Staying Safe while Working with Jetters
Jetters and mechanical drain cleaners can be excellent at their job but unfortunately, they can be very dangerous to operate. Most people have heard of some of the horror stories out there when it comes to drain cleaning, but there are ways to stay safe.
Some of the dangers when it comes to drain cleaning are the reason these pipes need cleaning in the first place. There’s an onus on the general public to learn what can and can’t be flushed or thrown down a pipe.
When a jetter comes across a very hard-stuck blockage in a pipe, its power can sometimes work in reverse and push the nozzle back the way it came at full force.
One plumber I’ve spoken to mentions that plumbers need to make sure they get any safety training that’s out there, don’t be complacent: “It’s not just about getting your guys out there. People need to understand how to safely use the equipment.”
One of the innovations to counter the risks of jetters and drain cleaners are safety plates like the ones that can be purchased from Aussie Pumps, an Australian manufacturer of various products in the plumbing industry. They sit on the jetter tubing and act as a barrier at the pipe entrance.
AS/NZS 4233.1:2013 is the relevant Standard in this area and to protect plumbing professionals, it breaks up jetters and pipe cleaners into two classes: A and B. Class A machines can be operated with sufficient training but the class B machines, making up around 90 percent of the Standard, have much more stringent requirements.
Operators of class A machines should be trained in how to use them safely including jetters operating at 4,000psi with 15, 16 or even 18 L/min flow.
All operators of class B now must be certified and recertification is essential every two years. It also mandates foot valves on these devices and ‘safe operator’ PPE is required.
Currently, certified class B machine training programs are designed around ultra-high-pressure blasting or drain cleaning equipment which is defined as machines over 10,000psi but can be as high as 50,000, 60,000 or even 100,000psi.
To read more about the Standard, as well as see an example of a pre-service and operation checklist, follow this link to the Safe Work Australia download.
Image attribution: Dennis Hill on Flickr.