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lliefveld
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clogged culvert
04/17/06 04:11 PM
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Don't know if this is the right category to post this or not...
One of the drainage culverts under our road became totally clogged this year. I guess it was half-way clogged, and we didn't take care of it soon enough. Anyway, I was able to clear out the mud from about 10 feet at each end by using a hoe, a shovel and my wimpy 25 gallon sprayer hose, but that still leaves about 25-30 feet under the road that's still clogged.
We were able to push a PVC pipe through, and then a chain, and saw back and forth, but that didn't help much. We attached a 4" square, 1/2" thick piece of metal to the chain, and we got it through one way, by pulling with the tractor... couldn't get it pulledt he other way (pulling with the Blazer).
We dug a gigantic hole (maybe 6' in diameter and 4' deep) in front of the entrance to the culvert, hoping to avert any more road damage, but this year's storms filled the gutter and the hole with silt/mud, and the water continued on over the road.
Does anyone have any idea how to clear the culvert? We thought about buying a pressure washer (Home Depot has one wtih 2200 psi), but we're not sure it would have enough pressure to work to clear it.
The guy that built the road charges $80/hour, plus $500 just to get the truck up there. And he estimates 1/2 - 1 day. For that price, we'd sure like to figure out another way.
Once we get it cleared, we want to dig it up and re-install it at a greater angle, so the dirt will flow through with the water, instead of getting stuck in the culvert.
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egon
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Why not dig it up now?
Egon 
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lliefveld
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Re: clogged culvert
[re: egon]
04/17/06 09:25 PM
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well, we figure with all the mud in it, it weighs a gazillion pounds, so we might not be able to lift it or manuever (sp?) it. Also, even if we dig it up, we still wouldn't be able to unclog it.
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CJDave
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 I once built a device to blast a clogged pipe clear that used a pressure washer and lenghts of pipe. We made an arrow-shaped nozzle that resembled a male reproductive organ with one hole squirting in the normal direction and four squirting radially and backwards. The single nozzle broke up the material and the rearward-facing nozzles washed it out of the pipe. They actually have those setups that are used for sewer cleaning and the rearward jets will drag the hose right through the sewer pipe. So.....you'll need to rent a pressure washer and a water truck; get some lengths of pipe to thread together as you feed it in, and maybe some goggles for protection from flying debris. 
CJDave
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egon
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You may find a joint in there that should come apart.
Or you could drill a hole and start flushing with water.
Egon
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twstanley
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Re: clogged culvert
[re: egon]
04/18/06 10:15 AM
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I would take your pvc pipe and make the end of it big enough and concave so you can use it to shove the dirt and debris on thru. Then just keep pulling it to the upstream side and shoving it back thru to the downstream side and keep pushing the debris out ahead of your plunger...Let me attempt a crude drawing: =)
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xxxxx |----------------------------------
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The 'xxxx' is your clog and the '|----" is your long pvc pipe
with the new plunger/dozer head on it. If you can flow some water thru at the same time it would help.
This will take some time but if you keep knocking bits and pieces out of it you should eventually get it cleared out.
Unless Jimmy Hoffa is actually stuffed in there, of course. If that is the case, he should come out on his own, given some warm weather and a few scavengers to assist.
Edited by twstanley (04/18/06 10:17 AM)
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lliefveld
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Re: clogged culvert
[re: CJDave]
04/18/06 12:51 PM
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In reply to:
you'll need to rent a pressure washer and a water truck
Good idea. Do you have any idea how much pressure is needed? I know they come in different psi's.
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lliefveld
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In reply to:
Let me attempt a crude drawing: =)
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xxxxx |----------------------------------
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Actually, it looks more like this:
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----xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |----
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The entire pipe is totally filled with mud.
In reply to:
Unless Jimmy Hoffa is actually stuffed in there, of course.
.
I think if must be Jimmy Hoffa and his entire mob.
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BlueRidge
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IF you have plenty of water available, rent a pump. NOT a pressure washer - you need more volume than pressure, though you do need some pressure. Presure washers trade pressure for flow. You want more flow than pressure.
If you can crank 80 or 100 psi, that'd be great. If not, get as much as you can. The nozzle idea is fine. You can add pipe if needed, and you'll need a slip-to-hose adaptor on one end. Then just get to work - it will come out. Keep drilling new holes through the clog - eventually the holes will merge here and there, and you'll start to get large chunks caving in.
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lliefveld
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In reply to:
IF you have plenty of water available,
Well, now that's the $64K question! Our well has lots of water, but, of course, it's 1/2 mile away from the clogged culvert. The best I can do is my 25 gallon sprayer... or fill the tractor FEL with water. Guess I'll visit my 'local' rental agency.
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CJDave
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The nozzle that I described needs at least 200 PSI to really do a good job without wasting all the water. Before you launch this project, do some walking through the yellow pages and see if there is a sewer cleaner guy who has one of those crap-blasters. He might just be willing to take a weekend quasi-vacation in the mountains and give you a decent price on blasting the culvert. It looks to me as though you may want to build an inlet structure that resembles a manhole with no lid and attach that to the upstream end of the culvert. That would help pond the water and stop the silt. Sometimes we even make a cut out in the inlet tub and put flashboards in the cut out to help control the silt. You add boards as the gully silts in, thereby giving you more interval between cleanouts. I wish I was on site to advise you on this; I have a great deal of experience with reclamation and drainage. 
CJDave
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BlueRidge
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Re: clogged culvert
[re: CJDave]
04/19/06 10:37 PM
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Tunnel under a sidewalk...
You can buy kits for running PVC under a sidewalk that have a PVC nozzle that glues onto the regular PVC. The idea is to use water and the nozzle on the pipe to bore through, then leave the pipe in place, cut off the nozzle and finish connecting your other pipes. For your purposes, you'll want to pull it back and make more holes, eventually digging everything out and then washing it down with the water stream from the nozzle.
The kits are under 5 bucks, IIRC.
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lliefveld
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Re: clogged culvert
[re: CJDave]
04/20/06 01:21 PM
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Thanks, CJ, that's very good info- I've forwarded a link to this thread on to my husband - he's the 'stuff' makerk in the family.
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lliefveld
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Hmm... interesting idea, BlueRidge. I'll send this to my hubby, as well.
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