Sewer maintenance is an ongoing challenge for cities and municipalities. Moreover, gaps in best practice training can cost public works departments unnecessary time and expense in labor, water, and energy costs when cleaning sewer lines.
Over time, industry best practices have been developed through a process of trial and error. Dan Story of KEG Technologies (www.kegtechnologies.net) provides 5 important tips for sewage line cleaning as part of his training sessions.
Tip 1 – “Read” the results
“The trick is paying attention to your hose. Make sure your hose comes back clean, and then you know your pipe is clean. How much debris is in the first pass? This information can tell you whether you’re going too fast or too slow. Remember to never outrun your flow because your flow is your conveyor belt. If there is a lot of material on the hose, it is telling me to slow down. If my hose stays clean, I know I am moving at a good pace,” says Story.
Tip 2 – Protect your investment
Slowing down and observing the results allows for cleaning to be performed in a single pass, which helps safeguard the hose from potential damage.
“If you are going into each pipe once, rather than three times, to clean it, you are basically tripling the life of a three to four thousand dollar hose,” says Story.
Tip 3 – Nozzle selection matters
Story cautions departments not to overlook the importance of nozzles even when expensive trucks are purchased for providing a water supply. While a department may have invested a half-million dollars for a truck to clean sewer lines, its impact is only as good as the nozzle at the end of the hose. “If you are using a cheap hundred dollar nozzle, you have a hundred dollar truck because it is the nozzle that cleans all of the pipe, not the truck,” explains Story.
Tip 4 – Optimal technique is key
Effective cleaning involves more than just using a powerful nozzle. It also entails understanding the proper positioning and placement of the nozzle within the pipe.
“We teach about the difference between laying a nozzle on the bottom of the pipe and centering it into the pipe,” says Story. “We teach about the flows and angles based on the size of the pipe -and the condition of the pipe based on the last camera footage.”
Tip 5 – Learn the science behind best practices
With the advancement of nozzle technologies, there is a need for municipalities to get everyone on the same page about the proper techniques for cleaning sewer lines.
“What surprises even experienced sewer and storm professionals is the science behind the best practices,” says Story. “What we teach is based on understanding fluid dynamics. We look at the horsepower of your truck that drives the water pump for a rate of volume at a particular PSI level. We factor in the efficiency of the nozzle. What we want to get to is how to run the truck at a lot lower RPM and PSI that will clean the line easier, better, and more efficiently.”
For more information: call 866-595-0515; visit www.kegtechnologies.net.