|
HillbillyHorus
   
location:
Charlottesville Virginia
Gender: Male
Im in ur government, killin ur d00dz
 |  |  | Manholes
< on 9/7/2005 12:25 AM >
|  | | | Manholes lead to drains (at least the ones marked "drains"), right? So why don't people just pop manholes, follow drains to source, and then enter through source in future. I know it's pretty retarded/dangerous to do in a road, even at night, but in the woods it could be safe (even if it takes you and hour to pry loose).
Why don't people do this more often? Do manholes go to main drains, or small ones (impossible to explore) with a manhole "pocket"? How can you tell?
Sorry, I'm just a hopeless noob at this aspect of the hobby.
You can't fall off a mountain. |
|
Krenta
 
location:
Saint Paul, MN
Nope, wasn't me.
| | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 1 on 9/7/2005 2:06 AM >
| | | | People do do exactly what you describe. However, a lot of drains don't have an accessible source, or the sources aren't in explorer-friendly areas, or the drain is annoyingly small at/near it's source, so people choose to enter elsewhere, where it's walking/crouching height. Likewise for outfalls - an outfall may be underwater, or well grated, or require rappelling to get to, or extremely visible.
Unless you're really lucky, maybe one in twenty manholes will lead to something remotely interesting, if you have a pretty low standard of "interesting". In or near cities it may be a little better, in small towns or rural areas I expect it's a lot worse. Even when they're labelled - "drain", "sewer", "storm", "sanitary", or any of a number of utility markings - you never really know what's underneath until you look. A lot of places aren't real picky about what the lid they drop in a collar says, so long as it fits. Even when you get one that leads to something interesting, it may not have stepirons, or the stepirons may not go all the way to the top/bottom... or the lid may be weighted, or bolted, or welded, or have a second lid underneath it... all of which are really annoying and generally inspire one to go looking for another manhole to try. This is where utility maps come in useful - figure out where you are, and you can figure out where the drain goes, so you can more easily find another possible entrance. Don't give up - it's not unheard of for drains to go more than a mile without a manhole.
Have Speed Graphic, Will Travel. |
|
JohnnyDumpster
Gender: Male
| | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 2 on 9/7/2005 8:55 PM >
| | | | Me and my buddies always pop off manholes, either to get in or to get out of drains. Getting out is way sketchy though since a car could drive over and take yer head off if you just come out anywhere but the manholes with grates or the dome ones usually aren't in the middle of streets so they're a little safer, plus you can see a little bit of the surrounding area where you come out. The more I think about it, coming out of manholes seems really dangerous, but we've been alright doing it for years.
[last edit 9/7/2005 8:56 PM by JohnnyDumpster - edited 1 times]
|
|
Factor VIII
 
location:
tu5t1n
Gender: Male
The Legacy
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 3 on 9/7/2005 10:11 PM >
| | | | Thats exactly I do. I would enter through an outfall but they are are all chained up and below ground, kinda hard to explain.
Just a week ago I pop'd a manhole in the middle of a bike path near a small gulley, there was this one couple with a baby about 15feet away, but they didnt seem to mind (and luckly didnt call the cops). It did infact lead to some relatively interesting stuff. As for finding out whether it leads to something interesting, you just gotta open it up and find out. The only reason we used this certain manhole is because it wasnt in a very visible place, and we have maps of the storm drain system. Most often times (with the exception of sanitary sewers) manholes lead to tunnels that you can stand up in at least in my experience.
use the boost to get through |
|
i2yan
location:
toronto, ontario
| | |  | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 4 on 9/7/2005 10:59 PM >
| | | | What do you use to get the man holes opened? just something like a crowbar?
-i2yan
|
|
HillbillyHorus
location:
Charlottesville Virginia
Gender: Male
Im in ur government, killin ur d00dz
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 5 on 9/8/2005 12:08 AM >
| | | | Posted by i2yan
What do you use to get the man holes opened? just something like a crowbar?
-i2yan
|
I've heard of using a shovel/sledgehammer combo, but it would have to be a damn strong shovel. Some manholes, especially old ones, are nearly impossible to open, and can take hours to pop. The formation of holes on Sanitary Sewer manholes are easier to open than the ones on drains, at least in my city.
You can't fall off a mountain. |
|
Random
location:
Richmond, Virginia
Gender: Male
Partially Retired
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 6 on 9/8/2005 12:40 AM >
| | | | Before popping a manhole, sniff one of the holes, this will tell you if it is sanitary or storm. Stick your ear over one hole and drop a pebble down the other. With practice, you can use this to determine depth, size, etc..
Also, custom manhole poppers are allot easier to use than a crowbar. Where you find them is up to you, I make mine.
|
|
The Warden
location:
Seattle
Gender: Male
| | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 7 on 9/8/2005 9:55 AM >
| | | | If you have some rudimentary knowledge about how the water cycle operates in your city, you should be able to make some educated guesses before popping any manholes. Smells and sounds are very good indicators of what may lie beneath. Also, one thing that I've found helpful is to compare old maps to current satellite photos to see where streams used to be. Often they've been converted to drains. When I pop manholes from topside I just use a crowbar and a screwdriver. Works like magic.
Love is the Law, Love under Will.
[last edit 9/8/2005 9:56 AM by The Warden - edited 1 times]
|
|
JohnnyDumpster
Gender: Male
| | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 8 on 9/8/2005 6:01 PM >
| | | | Last year we were in this small, kinda boring sewer under a smallish town/suburb and all we wanted to do was get out. We kept trying to push off manholes from the inside, but they were all too heavy (is there any trick to geting them off from the inside or is it just brute strength?) anyway, I finally got one off and we had no idea where we were, so i poked my head out and probably 15 feet away there was a house with people right in the window and a barbeque going in the backyard, kinda akward, they didn't seem to notice/care though. we got up and the hell out of there.
|
|
Random
location:
Richmond, Virginia
Gender: Male
Partially Retired
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 9 on 9/8/2005 6:59 PM >
| | | | Most of the techniques for getting them open involve thumping them with a mallet or crowbar. You can also wedge a crowbar between the cover and collar and dislodge them that way. I've heard of people setting car jacks on the top run and prying them open that way. I just use brute force, but I'm a big guy, so it may not work for you.
|
|
HillbillyHorus
location:
Charlottesville Virginia
Gender: Male
Im in ur government, killin ur d00dz
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 10 on 9/8/2005 9:11 PM >
| | | | This doesn't have to do directly with manholes, but I figured it made more since to post it here than start a new thread.
I found a 1 meter wide 1.25 meters tall, completely dry, RCP near my house. It's tall enough to crawl in, but not tall enough to be comfortable for any substantial period of time. Do RCPs like this usually lead to bigger, main drains, shrink, grow, etc.? I know it doesn't exit into creeks for awhile, as there are no creeks nearby besides the one I enter from. I PMmed a fellow explorer in the area who knows more about the drains than I do to ask whether there are any big drains nearby.
You can't fall off a mountain. |
|
Factor VIII
location:
tu5t1n
Gender: Male
The Legacy
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 11 on 9/8/2005 10:37 PM >
| | | | Posted by i2yan
What do you use to get the man holes opened? just something like a crowbar?
-i2yan
|
Thats exactly what I use. for that one manhole cover I used a bar about 1' 1/2" feet long, I also use a tool I call a "90" which is just a metal bar a bit thicker than pencil that has a 90degree angle, to keep the lid oppen while we pry it off, That manhole looked like its impossible to oppen, but luckly we found a small slot to put the crowbar in.
| 've heard of using a shovel/sledgehammer combo, |
Thats a very good idea, we would of done that, but it was 10 at night and there were houses not 20feet away.
| I found a 1 meter wide 1.25 meters tall, completely dry, RCP near my house. It's tall enough to crawl in, but not tall enough to be comfortable for any substantial period of time. Do RCPs like this usually lead to bigger, main drains, shrink, grow, etc.? I know it doesn't exit into creeks for awhile, as there are no creeks nearby besides the one I enter from. I PMmed a fellow explorer in the area who knows more about the drains than I do to ask whether there are any big drains nearby. |
In my town these usually lead to bigger drains, I think it would be worth exploring. They can grow and shrink in size.
[last edit 9/8/2005 10:44 PM by Factor VIII - edited 1 times]
use the boost to get through |
|
Random
location:
Richmond, Virginia
Gender: Male
Partially Retired
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 12 on 9/8/2005 10:38 PM >
| | | | Horus, go for it. You don't have anything to lose. Those low ones are kind of hard on the back, but I think any drain is worth it. Just take a break frequently and you'll be fine.
|
|
HillbillyHorus
location:
Charlottesville Virginia
Gender: Male
Im in ur government, killin ur d00dz
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 13 on 9/9/2005 1:27 AM >
| | | | The fellow explorer (i.e. Tick) didn't know of any other drains near there, but that certainly doesn't mean there aren't any. I also found a drain, yet another RCP, but this one high enough to walk in at only a slight crouch. It grows as it goes on. My city doesn't use combined sewers, but all the manholes over this drain say "Sanitary Sewer". It certainly doesn't smell like a sewer, and it empties into a creek, making it illegal if it is a sewer. I learned about it from some neighborhood kids who said they used to go in it, then have a friend above ground yelling down manholes at them. I thought they were just exaggerating/completely fabricating this drain until I saw it for myself. Only problem is, I don't like sewers. What are your thoughts on this? I walked down it only a little ways. There's only the smallest trickle of water in it.
You can't fall off a mountain. |
|
Random
location:
Richmond, Virginia
Gender: Male
Partially Retired
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 14 on 9/9/2005 1:58 AM >
| | | | Do it, Horus. If you don't like it, all you have to do is turn around and leave. Most of the drains around here say "Sewer" on the manholes and NONE of them have anything turd-related in them.
|
|
HillbillyHorus
location:
Charlottesville Virginia
Gender: Male
Im in ur government, killin ur d00dz
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 15 on 9/9/2005 2:28 AM >
| | | | Isn't that weird though? I was originally discuraged of draining in my area because most manholes read "Sanitary Sewer", but it seems most of these "Sewers" have only a trickle of water, or are even completely dry. The reason I was particularly interested in this drain was because my city's not supposed to have CSOs, but it seems most of the drains in my area have a small amount of sewage in them, and vice versa with sewers. Go to http://www.vtunderground.com, then go to Off Campus -> Charlottesville for some very cool drains Tick found.
Screw it, enough putzing around, tomorrow I'm just gonna explore it after school.
I'll tell y'all how it went after that.
You can't fall off a mountain. |
|
HillbillyHorus
location:
Charlottesville Virginia
Gender: Male
Im in ur government, killin ur d00dz
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 16 on 9/10/2005 12:25 PM >
| | | | Nevermind, couldn't yesterday, but today. Definately today.
Also, Tick emailed me, and he explains that it's probably just a leaking sewer line near the drain.
You can't fall off a mountain. |
|
Shinken
location:
Chicago Area
Gender: Male
Time enjoyed waisting, was not waisted.
| | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 17 on 9/10/2005 6:33 PM >
| | | | Hey random,
What do you make yours out of and do you have a pic if it is hard to describe?
[last edit 9/10/2005 6:34 PM by Shinken - edited 1 times]
|
|
Random
location:
Richmond, Virginia
Gender: Male
Partially Retired
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 18 on 9/10/2005 7:22 PM >
| | | | Posted by Shinken
Hey random,
What do you make yours out of and do you have a pic if it is hard to describe?
|
Manhole Popper?
The larger one is no longer in my posession but I have the dimensions of the smaller. Length is 3.239 inches. Handle width is 3.442 inches. End width is 1.425 inches. Thickness is .311 inches.
I have a new design as well, for popping some covers with an unconventional design.
Same thickness as the first one. The handle is 3.518 inches. Length is 4.395 inches. Exterior hook width is 1.445".
If you're ever in the area I can make a set up for you for cheap. This offer goes out to anyone around here. I'll decide on a price soon. Won't be more than ten bucks for both.
I'm considering welding on rings to attach a piece of cord to, to retrieve them in case they're dropped.
[last edit 9/10/2005 7:29 PM by Random - edited 1 times]
|
|
HillbillyHorus
location:
Charlottesville Virginia
Gender: Male
Im in ur government, killin ur d00dz
| | | Re: Manholes
<Reply # 19 on 9/10/2005 11:56 PM >
| | | | Explored the "CSO" today. Definately not a cso. There was no sewer smell, just the sweet smell of wet concrete baby. It was very interesting because it went in a valley which rises and falls rapidly. Therefore, at parts you will be 30 ft. underground and able to stand up, and at others you have to crawl. We also popped a manhole which I knew was not in the road. There was an old guy mowing his lawn, and we got back in there fast. Then it turns so that it's going under a large hill, and there are no manholes or anything. We stopped around there, and had been underground about 1/2 hour.
How does the draining system handle hills in your areas? Have you ever run into someone whilst popping a manhole?
You can't fall off a mountain. |
|
Powered by AvBoard AvBoard version 1.5 alpha
Page Generated In: 62 ms
|
|
Ethics
