Slow basin drain - solutions?

[Folkranger]

The drain on the bathroom basin is very very slow. Last year I tried to fix this and found the small diameter corrugated pipe achieves a trap by being wrapped tightly around a "pulley". My thought was that I take out the kinks and fit a trap waste to the basin. I bought the basin waste trap but found that there was insufficient room to fit this due to the cut off design of the cupboard under the basin.

Has anyone found another solution? Is there an inline trap that can be fitted into the pipe?

 

[tonyidle]

From a flow efficiency point of view the outlets should always be under water , this helps with drawing the water down and can improve flow rates tremendously, it’s called a full siphon drain that we’ve used in the aquarium industry for around 20yrs when a smart chap in the USA came up with the use, it works well.

Might be worth a try to just extend the outlet to its lowest point inside the tank and run a simple test ?

That simply won't work. The drain will be full of air each time the sink plug is pulled. Nothing happens until the air has been forced out into the tank. It is a permanent air-lock. Keeping the outlet under water only works as you suggest when the drain pipe can be kept filled.

 

[Folkranger]

I simply leave the drain open unless the van is stationary and in use. No smells ever.

What do you mean leave the drain open?

 

[Folkranger]

From a flow efficiency point of view the outlets should always be under water , this helps with drawing the water down and can improve flow rates tremendously, it’s called a full siphon drain that we’ve used in the aquarium industry for around 20yrs when a smart chap in the USA came up with the use, it works well.

Might be worth a try to just extend the outlet to its lowest point inside the tank and run a simple test ?

Not sure about that

 

[tonyidle]

What do you mean leave the drain open?

I don't ever close the drain cocktail unless the van is stationary and in use.

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[Folkranger]

I don't ever close the drain cocktail unless the van is stationary and in use.

What's a drain cocktail?

 

[Folkranger]

That simply won't work. The drain will be full of air each time the sink plug is pulled. Nothing happens until the air has been forced out into the tank. It is a permanent air-lock. Keeping the outlet under water only works as you suggest when the drain pipe can be kept filled.

And that would mean there is no smell trap as the greay water would be continous from tank to basin.

 

[JockandRita]

What do you mean leave the drain open?

As I do too, ie, the grey waste drain tap is left open once drained. Driving along the road creates a small vacuum at the end of the down pipe, thereby drawing air in via the sink drain holes,which we leave unplugged. We rarely get any smells from the waste tank.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[DerfelUK]

The drain on the bathroom basin is very very slow. Last year I tried to fix this and found the small diameter corrugated pipe achieves a trap by being wrapped tightly around a "pulley". My thought was that I take out the kinks and fit a trap waste to the basin. I bought the basin waste trap but found that there was insufficient room to fit this due to the cut off design of the cupboard under the basin.

Has anyone found another solution? Is there an inline trap that can be fitted into the pipe?

In Bubble we essentially have a direct empty from the bathroom sink to the floor with no trap. There it stops and discharges into an open "funnel" which always has water in it. It was only yesterday I realised how it worked as sink had stopped due to soap and detritus build up and not using any hot water. Rinsed sink with hot water, cleared all the pipes then found myself standing in water in the shower tray as all stuff had blocked the "funnel".
Could you do similar....as is mentioned, there is so little water to discharge, it lacks the energy to siphon effectively.

 

[Windy66]

Fit an air admittance valve

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[Folkranger]

In Bubble we essentially have a direct empty from the bathroom sink to the floor with no trap. There it stops and discharges into an open "funnel" which always has water in it. It was only yesterday I realised how it worked as sink had stopped due to soap and detritus build up and not using any hot water. Rinsed sink with hot water, cleared all the pipes then found myself standing in water in the shower tray as all stuff had blocked the "funnel".
Could you do similar....as is mentioned, there is so little water to discharge, it lacks the energy to siphon effectively.

You lost me at "Bubble"

 

[triclops]

Shove a hose through it and blast the rubbish out. Even better is a wet vac. Be careful of chemicals. I’ve had waste fittings dissolve with them.

Definitely don’t use drain chemicals. I did a few years ago when the new to us van kitchen sink wouldn’t drain. Completely melted the plug hole and pipe work and then I had to tell him indoors what had happened

 

[Folkranger]

For the information of all those people who keep telling me to clean it out. It doesn't make diddly squat difference.

I've straightened out the pipe so there is now no trap and even the smallest amount of water whizzes down the plughole.

We'll try to keep the plug in and see whether it smells or not. Pitty the plug wasn't a better fit though.

When you have a tank with a weeks water in and the temperatures are in the 30s, the waste water stinks to high heaven.

 

[Petroleumblownapart]

motorhome tank cleaner, let it soak then a few kettles of boiling water.

DO NOT PUT BOILING WATER INTO PLASTIC SINKS AND OR PIPES..

 

[DerfelUK]

You lost me at "Bubble"

That's where our trap is, in the floor, straight pipe from the sink into the shower base.

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[Tony50]

I must appologise in advance its just how mind mind works .
Its just a thought and some will think i am taking the P-ss and this is a bit of the wall and is also amusing.
Being a narrow pipe anyways it always going to be slow however we all know that here in the uk the water swirls down the plughole one way (think it is clockwise) so if your confloluted flexible hose is going in an anticlockwise way the water will be fighting to slide down so turning the pipe the other way round might help. And in Australia it will be ok as it is.

Just off post a Australian told me that water going down the plughole in Australia goes same way as UK, me I wouldn't know as I hate flying.

 

[cyberyacht]

Slow basin drain solution - free standing bowl. Chuck contents in hedge when done.

 

[Tony50]

Slow basin drain solution - free standing bowl. Chuck contents in hedge when done.

Not good etiquette, that's not good advice

 

[cyberyacht]

It wasn't really serious, although we aren't talking dumping nuclear waste are we?

 

[Pausim]

Not good etiquette, that's not good advice

Perfectly good etiquette on many CLs and CSs where they ask you to tip the grey water into the hedges. They don’t want their chemical tanks filled up with grey because they have to pay to have them pumped out. A few years back we were all told to use washing up water on our gardens to save wasting drinking water.

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[Tony50]

I know that ,but, not just dum

Perfectly good etiquette on many CLs and CSs where they ask you to tip the grey water into the hedges. They don’t want their chemical tanks filled up with grey because they have to pay to have them pumped out. A few years back we were all told to use washing up water on our gardens to save wasting drinking water

I agree that what some advise, but you just don't dump it without permission,at least I don't.