How Can I Vent Through The Sewer?

[hashboy]

As a Journeyman Master Plumber and 20 year union member, I would say this is goofy. The smell will flow in to the sewer but ultimately back out through ventstacks, either at your house or your neighbors. The smell won't magically vanish. Uh, breaking a trap seal requires a permit. If you think you want to do this, definetly buy a back flow preventer and install it downstream from your fan hook up. Logically though, a fan unfiltered directly to the outside is about the same.

I'm imagining my neighbor with a hole in his yard cleanout cover and the smell pumping onto his front porch. I hope the manhole in the sidewalk in front of his house is artight, or everyone who bikes and walks and drives by will smell it. I think it's possible to create enough back pressure to siphon every trap at my house, so none of my drains will work.

It's actually tough to be a licensed plumber when everyone thinks THEY are a plumber. In general, I would also say that stoned people rarely write coherent articles. This is a classic.

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Of course! Thanks for your comments. Like I started my post, "I'm trying to figure out the sewer system". Not being a master plumber myself, it was necessary to try to figure it out. I also could not call in a plumber to vent my grow room to the sewer. I had to try to figure it out myself so I appreciate the benefit of your experience.

I never thought about the back flow of air to neighbors, although in my case, since there was flooding in all of my neighbors' houses due to construction materials backing up the main sewer line, the developer installed backflow preventers for every house. Being a new development, the sewer system is less than five years old so I thought it wouldn't be likely that sewer fumes would be coming up anywhere.

Anyway, thanks again for your input. After considering everything I would have to agree with you and would continue to use a really good carbon filter. I use a much bigger carbon filter than the manufacturer recommends because in my experience they don't filter out all the smell, and they don't last much more than about half the time they're supposed to. (probably due to the heat) It costs me about $600 every three months or so. That is why I was thinking about alternatives. It's not just the smell either. I'm concerned about the heat signature from the vent. How do you cool the exhaust air from your grow room so it can't be seen by FLIR from a police helicopter? I use an air conditioner but I wonder if there isn't a less expensive way to cool the exhaust air with water some how.

 

[hashboy]

Perhaps a "swamp cooler" could be used?

 

[RandyL]

I think it might be worth the money to have a plumber come in and fully check out your pipes before you build your grow room. Have them snake it out real good, test everything, etc.

Then you know your plumbing system should be ok for at least a while.

 

[hashboy]

I think it might be worth the money to have a plumber come in and fully check out your pipes before you build your grow room. Have them snake it out real good, test everything, etc.

Then you know your plumbing system should be ok for at least a while.

I think we might be getting off topic a bit. Yes it is good to check your plumbing so as not to have sewage backups, but this thread was about venting grow room air into the sewer system. I think we've beat that horse to death by now. As uaplumber26 pointed out, venting to the sewer pipe in your basement will cause the air to go not to the sewer system, but to the path of lowest resistance; out your roof vent. I had already covered that point by suggesting installing a one-way valve at the top of your vent line preventing exhaust air from going out but still letting air in from outside. (The vent's purpose is to let air in to prevent a vapor-lock situation, not to let air out.) ... but then he pointed out that the pressure would not go all the way out the sewer, but instead again, through the path of least resistance; up your neighbors' pipe into their house and and out of their vents (since they wouldn't have a one-way valve installed in their vents). So unless you're as lucky as me to have anti-backflow valves installed on all of the houses in your street (highly doubtful) then you should probably forget.

Might as well close this thread unless anyone had something else to add about venting grow room air to the sewer.

 

[cnd420]

just wondering, I understand the venting issues on a public sewer system but what about a septic system, will adding my rooms exhausted air to my drain system harm my fluid draining I dont want to create a bigger problem by jerry rigging to fix a smaller one

 

[hashboy]

just wondering, I understand the venting issues on a public sewer system but what about a septic system, will adding my rooms exhausted air to my drain system harm my fluid draining I dont want to create a bigger problem by jerry rigging to fix a smaller one

The idea of venting into a sewer, whether sensible or not, is to get rid of the smell by blowing the air into a system that vents away from your property. A septic system's only vent to the air is through the lids on the top of your septic tank, or through a roof vent if installed. I don't see an advantage since it defeats the purpose of attempting to take the growroom exhaust smell away from your property. It might mask the growroom smell with the sewage smell but you don't want to force that smell to come up in your yard, right?

 

[cnd420]

That's what I figured thanks for the reply

 

[fadedme]

useful

 

[uaplumber26]

--

Of course! Thanks for your comments. Like I started my post, "I'm trying to figure out the sewer system". Not being a master plumber myself, it was necessary to try to figure it out. I also could not call in a plumber to vent my grow room to the sewer. I had to try to figure it out myself so I appreciate the benefit of your experience.

I never thought about the back flow of air to neighbors, although in my case, since there was flooding in all of my neighbors' houses due to construction materials backing up the main sewer line, the developer installed backflow preventers for every house. Being a new development, the sewer system is less than five years old so I thought it wouldn't be likely that sewer fumes would be coming up anywhere.

Anyway, thanks again for your input. After considering everything I would have to agree with you and would continue to use a really good carbon filter. I use a much bigger carbon filter than the manufacturer recommends because in my experience they don't filter out all the smell, and they don't last much more than about half the time they're supposed to. (probably due to the heat) It costs me about $600 every three months or so. That is why I was thinking about alternatives. It's not just the smell either. I'm concerned about the heat signature from the vent. How do you cool the exhaust air from your grow room so it can't be seen by FLIR from a police helicopter? I use an air conditioner but I wonder if there isn't a less expensive way to cool the exhaust air with water some how.

I grow in Washington where it's legal and I don't care. Maybe it would be cheaper to move. A prison stretch can be spendy.

 

[CO Finest]

Pray to the gods if sewer backs up or vent blows back in to your grow room lol.

 

[DesertSmoke]

For those of us that have swimming pools and or multiple clean outs in our sewer connections . I have 2 cleanouts near my pool for letting me drain pool water when needed for pool work. Having them allows me the place to put a nice exhaust for the fans doing their work in my grow rooms.. another place that might just work maybe is the standpipe you have your washing machine drain hoe hanging in. The city sewer folks would have to be quite small to get to us unless the camera thingy they have to look into the pipes has a nose too. Our pipes in the street in our subdivision is 12 inches. I put in my sewer when we change over from septic years back.
My grow box is going to be small but a few of the plants I plan on trying to grow have reps for being quite the odiferous types so I may be trying anything and everything to remove the odors that may try and invade the house. Being in your 60s brings grandkids and children into the house and they need not know what grandma and grandpa are doing in our golden years. HaHa

 

[Free Bird]

This method may prevent smell from entering the house,but one must be careful when creating a negative pressure within a structure, it may cause dangerous conditions for operation of heating appliances.One would be wise to avoid doing this if you do not have appliances that are of sealed combustion type.It could create conditions allowing spillage of flue gases at appliance and reversing of the chimney out draft hood.This could put you and your family at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning,the silent deadly killer.

Author:Free Bird

 

[spacef]

The smell will flow in to the sewer but ultimately back out through ventstacks, either at your house or your neighbors. The smell won't magically vanish.

I agree with this. If you live in an appartment, or if water and sewer pipes are connected in the area, I would not use it if you want to avoid problems of smell. Even with carbon, it can smell. Carbon filters: it is all a matter of size depending on the size of your growth. And it is expensive, so people do not have a tendancy to oversize filetring, because of budget questions.

So many people got busted recently because they did not pay attention to neigbours, smells (that may not be like MJ, just an unusual smell is enough for some people to call the cops or other city services). Ok, it is true, they were growing too much and people in the block noticed it and called the cops or firemen because they think of a gaz leak or some sort of toxic stuff in the air !!! . It is ALWAYS the same story ;-)

So take care and think twice if you really want to stealth in a country where you might get into troubles and where people are dummer than your ass and call the cops as soon as they notice something unusual that cause them the fears that they are domesticated to react with since their childhood (in one words, muddafuckin-morons..... falling because of morons ???? admit that's moronic


My post is only for those living in an appartment or who think "yeah cool i will do that" but do not think about the rest and the danger and how mean neighbours/people can be and all the joy the get when they'll see you handcuffed because it will light their dull and uninteresting lives. Ha! that will give them something to talk about for long.

It is not against this method, it is just to tell noobs to take serious extra care especially if you grow in a place where it is not yet as accepted as in other countries.

Thanks !

 

[yoeddie]

In my home state that is named after a rock, the Man drives around with the windows open for the trained K9. This is a real problem as their olfactory sense is magnitudes better than a humans. A buddy of mine is a retired state trooper and said that this is a far cheaper detection method than planes and helicopters with IR scanner., especially since the Man has to drive around anyhow. In rural areas dont skimp on activated carbon filtration of your exhaust! Ozone is also very effective. Good luck everyone and stay under the radar!

 

[Victorytoker]

If you do this then look at a toilet after and see if the water in it is showing any movement. A dwv system is designed for 5psi max, more pressure will effect p traps and drainage . You would do well to 8nstall a check valve in the dwv line after your fan connection, this way no gasses or blockage can move through your ducting. The majority of the air you pump into that main clean out ( that capped wye) will exit through the roof vent, not the sewer itself. Plumber for well over 25 years here imo, you are FAR better off using carbon or ozone. If you need the cheapest effective carbon then get a 5 gallon pail of activated carbon at pet store ( $30) take the carbon out and toss it in a fabric pot ( on line the bucket with metal screen ) and shoot some holes into the empty 5 gallon pot with a bb gun ( this is the funnest way ) a lot of holes. Cut a circle into the lid. Fill with carbon, hook duct up to hoke in lid and ductape it .. total cost for a 10" filter = $45. These work very very well if done right. If you are really serious about growing though just shell some cash for a carbon filter with good reviews