I consider myself an advanced DIYer. I can accomplish most home remodeling tasks myself but not being an expert, I often have to research the correct method before doing it.
Several months ago I had to replace a horizontal drain line that served the kitchen sink. It was an old 2" galvanized line that was clogged almost solid. So I chose to replace it as being easier than trying to clear the line. I routed it almost exactly the same as the original line with a few adjustments near where it goes into the main drain. This line was along the ceiling of the laundry room below so it was easy to work on. I do have plans on finishing the walls in the laundry room soon so I was particularly conscious of where the lines were routed. The main drain is a 4" overhead sewer style pipe with cast bell fittings. The original plumbing was a vertical 2" pipe out the top of a belled tee. Just above the tee was a threaded tee (sanitary tee?) where the ejector pit drained into. Right above this was an elbow that picked up the kitchen drain line.
I prematurely hit send.... Anyhow. This arrangement forced that horizontal drain to have an inadequate pitch. I figure that's why it was so clogged in the first place. So when I redid it, I moved the point where the ejector connects into the horizontal kitchen drain. This allowed me to pitch it properly. I went about this by putting in a sanitary tee in that horizontal line with the side port facing upward. Then I routed the ejector pipe to go up beyond the horizontal line and then offer and down into the tee. (I now understand that's the wrong fitting to use). In any case everything eas working great for months.
Now on Sunday I was having trouble with my ejector pump. Nothing to do with plumbing. But rather the float switch had moved into such a position that it was coming down on top of the pump itself and it wouldn't stop. So I adjusted things down in the pit and got it working properly. While I was in there I had moved things around and ended up pumping out all of the sludge at the bottom of the pit. It had never looked so clean.
However ever since this float adjustment and clean pit, now I started having trouble whenever the pump did its thing. The water would back up into the kitchen sink. Keep in mind this kitchen sink is 10' away horizontally and 5' higher than where the pump was teed in. All in 2" pipe. Why all of a sudden is this happening? The only thing I could figure is that with all of that sludge going out I must have clogged my main drain. Note though that the kitchen sink was still draining great.
I couldn't get the cleanout plug out of the main drain myself. And I don't have a rodding machine anyhow. So I called a plumber.
He had to chisel the plug out. But when he got it open there was no standing water in the main drain. That was odd to me. He proceeded to rod it anyhow. He pushed 16' section of rod in by hand and it went easily. That should have been all the way into my septic tank. He connected another 16' section and connected it to the machine. He had over 25' in there and never had any resistance.
He didn't have the smaller snake on the truck ( why would a plumber come out on a clogged drain call without a snake to rod a 2" and 4" drain?) he was going to throw up his hands and leave at that point but I wouldn't let him go without fixing the problem. (Maybe I should have). He then cut the 2" PVC right above the belled fitting so he could look inside. It was clean. Very clean in both directions. So he proceeded to put in a sanitary tee at that point for the ejector pump. And then he capped the sanitary tee in the horizontal line. This seems to work. No more backup into the kitchen sink. However now that horizontal line is back to its old pitch. Backwards.
So if the way I did it is wrong. And if it can't be done the way he did it and maintain proper pitch in the horizontal, what is the right way?
