warming up plastic pipes

On polymer pipes used in the laying of the sewage system must not be exposed to fire or create too high a temperature with an industrial hairdryer. You will not pass the current through it either. Smooth areas are heated with a directed hose with hot water, and a more complex device is made for a curved sewer. It must be flexible and tough enough to break ice. To supply boiling water, an elastic hose is taken from the water level, on which a wire with a bent edge is fixed with adhesive tape. Into the pipe hot water poured with the Esmarch mug, but if it is not there, do it yourself simple design... Make a hole in the plug from plastic bottle and secure the end of the hose to it. Cut off the bottom of the bottle, then screw on the cap and pour water through such a funnel. The flexible hose will easily overcome all the turns, and the stiff wire will help crush the ice.

To warm up plastic pipe a construction hair dryer is suitable, only the temperature should not be higher than 100 degrees. It is possible to increase the heating efficiency by constructing a kind of polyethylene sleeve on the pipe section. On the one hand, it is tightly tied with a wire or rope, and on the other, a hairdryer is started.

If the entire sewer pipe has been excavated, then it is defrosted and at the same time insulated with a special heating cable. It is wound along its entire length, covered with foil tape and insulation. After the ice has warmed up, the device is not removed, it will continue to work until spring. Using a resistive cable, you can regulate its operation. Self-regulating heating turns on in areas when negative temperatures and turns off after it rises.

When access from the outside is not possible, a heater for a plastic pipe is made. A heating element and a plate are taken to secure it, the dimensions of the devices should be less than the section of the sewer pipe. The ends of the heater are well insulated, a guide (plastic tube, rigid wire) is attached to the wood plate to push it to the ice plug. Water is poured into the pipe and the heating element is started, it is promoted to the obstacle and included in the network. It remains to wait and periodically push the device forward as the ice melts.

Professional devices for heating the sewage system

Professional companies use a steam generator to defrost the sewer. A steam line with a metal tip is directed into the frozen pipe, and steam jets are supplied through the holes under pressure. This method quickly and efficiently removes ice and unclogs the pipe. There is nothing complicated in it, only a steam generator is required. A hydrodynamic installation works according to a similar principle, only it does not use steam, but heated water.

During winter season periodically warm up your sewer system with boiling water, and in the spring do insulation so that the problem does not reappear.