I was only supposed to test it, not blow the bloody bungs out!

[ToughButterCup]

The Italian Job came to mind today. Only blew the bloody test bung out of a 110 pipe didn' I?

What with a Manometer? No, with just a little more force than that.

 

Bought myself a nice little test kit, and for whatever reason couldn't get the damn thing to work.

Tried a test rig before using it on the real thing. Bloody thing kept leaking.

So tonight, in the bath, instead of abluting, I'll give it another go. See where the leak is.

 

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, I'd had an idea.

If I were to fill the piping up with water from the top of the rodding point (just visible) like this

 

I would effectively have a couple of meters water  pressure pressing on the bottom bungs, and maybe a bit less on each of the joints. As I started filling the pipe, my suspicion was aroused by the creaking of the plastic joints - specially this one

You can see there was a bit of a drip there, but I wasn't too suprised because its unsupported.

 

An hour later I got bored of checking the water level. It had gone down a bit: 100ml or so. So I went for a coffee.

The pipe is eight meters long or so - about 880,000 cc... (?)   How much is that? I dunno.

 

Pop! PPPPSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !  I'd blown the bottom bung out hadn' I ?

Neighbour stuck his wizzened head over the fence, swallowed his tongue laughing.

 

Tried it again. Full on Charles Atlas screwing the bung tight this time. Two hours later, got bored took the brass cap off the bung.

Got wet. Very wet.

 

 

 

[joe90]

I tested mine with a “cheap” bung and a head of water but it just would not stay in, it’s surprising how much pressure a few feet of head will give (along comes @SteamyTea with a graph ?).

[MortarThePoint]

I'm intrigued. Are you just testing your pipes are watertight? If drainage they shouldn't see any real pressure unless blocked should they.

 

There are worse days to have had a soaking on

Edited May 19, 2020 by MortarThePoint

[Russell griffiths]

You should try it when they are full of no2s

not funny. 

[Construction Channel]

Did you manage to keep hold of the little cap? Always fun when that goes sailing down a main run ?

[ToughButterCup]

Whadger fink I am Ed? Some sort of amateur? 

[Russdl]

@AnonymousBosch my turn for the soaking next week ?, if I lay my pipes right.  
 

I take it you don’t plan on repeating the air test?

 

[andyscotland]

5 hours ago, AnonymousBosch said:

Bought myself a nice little test kit, and for whatever reason couldn't get the damn thing to work.

Tried a test rig before using it on the real thing. Bloody thing kept leaking.

So tonight, in the bath, instead of abluting, I'll give it another go. See where the leak is.

 

I had exactly the same issue with a brand-new bailey kit like that. It turned out to be the rubber bulb pump leaks like a sieve from the "one way" inlet valve.

 

I didn't have the sense to test the kit first, it was only after I'd dismantled, cleaned and reassembled a couple of joints that I tried that and found the problem ? and subsequently from some googling established this is fairly common with the Bailey kits and general practice is to put a plastic clip on the tubing to the bulb once pumped up. Some of the instructions actually show that, though no clip is supplied.

 

Which, given they're pretty expensive for a few bits of plastic, I have to say I found fairly... disappointing...!

[Roundtuit]

3 hours ago, Construction Channel said:

Did you manage to keep hold of the little cap? Always fun when that goes sailing down a main run ?

 

2 hours ago, AnonymousBosch said:

Whadger fink I am Ed? Some sort of amateur? 

C'mon. You've lost it, haven't you...

[dnb]

So you are all saying that my plan of testing drains with a compression gauge an air compressor and a potato is a bad idea?

Edited May 19, 2020 by dnb

[BotusBuild]

8 hours ago, dnb said:

So you are all saying that my plan of testing drains with a compression gauge an air compressor and a potato is a bad idea?

 

Please video it ?

[Ferdinand]

With that pipe and angle you could make a supersoaker howitzer.

[ToughButterCup]

12 hours ago, andyscotland said:

... and general practice is to put a plastic clip on the tubing to the bulb once pumped up....

 

Hmmm, a bit like those plastic clips that are used to vary the dosage on a medical (infusion) drip?  Goes from wide open to completely shut ... 

 

Anyone got any idea what I could use as a pipe clip? I've googled around a bit ... tried a clothes peg - a G cramp (that works, but it'd  bugger the line up in no time.) Those small plastic cramps are too weak.

 

I'm a bit short on lateral thinking today.... Help!

[PeterW]

bend it over on itself and zip tie

[andyscotland]

I used one of these IKEA food bag clips, folding the tube in half before clamping as per @PeterW - a decent clothes peg might also do if you told the tube first.

[CC45]

I nearly lost a bunk down the pipe - only just held onto the bugger.  3ft of water has more pressure than expected.  Enjoying your build so keep the 'sharing and caring' going.

[Russell griffiths]

I remember using one of the inflating bungs, it’s like a balloon that you pump up and it grows inside the pipe. 

So I had the pipe full of water and it’s time to remove the bung, I pushed the little button to deflate it but forgot to hold on tight, the water pressure ripped it from my fingers and I never saw it again. 

I guess some poor sod a few houses away wondered what this funny ball thing was doing blocking his poo pipe. 

[ToughButterCup]

Well, Russ, its good to know that man of your standing in the world of self build is just as incompetent as I am. Very satisfying, that.

 

Blew the bung out while doing the internal pipe test as well , this morning. Thats three meters of pipe (vertical) , so that makes about 300 litres of water pushing on it - 300 kg: you'd 'a thought I might have worked that out before hand wouldn'tcha?

On 19/05/2020 at 21:58, Roundtuit said:

C'mon. You've lost it, haven't you...

 

Got it in one hasn't he?

[Russell griffiths]

If anybody can break something it’s me