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warren h
 |  | Opening Manhole
< on 4/17/2004 3:05 AM >
|  | | | Hi all. I am located in the metro-Detroit, (Michigan) area. It is basically 1950s suburbia around here, however in my front yard there is a very innocent looking manhole that I am really getting excited to pop open. I believe it is a sanitary drain, but anything is possible. Anyway The actual manhole top has no holes. In the very middle of the manhole cover is a place where there used to be a place to put a hook. Anyhow, the hook has rusted out. SO I am left with just the round manhole. Does anyone have any tips on "poping" this? Thanks
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MacGyver
location:
St Paul, Minnesota
Gender: Male
"Someone go find me a paperclip, a D-cell battery, and a cheese grater"
| | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 1 on 4/17/2004 3:53 AM >
| | | | thin crowbars are about the best bet. If it's the kind with a hoop pass-through thing, a piece of rope becomes very handy.
Like a fiend with his dope / a drunkard his wine / a man will have lust for the lure of the mine
"If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent." |
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Arkan
 
location:
LaSalle County, Illinois
Gender: Male
| |  | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 2 on 4/17/2004 4:30 AM >
|  | | | I would utilize two crowbars and two sets of hands if at all possible. One to get underneath and lift it a little and the second to bring it high up enough to lift it off with your hands. Are there two little recessed tabs also along the edges or just the rusted out ring? Just remember to take it slow and that the lid won't fall through. Most likely it will probably just be a pit with a small pipe at the bottom but maybe you'll get lucky and get a concrete pipe big enough to walk through or some kind of bare rock tunnel. Good luck.
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El_Gordo_Uno
 
location:
Wenatchee, Washington
Gender: Male
This post brought to you by Allan Smithee
| |  |  |  | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 3 on 4/17/2004 4:31 AM >
| | | | Find a nice telephone manhole. They're much more interesting.
Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges |
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Mutt
Moderator
location:
Bunbury, Western Australia
Support your local Funeral Director ----- Drop Dead!
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 4 on 4/17/2004 5:54 AM >
| | | | Use two people and two crow bars. Tilt it up with the bars then slide it across the opening. DO NOT get ahead of safety. A cover dropped even an inch will easily sever your fingers. Covers with no holes are the most dangerous ones because one is tempted to reach under it to get a handhold. DON'T DO IT! Use the bars and leverage to do the work.
All men are cremated equal. |
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Mochi
 
location:
West Jordan, Utah
Gender: Male
Stare deep into a kitty's nose.
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 5 on 4/17/2004 11:51 AM >
| | | | Nice things to remember:
(All coming from experience.)
- Never attempt to lift large manhole covers with your hands after "gaining a few inches of distance off the ground". The manhole WILL slam down on your precious phalanges.
- Never try to roll a manhole cover. The manhole WILL slam down onto somebody's toes/entire foot. Limps = cool.
- Always get at least 2 people to lift a large cover. The more people you can get to assist in setting the cover down, the better. Also, it lessens the odds that YOU fingers will be prematurely squashed.
- If you want an easy way to test to see if there is stagnant water at the bottom of your tunnel, or, hell, to even estimate the depth of the hole, drop a few of those little Fourth of July snap popper thingies. No pop? Water. (I developed this one when I was about 10...)
- And finally, if you're going to hop into a manhole, make sure to not get your head taken off by a car when your pop your bloody little head back up, eh??
These helpful and utterly obvious tips were brought to you in part by the letters U and E.
>_< Mochi, Oterous Urungus is after my headmeats...
JESUS SAVES!!!
(And then he redeems his tickets for free prizes!) |
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F A S T
location:
Oakland, CA
Gender: Male
Coastal Wind
| | | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 6 on 4/19/2004 4:08 AM >
| | | | I don't get what your saying exactly. Go to the hardware store and buy a steel rod for sub 5 dollars. Then use it to pry it open in any manner possible.
Good luck!
F A S T |
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betes
location:
Kansas City
Gender: Male
Going places I'm not supposed to since 1998
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 7 on 4/19/2004 6:29 AM >
| | | | Don't stick your fingers underneath. I did that once, and got a broken finger, plus all the skin was torn off when I tried to pull my hand out. Too bad I didn't have my camera back then, or I would've taken pictures.
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Plytheman
location:
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Obey The Deer
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 8 on 4/22/2004 10:23 PM >
| | | | Heh, never one to miss a photo op...
Yeah, just dont catch fingers... like everyone else allready said...
I'm achin, I'm shakin, I'm breakin, Like Humans Do!!
-Byrne |
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Rust
I am a rustbucket
| | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 9 on 4/23/2004 2:23 AM >
| | | | Posted by Zeus
I would utilize two crowbars and two sets of hands if at all possible. One to get underneath and lift it a little and the second to bring it high up enough to lift it off with your hands. Are there two little recessed tabs also along the edges or just the rusted out ring? Just remember to take it slow and that the lid won't fall through. Most likely it will probably just be a pit with a small pipe at the bottom but maybe you'll get lucky and get a concrete pipe big enough to walk through or some kind of bare rock tunnel. Good luck.
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Round manhole covers *can't* fall through the hole... That is the exact reason why they are round.
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MacGyver
location:
St Paul, Minnesota
Gender: Male
"Someone go find me a paperclip, a D-cell battery, and a cheese grater"
| | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 10 on 4/23/2004 2:32 AM >
| | | | Posted by Legion
Round manhole covers *can't* fall through the hole... That is the exact reason why they are round. |
If you look closer, you will see that this is exactly what he said. It appears you misread the sentance and were confused by the sentance structure. Simplification:
Just remember to take it slow and that the lid won't fall through. |
Anyways, round manhole covers can fall through the collar, but it is very uncommon. The typical setup for this is where a sliver has been cracked off of the edge of the lid. If it is manipulated just right, this deformity can send the lid through the collar and to the bottom of the shaft. The other possible scenario, which is far less common but also much more dangerous, is when the collar's rim is missing a chunk large enough for a manhole cover to slide past when pivoted up on it's side. The danger here is that you won't notice this from above and risk dropping the cover through the collar if you happen to swing it up in just the right way to line up the gap with the edge of the cover. I can only imagine how surprising this could be to the person opening the cover from above  It would obviously be very bad if the opener or anyone else was in the shaft beneath the cover at this time...
Like a fiend with his dope / a drunkard his wine / a man will have lust for the lure of the mine
"If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent." |
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Arkan
location:
LaSalle County, Illinois
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 11 on 4/23/2004 3:37 AM >
| | | | I'd imagine that would probably be fatal. A 50+ pound chunk of iron falling on your head...and then comes the impact of hitting the bottom of the sewer...
Thanks for that info MacGyver I never really thought much about any irregularities like that. I'll make sure I have an extra good grip next time.
On another note, has anyone ever weighed a manhole cover? Most of the solid ones I've picked up all seem to weigh a great deal more than 45 lbs/ 20.5 k Olympic plates.
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MacGyver
location:
St Paul, Minnesota
Gender: Male
"Someone go find me a paperclip, a D-cell battery, and a cheese grater"
| | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 12 on 4/23/2004 4:16 AM >
| | | | I've never exactly had the opportunity to weigh one on a scale, but I would estimate the average lid to weigh in at around 60 pounds. I have seen some that have a large piece of concrete adhered onto the underside (a bit smaller than the inside diameter of the collar and about eight inches thick, birthday cake-shaped) for some reason. These obviously weigh A LOT more; I'd estimate in the 100 to 150 pound range.
It takes several pseudo-skilled people a good amount of effort to open one of these from the top, usually by nylon webbing straps or multiple crowbars. It would be virtually impossible to open one of these from below, even with a hydraulic bottle jack or something. It would simply be too bulky and ackward to get out of the collar anywhere remotely near gracefully.
I am uncertain of the reason for the concrete ballast, but I speculate that it could help prevent lids from being unexpectedly removed during massive overflow of the tunnel beneath. Another 50 pounds of concrete could probably hold this down better:
Like a fiend with his dope / a drunkard his wine / a man will have lust for the lure of the mine
"If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent." |
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Kbasa
location:
Gunnison/Crested Butte, co
Gender: Male
High Hopes
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 13 on 4/24/2004 6:32 AM >
| | | | I would use a crowbar and get some leather work gloves so if you hand goes in there it would have a less chance of getting hurt.
Shut the fuck up and ride that fucking Couchmobile!
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Mochi
location:
West Jordan, Utah
Gender: Male
Stare deep into a kitty's nose.
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 14 on 4/25/2004 12:00 AM >
| | | | What a neato pic, MacGyver. It looks like a fancy Las Vegas fountain display.
>_<
JESUS SAVES!!!
(And then he redeems his tickets for free prizes!) |
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MacGyver
location:
St Paul, Minnesota
Gender: Male
"Someone go find me a paperclip, a D-cell battery, and a cheese grater"
| | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 15 on 4/25/2004 4:25 AM >
| | | | Why yes, a romantic fountain of poo-tainted mystery liquid...
I should state that the photo is not mine; I just posted it from some quick googling.
Like a fiend with his dope / a drunkard his wine / a man will have lust for the lure of the mine
"If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent." |
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mouse9911
| | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 16 on 4/27/2004 3:14 AM >
| | | | Heres some of my late man hole experiences,
they are really hard to get open for me. the thin kid.
my friend can open it with his bare hands so its always good that he comes along. heres what i found so far. ;)
oh crap. i cant upload pics here? i have to link em. crap, well if anyone wants to see em, just give me your email and i will send em over. or add me on MSN.
Most of them were flooded, and the rest were too small to fit in. im going to go to Toronto and check those out soon. bur remember, dont tell anyone. ;)
mouse9911@hotmail.com
Yea found the upload button, awesome. heres the Bell Canada Man hole
Its a Bit flooded, anyone know what kind of equipment they have in here?
This is a school manhole, im guessing its used for draining.
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lago1
location:
the 'Go
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 17 on 4/29/2004 2:06 AM >
| | | | Posted by Mochi
- If you want an easy way to test to see if there is stagnant water at the bottom of your tunnel, or, hell, to even estimate the depth of the hole, drop a few of those little Fourth of July snap popper thingies. No pop? Water. (I developed this one when I was about 10...)
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Not that it's very likely, but if there's any stagnant explosive gas down there, dropping a popper down there is a good way to make things unhappy.
Also, I think you're a little overly worried about lifting manholes by hand. I've done it many times over the last seven or so years and as long as you have 2-3 people who are being careful, you should be okay with a normal manhole. A good way to replace a manhole without a crowbar or a manhole opener is to partially obstruct the opening with a block of wood or something like that. Just lay the cover down in the opening, remove fingers, and then yank out the block. If the cover doesn't fall exactly into place, you can then push it safely. This does tend to be a little bit loud, but I still have my fingers (and am now using them to knock on wood).
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Arkan
location:
LaSalle County, Illinois
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 18 on 4/29/2004 2:25 AM >
| | | | Around here a lot of the manholes in the street can be opened just with your hands, they have a hole wide enough for three fingers and that's all I usually need. When I put it back on I usually just lower it into the hole so it is standing vertical and kick it a few times and it will go back to laying flat. Albeit it ain't that quiet but it's less loud than when I try to drop it straight back on heh heh.
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Mochi
location:
West Jordan, Utah
Gender: Male
Stare deep into a kitty's nose.
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 19 on 4/29/2004 3:16 AM >
| | | | | Posted by lago1Not that it's very likely, but if there's any stagnant explosive gas down there, dropping a popper down there is a good way to make things unhappy. |
LATE BREAKING NEWS!! Boy, age 10 or so, dies in horrible sewer explosion after dropping a Fourth of July party popper into a manhole in front of his Utah home today. Boy's body incinerated beyond all recognition. In fact, we're not even sure it's a boy. It might, just be a racoon. Oh, here the boy is. Nevermind...
Sorry, the idea just made me laugh. I guess that wasn't very bright of me, seeing how, at that young of an age, I never gave the fact that the manhole could be dangerous in that manner. Oh well. It's a water drain anyways.
>_< Mochi, KABOOOOOOMM!!!
JESUS SAVES!!!
(And then he redeems his tickets for free prizes!) |
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