Hydrovac Solutions for Frozen Culverts and Septic Pipes in Alberta

Sometimes, a frozen culvert causing a blockage to water flow from underneath a roadway or railway track in Alberta needs to be cleaned-out without delay. Considering the limited options available to remove the hindrance that could be at either end of the culvert or inside, a hydrovac crew is contacted for thawing culvert cleaning services. Removing frozen water from either end of the culvert is usually not very difficult, but reaching an inaccessible area inside the culvert can be challenging.

Solutions using snakes and wands

Very quick to respond, a hydrovac team will reach the site of the frozen culvert and assess the best options to get the water flowing through again. If the frozen water blocking the flow is inside the culvert, a special tip for a hose called a ‘snake’ will be used to force its way through the frozen water using a very powerful jet stream of water to penetrate anything in front of it. Typically, the snake has seven jets, one in the front and six at the rear, which help thrust it forward. The special tip and six jets direct the ice pieces that breakaway to a vacuum hose for transporting it to a debris tank on the hydrovac truck.

Thawing culvert cleaning services come in handy when the ice stopping the water flow through the culvert is at one end. In this case, a wand is inserted into the blockage to spray water heated on the hydrovac truck to almost boiling temperature. The constant flow of hot water mixes with the frozen water around it inside the blockage, causing it to melt. Within a short time, the hydrovac team successfully cleans-out the culvert by thawing the frozen water from the inside.

Septic pipes are used to transport sewage from a building to a septic tank. Improper use of drains in the building by flushing down solids or using them for vegetable and fruit peels, paper, hair, etc., can clog the septic pipes. One of the main reasons can be hot grease poured down the drain regularly, which cools and congeals, eventually blocking the septic pipe. As winter proceeds, these pipes can become frozen from the inside and begin to crack with the expanding ice as the water freezes. If the drainage water backs-up into the house, it is a sign there is a blockage. Taking action at the earliest can prevent further damage. Buying a chemical from the hardware store can unblock a partially blocked pipe, but if the pipe is completely plugged, the solution is calling a hydrovac crew.

If you are lucky, your frozen septic pipes will have access areas where the hydrovac crew can insert a ‘snake’ to clear the blockage. If your septic pipes are frozen from the inside, the crew can use low-pressure water close to the boiling point from their hydro-vac truck’s tank to heat the frozen septic pipe and melt the solidified water.

Both frozen septic pipes and culverts can be unblocked with either a ‘snake’ or heated water sprayed from a wand. The operations seem easy, but things can go wrong, and it’s only an experienced hydrovac crew that can be cautious without decreasing efficiency.

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Created on Dec 8th 2020 02:51. Viewed 185 times.

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