just dropped a 200 dollar flashlight down a gutter--so what now???

Be careful and use common sense. Those sewer lines can have high levels of toxic gases. If there is swift moving water down there DONT go down. Google "S J Louis accident" if you want to see how fast Murphy can really ruin your day.
 
Be very careful. All sorts of bad things can happen down there. You might be better off contacting the public works department. Maybe you can toss a cat down there and when they come to rescue it ask them to look for your flashlight. j\k but seriously, be careful.
 
There are far worse things I'd be worried about than a flash light. Let's face it, the sewer isn't the cleanest place to be in. On that note, I hope you find your flashlight and safely too.

I'd suggest wearing some gloves before reaching into the watery grave. Hell, I'd be making sure as much of me is water proof to minimize my skin contacting that nasty water down there.
 
Shann said:
Be very careful. All sorts of bad things can happen down there. You might be better off contacting the public works department. Maybe you can toss a cat down there and when they come to rescue it ask them to look for your flashlight. j\k but seriously, be careful.
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lmfao i love cats id do it with a puppy. ill definatley have a buddy with me, i live with some police officers, and ive got a ton of soldier buddies, so there will definatley be someone at my back makeing sure i dont drown my fool self.
 
im thinking more like a shovel or something... im not putting my hands in anything down there. kicking around till i locate it, probably going to use the chemlight on a rock trick and make sure i know exactly where it has to be, and then im going to kick around until i feel it then shovel or rake it out and then im going G.I the holy heck out of that thing.
 
rats, alligators, pythons, loathsome diseases..go to Harbor Freight and get their 2/$5 LED flashlights..my grand kids love theirs.
 
Actually, I'm pretty sure that the water in a storm drain comes mostly from (wait for it) storms and such. The really nasty black and grey water should flow on separate lines to a sewage treatment plant. You probably shouldn't gargle with the stuff down there, but it's likely not as bad as you might think.

Of course, you shouldn't take my word for it. That would be an act of supreme idiocy. . .
 
Not always. Many areas have combined sewers. But even in a storm-drain-only sewer, bacteria thrive which can create poisonous gasses or oxygen-deprived atmospheres. Be careful when entering these places.
 
Do not enter a confined space without first testing the atmosphere for toxic gasses or a lack of oxygen. There are countless stories of people...often times city workers or firemen...dying in confined spaces. The first one drops then the rescuer drops, and so forth. Sixty percent of people that die in confined spaces are would be rescuers. You simply don't know what is in the atmosphere. I won't say it's frequent, but almost yearly, someone dies in a sewer from either a toxic gas such as hydrogen sulfide, or an oxygen depriving gas such as Nitrogen. There was a nitrogen line leaking into the sewer space in the story below.
If you have to get your whole body down into the sewer, you may want to consider the dangers. It's part of my job...just not in sewers!

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news...in-middletown-sewer-workers-death-707372.html
 
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As long as your flashlight is waterproof, I think it's worth at-least a look.
 
Got a fishing net on a long pole, or a buddy that has one? :)
 
if only i had the fishing net,, but after all this talk i am really very curious to see what happens, i went by a couple of them today just to look and each of these drain areas has a seperate manhole cover, so im theorizing that there is probably a chamber that fills with overflow and then its funneled into smaller pipes or waterways. luckily its been dry here for a bit.

that poisonous gs thing is something to really consider, but i think im willing to risk it since the entrance is so big idont see how there could be a buildup to toxic levels, at least not in the immediate area, maybe if i was somewhere were it was thick.
 
Couple of weeks ago here a guy was found dead in a drain. Seems he dropped his keys down there, went in after them and got stuck head first. Horrible way to die....
let it go I say.
 
There is a storm drain on the street in front of my house. About twice a year, a city crew comes by, uses a wench to lift off the grill and then sticks a pipe connected to a big vacuum down the opening and cleans it out.

I have gutters along the north side of my house that need to be cleaned out one a year or so. It's a very steep roof and the gutters are 30 feet or so up, a serious fall. So, I confected a device that connects to my shop vac. I stand on the ground safely and comfortably and vacuum out my gutters. I made it out of PVC drain pipe.

So, here is my solution to your problem: measure the depth of your drain; you can tie a rock to a string or just use a tape measure. Get a piece of PVC drain pipe long enough go to the bottom and then perhaps three or four feet more. Get a flexible coupling that will couple it to the hose on your shop vac. This will cost you less than $10 total. Lift off the grate, they are very heavy. Stick that pipe down there and just vacuum out that drain. There is likely to be fifty gallons of water. If you have a ten-gallon shop vac, you'll need to empty it five times. You may be able to just vacuum up your flashlight. Even if you can't, once all the water is out, you'll see it and can hook it with a pole or something.
 
You guys are way overthinking this. Its not exactly rocket science.
I've been in many hundreds of basins over the past 30 years as an inspector. Theres no poison gas, no trolls, no boogie men in there. Unless its really deep there should be no problem getting the light back.

The manhole cover near each basin should be a cleanout. Its required in most places when there is a junction of some sort. In this case there seems to be a line running down the center of the street with an outlet in each basin draining into that pipe.
Poison gas? Not likely unless either something odd is going on or you actually climb down into a sewer pipe, which this is not, or a deep basin sump.
Unless your system is decades old sewer lines are not connected to storm drains. They are generally required to be separate to prevent sewage overflow in the event of a heavy rain that overwhelms the drain system. The most you are likely to encounter is a slight whiff of methane from decomposing vegetable matter in the basin sump. Remember, this is not a pipe, its a shallow open top basin with plenty of air circulation, not a place you would normally find a lot of poison gas.

Check the depth of the sump, chances are its not deep.
Once you determine how deep the basin is, pull off the grate and take a closer look. If you have another bright light, you should be able to see the flashlight in the water if the basin isn't too deep.
Once you find it, reach in and grab the flashlight using whatever means you have available. Its only water, albeit somewhat dirty water. If you are a germaphobe get a pair of long latex gloves of the sort used by some to field dress deer, the kind that cover your whole arm. Use a pair of tongs to grab the light. The most dangerous thing you are likely to encounter in there is a hypodermic needle. Don't go fishing around with your bare hands.


Bottom line, if you want the light back that bad you have to actually do something to retreive it.
 
Not so sure all toxic fumes are lighter than air and some may settle.

Many years ago workers were cleaning a tank at a dead-stock processing facility S/O Columbus, OH - lost the cleaner and at least one(1) rescuer to toxic fumes. This was a known hazard and yet, two(2) men lost their lives.

Be careful down there...someone who loves you would miss you.
 
Unk said:
Not so sure all toxic fumes are lighter than air and some may settle.

Many years ago workers were cleaning a tank at a dead-stock processing facility S/O Columbus, OH - lost the cleaner and at least one(1) rescuer to toxic fumes. This was a known hazard and yet, two(2) men lost their lives.

Be careful down there...someone who loves you would miss you.
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Again, this is not an issue. There is a huge difference between entering an enclosed tank without proper protection (just stupid, especially on the part of any respnders attempting a rescue) and reaching into a catch basin.
The toxic gases here in this case will be mostly methane buildup (heavier than air). Toxic but not a real concern as long as you don't physically enter into a pipe or a deep sump where it can collect. As long as you don't go into a place where you will be breathing the contaminated air there is no problem. Reaching down into a basin from street level will not present an exposure issue. As before, the biggest danger is not toxic gasses but discarded needles or other trash washed into the sump.
Just do it already.
 
unfortunatley im in school during the daytime, and going down there at night is just stupid, also i have a stitched up wound on my hand and i dont want it exposed to anything weird until the stitches are out. believe me first chance i get im doing it.
 
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