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Trippwire
location:
Australia
Gender: Male
 |  | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 20 on 5/18/2004 12:46 AM >
|  | | | I'm new here but here's my two cents.
A useful finger preserving trick is push a stick between the manhole & the collar (once you've popped it). This way if you're prying with a screwdriver or whatever you can have a breather, then safely use fingers.
I've only had one 'incident', when I was lowering one closed. Just a graze but definatly had potential to be worse.
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Viper
 
location:
Vancouver, BC Canada
Gender: Male
Trespassing On!
| |  | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 21 on 5/18/2004 2:36 AM >
|  | | | Nothing to do with opening a person-hole (p.c.), but here is the underside of a brand new person-hole for a sewer under construction in Vancouver. The concrete piping is lined with a rigid white plastic.
Earth, the world's most dangerous planet!
"The will to do, the soul to dare." -Sir Walter Scott |
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statik
location:
colorado
There has got to be more to life than just being really, really, really, ridiculously good-looking.
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 22 on 5/18/2004 10:19 AM >
| | | | A note on weight (may be helpful):
Denver tried to host a Grand Prix once (Mayor Peña's third folley, succeeded only by DIA and the snowplow fiasco).
And they were all over the news talking about how all the manholes along the route needed to be welded shut at great expense to taxpayers...
...'cause an Indy car @ 140mph can flip an 80 lb. cover 50 feet in the air...
None more black.. |
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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 # 23 on 5/18/2004 4:29 PM >
| | | | Posted by statik
...'cause an Indy car @ 140mph can flip an 80 lb. cover 50 feet in the air... |
Now there's an interesting thought.
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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Viper
location:
Vancouver, BC Canada
Gender: Male
Trespassing On!
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 24 on 5/18/2004 7:45 PM >
| | | | For the Vancouver Indy the city covers the man-holes with light weight concrete before the race, then chips it off after.
Earth, the world's most dangerous planet!
"The will to do, the soul to dare." -Sir Walter Scott |
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Louie
    
| | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 25 on 5/29/2004 5:40 AM >
|  | | | Posted by lago1
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.
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this would be a good way to test for stagnant gases that you would otherwise inhale!
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PAWolf
Not from Pennsylvania
location:
KCMO
Gender: Male
We haven't located us yet.
| |  |  | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 26 on 5/29/2004 10:06 AM >
| | | | Posted by fatLouie
this would be a good way to test for stagnant gases that you would otherwise inhale!
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Just make sure your head's not over the hole and the manhole is off.
Make Beer, Not War. |
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Farrix
location:
Alberta
Gender: Male
| | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 27 on 5/30/2004 12:43 AM >
| | | | couple of guys i knew popped a cover or 2, one thing they mentioned was its always a good idea to wear steel toed work boots, especially if its a raised collar ~the man hole cover is above ground level~ which is quite common where i live at a few parks near here, but dont rely on them for stopping the cover if you drop it, its just incase an accidental pinch or twist,
just watch out cause any hard impacts ~dropping something from a few feet~ may cause the steel toe to curl over and cut your toes off...
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Arkan
location:
LaSalle County, Illinois
Gender: Male
| |  | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 28 on 5/30/2004 5:33 AM >
| | | | I know what you mean about raised manholes. They often have them a lot in flood plains and low lying areas. I've popped the lid a few times but have never completely removed it as hauling an 80 lbs manhole up the four feet is difficult.
What are your techniques for replacing the manhole cover while descending inside? Especially while perched upon a high ladder. I know a lot of the rungs in maholes are really narrow and difficult to stand on so how easily do you manage to replace the lid without falling or knocking your head in? I've never had to put a cover on while in a manhole yet as I usually tend to try and avoid it in favor of going in places where you can just leave it off or by entering through an outfall. I feel like I'm missing out on opportunities and I need to master this craft 
Matt
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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 # 29 on 5/31/2004 11:46 AM >
| | | | When I need to close a lid over my head, I leave it partially overlapping the hole to reduce the distance you have to slide it. Climb into the collar and stand at about chest level with the pavement while you slide the lid far out well over the hole. Now step down a rung or two so that the top of your head is a few inches below where the bottom surface of the manhole will be once seated. Stabilize yourself by leaning against the far wall of the shaft (or if there isn't a wall within leaning distance, try hooking a leg through a step iron). Slide the cover the rest of the way onto the collar, being careful to support the edge that will want to pivot downwards and bean you on the head.
Before you try this, make sure you will be able to remove the lid again if need be. I prefer to have a known exit elsewhere from whatever I'm going into so that I can get out even if I'm too tired to get the lid back open or injured or something.
When you close a manhole cover over your head, you are taking a pretty big step into dangerous territory. You lose what feeble supply of fresher air the open cover was providing. You disguise your whereabouts from rescuers or the coroner (calling 911 to report your friend in trouble below ground is easier when you don't have to describe which manhole out of the half dozen in that one parking lot he is beneath). You also risk not being able to open it again. It's not smart at all to close a lid when it is your only way out. You could injure yourself or simply be too tired upon returning to open the lid and be trapped. Ever think about the possibility of a car tire being parked on that lid when you come back? That would be a bit of a disappointment and warrant a lengthy wait or an alternate exit.
In case you haven't caught on, I sincerely recommend not closing a lid over yourself unless you are certain you can open it again and you also know that there is another easier way out in case circumstances out of your control prevent you from opening it again later.
[/long rambling post] (judging by my rambling ability, it's time for bed...)
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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Hogger
location:
NEW YORK CITY
Gender: Male
| |  | | | Re: Opening Manhole
<Reply # 30 on 6/11/2004 7:16 PM >
| | | | All manhole covers have different weights and sizes.
BELL SYSTEM (telco) ones, are often the heaviest, and also are commonly fitted with an innerpan (a second cover beneath the one on the surface).
Dangerous gases can be present in ANY manhole, from leaks of adjacent gas lines seeping through the earth into the system, or decay of foliage.
Confined space entry into utility manholes requires a good sense of judgement.
Honestly, there is nothing terribly exciting in them. They are just small rooms, with the sole purpose of creating a location for the cable splices.
There are no tunnels, they don't lead anywhere... and can be dangerous.
Stick to the ones you know.. the sewers, drains, etc.
By the way, if there is a manhole cover in your front yard, it is most likely for you septic tank... a place I don't think you want to explore.
That too, is a confined space with naturally occuring methane, which can easily overcome you, and cause death, if you were to feel woozy, and fall face first into muck or liquid.
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