Sump Pump Pipe Auger

admin

My sump pump drains into a grey 4” PVC pipe that connects to a 12” PVC pipe that runs along the side of my street about 7’ below the ground.  I believe that the grey pipe was originally installed in the 70’s, so it is about 50 years old.  Over the years the pipe has become very brittle.  13 years ago, I replaced 12 feet of the old pipe near the street and 8 years ago I replaced about 25 feet on the other end where the sump pump drains into it. This left 30 feet of the grey brittle pipe in the middle.  Last fall the pipe wouldn’t accept the water from the sump pump.  From my past experience I have found that the roots find their way through small holes and cracks in the pipe and entirely fill the pipe with hair like filaments. I snaked it out and had to pound the snake through roots in three different places.  Fortunately, this temporary fix lasted all the way until this summer, when I could dig up the old pipe and replace it.  Digging the trench was painful because the trench passes by a huge maple tree with tons of surface roots, which had to be cut with an axe. The first step was to set up a bypass pipe to divert the sump pump water, while I was digging up the old pipe.1. Sump pump bypass pipeThe complication was removing the old grey 4” pipe that was under the sidewalk, so that I could replace it with a new 4” pipe.  2. Broken pipe near sidewalkI decided to use an auger to tear out the old pipe and pull it out of the hole.  I started with a store-bought auger that is used to plant flowers and the like.3. AugerI used my trusty Fireball magnets to hold the auger in place, so that I could weld radial teeth on the OD of the screw of the auger.4. Fixture for welding radial teeth5. Radial tooth weldedSmith Oxyacetylene TorchMiller Dynasty 200DXLincoln SP-250 MIG WelderClausing/Coldchester 15" Lathe16" DuAll Saw15" Drill Press7" x 9" Swivel Head Horizontal Band Saw20 Ton Arbor Press BridgeportLincoln LE  31 MP & Lincoln 210 MP
Reply:I used an angle iron, supported by radiator clamps, to line up the shaft to the auger. The auger shaft was 1/16” smaller than the ¾” pipe, so I used two 1/32” shims on each side where the shaft of the auger contacted the angle iron.6. Fixture for welding shaft7. Shaft welded I welded a plug to the end of the shaft and then welded a hex shaft to the plug so that I could spin the auger with my electric drill.8. Hex key weldedI welded some teeth to the front of the auger to cut through the hair like roots that filled up the pipe in several locations.  I added the disk to pilot the auger on the old pipe.  I didn’t put radial teeth on the first pitch of the screw of the auger to assist in piloting the auger. 9. Auger done 110. Auger done 2Smith Oxyacetylene TorchMiller Dynasty 200DXLincoln SP-250 MIG WelderClausing/Coldchester 15" Lathe16" DuAll Saw15" Drill Press7" x 9" Swivel Head Horizontal Band Saw20 Ton Arbor Press BridgeportLincoln LE  31 MP & Lincoln 210 MP
Reply:I have a huge stud drill, but I decided to use a low speed ½” industrial drill to power the auger.  It turns out that very little torque is required to break up the old pipe and pull the pipe shards and a little dirt from the hole. The auger acts more like a reamer as opposed to a drill bit.11. Pulling broken shards from hole12. Drilling (reaming) setup13. New pipe installed 114. New pipe installed 215. Trench covered-DonLast edited by Don52; 2 Weeks Ago at 01:00 PM.Smith Oxyacetylene TorchMiller Dynasty 200DXLincoln SP-250 MIG WelderClausing/Coldchester 15" Lathe16" DuAll Saw15" Drill Press7" x 9" Swivel Head Horizontal Band Saw20 Ton Arbor Press BridgeportLincoln LE  31 MP & Lincoln 210 MP
Reply:Pretty damn clever!
Reply:Good work!
Reply:I have done the welding stuff to an auger to make it longer…with a couple teeth…but I like your build way better!Well done OP.  One comment…that clean out maybe should be angled so that you can get a stiffer reamer in there…and maybe one right at the house as well?
Reply:Very slick design!  Were the teeth mild steel?  Did you get a lot of wear on the leading edges as you were eating into the cast iron pipe?
Reply:It is a little late for my suggestion,, but,,,my father in law had a similar event,, a maple filled his sewer pipe,,He had two maples, one we took down, but, my mother in law insisted that the other one stay,,Well,, While the trench was open, I talked my father in law into buying 6 inch pipe to go over the 4 inch pipe.That maple will need to be mighty tricky to get past the 6" pipe, as well as the 4" pipe,, we even staggered the joints so that the joints were 5 feet apart.I slathered on so much glue, we had to go back to the hardware store for another can,, I did not want it to leak on my install,,,That was before 1975, and as far as I know, that maple never clogged the pipe again.When I had to replace the pipe out of my septic tank, I did the same thing, by adding a 6" pipe over the 4"That pipe goes right past a half dozen large trees,, they have never defeated the 6" pipe.
Reply:Originally Posted by Larry4406Pretty damn clever!
Reply:I went back and looked at the photo…which looks correct.  My bad interpretation of it the other day.  The T looked vertical…sorry.
Reply:Originally Posted by TarmstrongI went back and looked at the photo…which looks correct.  My bad interpretation of it the other day.  The T looked vertical…sorry.
Reply:Not as exciting, but we have the tool that does this. You just clamp your new pipe in the  back of it and it has a cone on the end that slits or smashes the old pipe in the case of terra cotta. You just pull it through with a chain. I think we would have use 20' joints of sch 40-80, not put the same old sdr in. We always bury the cleanouts and mark them with a 2x2 patio paver because of the frequency that we are repairing them when left out. After a few years in the sun they just crumble.