Need jet wand or similar to clean high gutters

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#3077924 19-May-2023 17:41

A followup with the Magnum, got two downpipes put in for redundancy so that if one blocked with leaves there'd still be a means of removing the water from the gutters. However what's been happening is that during a high-rain event the first one fills with water which then fountains out of the few joints that aren't welded (because in theory there's no need to, and welding every joint would make it a nightmare to take apart for maintenance).

The problem is that the system wasn't really designed to be filled with enough water to force it up through the joins, and with that now acting as an exit point it's not going down the second downpipe much since the water pressure is enough to force it upwards out of the joins in the first one rather than continue to the second one.

Any ideas on how to fix this? I don't want to weld the joins for the reasons given above, maybe a run of silicone around the outside of the joins? Will that blow out under water pressure? There's also the issue of expansion, the runs aren't very long but there could still be some movement on hot days.

rb99

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#3077928 19-May-2023 18:00

Is it not possible to run a leaf blower at the bottom of the downpipe, so that it blows leaves out of the top ?

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#3077929 19-May-2023 18:03

or -

https://www.leafgutterblowers.com/diy-leaf-blower-gutter-attachment/

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tdgeek

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#3077932 19-May-2023 18:09

My left field answer is get some cheap PVC tube, circa 25mm diameter. Glue a 180 and a 90 fitting to get you hosing horizontally. Some how fit a standardise hose fitting at the bottom, then lift it and droop it between gutter fixings and hose horizontally. If its a bit wobbly, perhaps strap one/two tube fittings either side to make it more rigid.

neb

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#3077933 19-May-2023 18:12

tdgeek:
My left field answer is get some cheap PVC tube, circa 25mm diameter. Glue a 180 and a 90 fitting to get you hosing horizontally. Some how fit a standardise hose fitting at the bottom, then lift it and droop it between gutter fixings and hose horizontally. If its a bit wobbly, perhaps strap one/two tube fittings either side to make it more rigid.

That's Deta conduit you're describing, all the fittings and connectors are readily available from Bunnings (or for 4-5x the price if you want them to say Marley on the side), you'd just have to check that the PVC welds will handle the water pressure.

(And I assume the last three replies are for the thread topic as a whole, not the specific question I just posted).

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#3077934 19-May-2023 18:19

neb: That's Deta conduit you're describing, all the fittings and connectors are readily available, you'd just have to check that the PVC welds will handle the water pressure. .

I was just suggesting an easy way to get the water up top and horizontal. Water pressure would just be hose pressure. Fill the gutter, the gunk "should" flow away. Assuming that its not full already. In which case and this time of year it becomes a hands on job as the leaves cake in. If so, I'd get a pro to sort it and use my or other suggestions to keep on top of it, pun not intended.

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#3077950 19-May-2023 21:09

neb: A followup with the Magnum, got two downpipes put in for redundancy so that if one blocked with leaves there'd still be a means of removing the water from the gutters. However what's been happening is that during a high-rain event the first one fills with water which then fountains out of the few joints that aren't welded (because in theory there's no need to, and welding every joint would make it a nightmare to take apart for maintenance).

Where is the water in the downpipe going? What restriction is causing it to backup? How long is the gutter and does it have much fall?

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neb

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#3077951 19-May-2023 21:11

Bung:
neb: A followup with the Magnum, got two downpipes put in for redundancy so that if one blocked with leaves there'd still be a means of removing the water from the gutters. However what's been happening is that during a high-rain event the first one fills with water which then fountains out of the few joints that aren't welded (because in theory there's no need to, and welding every joint would make it a nightmare to take apart for maintenance).

Where is the water in the downpipe going? What restriction is causing it to backup? How long is the gutter and does it have much fall?

Out through the joins.

Leaves.

Maybe 10m or so, but the fall doesn't matter because the water pressure is forcing it out through the downpipe joins so it never gets to the second downpipe.

pdh

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#3077973 20-May-2023 01:02

If the first downpipe is overloading so that the second isn't getting any water...

Put a deliberate restrictor plate or (better) an upward-cone into the top of the first one.

That will cut it's acceptance and send water on to the second downpipe - sharing the load.

Proof of concept - You could fabricate one up using plastic from an ice-cream container & some duct tape.

(It's not a perfect solution - as it will increase the potential for leaves blocking up the top of the 1st pipe - the cone would better resist this.)

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#3077980 20-May-2023 08:02

neb: A followup with the Magnum, got two downpipes put in for redundancy so that if one blocked with leaves there'd still be a means of removing the water from the gutters. However what's been happening is that during a high-rain event the first one fills with water which then fountains out of the few joints that aren't welded

Trying to get a mental picture of what is going on...are you saying that the down pipes are clogging and not free flowing for the eater to escape?.

Have you got leafguards on the down pipes. It will give you an easy access to clean out the leaves, plus will stop the joint blowouts as its an easier overflow

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/rain-harvesting-leaf-beater-80mm/100mm/p/399892

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#3078013 20-May-2023 10:32

Not sure what size downpipe you have on your Magnum but if it is 100mm and backing up that suggests in ground pipe is already at capacity. Your 2nd downpipe wouldn't empty either. Do you have a soak pit full of leaves or too small?

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#3078020 20-May-2023 11:03

Yeah, if the actual pipe is getting backed up then the underground piping isn't able to accept more water. Allowing pressure to build up the piping in the side of the building might work somewhat, but I'm not sure the hangers are dimensioned for a pipe full of standing water.

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#3078026 20-May-2023 11:56

@neb - I had something similar with downpipes backing up and water seeping out through the non-welded joins (Marley Typhoon gutters + 80mm downpipes for us). I had one case of heavy rain filling the downspout and water overflowing the guttering.

Ended up getting the drains camera-ed and the issue was exactly as @bung said:

Bung: Not sure what size downpipe you have on your Magnum but if it is 100mm and backing up that suggests in ground pipe is already at capacity. Your 2nd downpipe wouldn't empty either. Do you have a soak pit full of leaves or too small?

In our case, the drains just... stopped. They didn't actually drain anywhere. At least a soak pit filling up I can understand, but this seems to just be cowboy shoddiness. I'm still in the process of remedying this.

neb

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#3078103 20-May-2023 18:19

pdh:
If the first downpipe is overloading so that the second isn't getting any water...

Put a deliberate restrictor plate or (better) an upward-cone into the top of the first one.

That will cut it's acceptance and send water on to the second downpipe - sharing the load.

The problem with putting any kind of restriction on the inflow, or at least one that's sufficient to stop all water going down it, is that it's going to get blocked with leaves fairly quickly, thus reducing its efficiency from, say, 30% flow to 0% flow. Here's the layout:

By possibly sealing the joints on the first downpipe, if it does fill with water due to being blocked then the flow will continue to the second downpipe so it's self-regulating. Problem is that I'm not sure whether something like running a bead of silicone around the joints is a good idea or not, whether it'll just blow out with water pressure, or cause problems with thermal expansion, or something else.

neb

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#3078104 20-May-2023 18:24

Bung: Not sure what size downpipe you have on your Magnum but if it is 100mm and backing up that suggests in ground pipe is already at capacity. Your 2nd downpipe wouldn't empty either. Do you have a soak pit full of leaves or too small?

See the photo, the problem is the leaf diverters are blocking due to the volume of leaves coming down onto them. Unfortunately there's no 100mm diverters so they're 80mm ones with a reducer thus the somewhat odd appearance, and the blockage occurs because if a large enough wad of leaves hits that at once, for example rain going from 1mm/hr to 20mm/hr within a few minutes washing every leaf on the roof off at once, they don't flush through (even if 100mm diverters existed I'm not sure they'd be able to cope with a huge wad of leaves dropping down on them).

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