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Author:
m & m (MD)
Describe the snake you are using. Electric or manual?
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
I don't know what type of setup that is, but if you look at your pictures closely, you can see the stopper is not lined up with the pipe. It's as though it has entered a larger pipe. You may have to get something like a long screwdriver in there to assist lining it up.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
You should have removed the stopper and rod. No telling how you will get it out now, if turning the snake "backwards" does not unscrew it from the drain. In fact, the stopper and rod in the drain may be WHY it is plugged up.
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Author:
sum (FL)
I think with some finesse you might be able to lower a wire cutter down there, past the end through one opening and fish it back up on the other, and cut away one end of a cross. Repeat for the other end. All you need is some extension straps on both ends and a way to secure the cross once it's been cut so it doesn't drop down into the drain.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
1. What kind of "wire cutter" could he do that with inside a 1 1/2" overflow tube
2. There is NO "cross". That is the "bail" from the drain plug and the wire that lifts it.
3. The "bucket" HAS to come out of the drain and if he removes the "bail" there will be absolutely no way to lift it
4. IF the "bucket" is stuck in the drain, or setting at the bottom on its seat, THAT is why the tub is not draining.
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Author:
sum (FL)
hj, I am merely commenting based on OP's original statement of "seems like it's stuck on an old stopper that got disconnected and was never retrieved" and assumed what the snake got stuck on is some piece of junk that was also left there and needed to be extracted. If that's not the case then what I proposed would not make sense.
There are heavy duty cable saws that can probably saw through that if he can get it looped around the obstruction. I have seen those "commando" style survival kit wire saw with a cable coated with something that claims it can saw through metal, bone, wood etc.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
It is the drain stopper at the bottom of a 1 1/2" overflow tube. HOW is ever going to "loop" ANYTHING around it, unless he has 14" fingers about the size of spaghetti.
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Author:
sum (FL)
if it's the drain stopper and it has to stay, then the discussion is moot, or may be he should lift the entire drain stopper/plug mechanism out and forget it since he can always just use the bath tub drain.
But theoretically he can carefully lower a thread with a small magnet tied on it's end, lower it through that hole and beyond until it is low enough, then stick a 1/4" metal rod down to catch the magnet, then carefully retrieve the magnet and the thread, continue to feed it down and back up, then change it to a thicker wire, tied to the cable saw, until he gets that cable saw in position, then pull back and forth to saw one end off...IF he wants to get rid of it.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
You appear to have absolutely NO idea what he is working on. The worst thing he could do would be to "cut" that brass "bar", since that is the only thing he has to remove the drain's "stopper" Normally, he would just pull up on the rod secured to the stopper, (it was originally connected to the overflow's trip lever). Why he did not remove the stopper when he removed the overflow plate is the key to why it is still in the drain. He should NEVER have inserted ANY snake through the overflow opening while that stopper was still in place, but once he did, he more or less ensured that it would get stuck.
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Author:
sum (FL)
hj, you are the pro so of course you know much more about the situation.
But seems everyone assumed the OP removed the overflow plate and disconnected the connection to the stopper and proceeded to snake it. But he said the stopper was already disconnected but never retrieved. So that thing has been down there for some time, and was able to drain, until something happened the stopper dropped down and plug it up which my guess is the reason for the snaking.
So what's done is done, he can try different ways to dislodge the snake or the bar, or he has to gain access to that pipe from an adjacent or adjoining wall.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
quote; The cleanout is below the basement cement floor.
What usually happens is that the tub has been used for a shower for a "long" time sothe "plug" has not been moved up and down. It is also usually almost closed when this happens but the water can drain adequately. THEN, something happens, hair or whatever, to CLOSE that small opening. THEN the plug has to be extracted but since it is stuck the mechanism pulls apart when the overflow plate is removed. From that point it is a "crap shoot" how to remove the plug, usually a combination of experience, patience, and luck. In at least one case, the crosspiece broke at the same time the plug came loose so I was able to remove it.
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Author:
lcdm (Non-US)
Thanks for the advice everyone! The snake is out!
Thankfully, the bathroom wall has a closet on the other side which allowed me to cut a discrete access hatch which let me loosen the pipes a bit.
I got the ebay plumbing pipe camera (cost about $30, plug and play with the Photobooth app on my Macbook). I tried turning the (manual) snake with the camera down the drain and I could see that when the snake would spin out, the snake wasn't loosening up at all. Instead, the stopper was just spinning within the pipe.
I decided to cut the snake which let me completely remove the overflow tube and give me about 10" of slack from the top of the drain (bottom of where the overflow tube). I tried sticking the end into a power drill but this didn't really do anything. From there, I squeezed my hand below the floorboard to access another point where I could loosen a pipe connection. The pipes didn't move but somehow by loosening the connection, the stopper could move higher than ever! The connecting rod seen in the photos above was now sticking out the top of the drain.
I gave a few careful tugs and twists on the snake and it came free - along with a clump of my landlord's hair!
Sadly, the stopper seems to have been installed on the wrong side of the drain and a small lip inside the drain prevents it from coming out. Instead, I'm pretty sure it falls all the way down to the P trap. I think I'd have to cut into the floor (or the ceiling below) to get access. I'll leave it alone for now.
All in all, the camera I bought was totally worth it. It let me make clear, informed decisions on what to do next instead of blindly pulling for no reason. Here's a photo I took with it.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
The stopper cannot fall down to the "P" trap, and if it was loose enough to spin it should have been loose enough to pull out. The only time the do NOT remove is when they are corroded in place and then the do NOT move at all.
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