2294 lines
125 KiB
HTML
2294 lines
125 KiB
HTML
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³é FILE : APPROACH.TXT é³
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³ AKA : APPROACH.DOC, DRAINING.FAQ ³
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³ BY : <predator> of Sydney Cave Clan predator@cat.org.au ³
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³ DESCRIPTION : A sprawling manifesto on the art of Drain Exploring. ³
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³RELATED SPORT : Reservoir Diving, Train & Elevator Surfing, Vadding. ³
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³ FORMAT : Extended ASCII, Unix codepage 437, fuck MS-word and PDF.³
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³ ORIGIN : http://cat.org.au/~predator/approach.txt ³
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³ LAST UPDATED : December 7 1999 ³
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³ FILE SIZE : 130560 bytes ³
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³ STATUS : Late 20th Century Edition ³
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³ Ensanguining the skies How heavily it dies Into the west away. ³
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³ Past touch and sight and sound, Not further to be found, ³
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³ How hopeless under ground Falls the remorseful day. ³
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³ A.E. Housman ³
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³é é³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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\/\/hen the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan first started back in 1990Ä1991
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we had little in the way of experience about how to find drains and other
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things of interest.
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I personally have now done 147 drains in 6 Australian states, in addition to
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numerous rail tunnels, bridge rooms, abandoned bunkers and other concealed
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underground places... this experience led me to compile this .TXT on how to
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approach the pastime scientifically.
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The focus of this .txt is drains, but also has information related to other
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things of interest. It includes a lot of info from its previous versions and
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contains lots of new data too.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ 1) Why are there drains? ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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Drains in general used to be creeks, streams, marshy areas or rivers. When
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cities are built, this eliminates the usual absorption of rainwater into the
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ground, because concrete and roofing and road surfaces are not permeable.
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The rain water pools up, which is a nuisance, and thus the people who design
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towns, mainly planners, civil engineers and the like, have created ways to
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rapidly waste this valuable resource by routing it to nearby rivers or even
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the ocean. Thus are tunnels dug, pipes laid and so forth... this is the
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process of urban speleogenesis. Usually natural creeks are dug up or
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concreted-in so when all the fastÄflowing runoff hits them the erosion is
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minimised.
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Unfortunately, the Australian mentality towards environmental management of
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such trunk drainage has traditionally been "Build a pipe and forget about it".
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Canals tend to empty directly into river systems and there is no provision
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for a wetland type environment in which one could slow the fast moving runoff,
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thereby reducing erosion at the riverbank, allowing time for the sediment load
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to drop out of suspension, and also providing habitat for estuarine river
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species.
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Drains are now the major collector of rainÄsoaked street refuse which
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pollutes the river systems, are major source of canine faecal coliform,
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overflow from the sewage system, and a handy place to dump industrial waste.
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They are also, despite being funded by the public, now off limits due to the
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byÄlaws of the Water board (Now named Sydney Water) and the Confined Spaces
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Legislation. A Melbourne company, Pollutec, have designed a nifty separator
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(which they call the Continuous Deflective Separation system) - it is
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vetted for installation in a lot of trunk drains and hopefully this will
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reduce the amount of crap which ends up in the rivers. The Clan has a slight
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problem with these which will be detailed later in the .TXT.
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Why are there drains? Why, so we can explore them, of course!
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Why go in drains?
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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In life, you make choices. You can stay in bed and take no risks, or you can
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go out and get a life. This involves the taking of risks, telling of yarns,
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breaking of silly laws which restrict your freedom, finding out things of an
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unusual or interesting nature. Now, some people take drugs, some people watch
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TV, some people drive cars faster than the posted speed limit, some people
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get heavily into teletubbies, some people play golf.
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Since we find these things not very interesting, we explore drains. We like
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the dark, the wet, humid, earthy smell. We like the varying architecture. We
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like the solitude. We like the acoustics, the wildlife, the things we find,
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the places we come up, the comments on the walls, the mazeÄlike quality; the
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sneaky, sly subversiveness of being under a heavilyÄguarded Naval Supply base
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or under the Justice and Police Museum.
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Drain exploring is cheap since, despite there being a $20000 fine (a bit harsh
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really) for doing it, it is almost never policed.
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We enjoy thumbing our noses at petty bureaucrats and puerile legislators, and
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their half-baked attempts to stop us going to the places where we go... places
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they built with our tax money.
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We like the controlled nature of the risks involved. We like the timelessness
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of a centuryÄold tunnel, the darkness yawning before us, saying "Come, you
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know not what I hide within me."
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We like the stupid looks we get when we mention it at cocktail parties.
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We like the sploosh sploosh sound when we walk through the waters.
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We like going where the bank tellers and council clerks and ticket officers at
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the SRA never go.
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We like telling the authorities that we are software programmers, analytical
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chemists, civil engineers, telecommunications specialists etc, when they ask.
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We like the whole thing and the pettiness of its illegality and poor public
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perception is beneath us and totally irrelevant.
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We are not stupid, we don't like being protected from ourselves, it hurts
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noÄone, we like it, so we do it. Hear us cry...
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Public access to Public works!!
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ 2) How do I find explorable drains? ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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To find drains you can use a number of methods, all of which are suited to
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different areas.
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1) Get a topological map.
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Likely drains are where there are gullies but no evidence of a river per
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se; deduction: it has been buried (turned into a drain tunnel) or its
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headwaters have been `pirated'(diverted) to another river or into a drain
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further upstream. Melb Clan found Gobledox this way.
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2) Obtain old street directories and compare them to their newer editions.
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Generally you find that when a creek shown in an old directory is no
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longer shown in a new edition, chances are that it has been entunneled.
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Also if you see a creek going along and suddenly disappearing, then
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reappearing somewhere else, you know pretty well what happened to it in
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between. I found the entrance to a whopping drain in Brisbane by looking
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in the Gregory's for wide creeks which disappeared adjacent to roads.
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3) Check boundaries on cadastral maps.
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Back in the good ol' daze, postcode boundaries were often delineated by
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prominent topographic features, like cliffs, rivers and the like. Thus you
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can look in street directories or maps of who-owns-what (cadastral maps)
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and occasionally see non-linear, erraticÄlooking postcode boundaries. Odds
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on it is where there once was a river. This is how The Loaf was located.
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4) Visit the Water Board, search their library.
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A good stash of drain location intel is the annual report which will have
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a section devoted to how they spent your money on drainage. I used this to
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find the entrance to Fortress, since the report gave the outlet location.
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The other place to look is in their records of outlets and also their
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drainage maps, which you may have to dig for a little bit. The regional
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maps are generally somewhat inaccurate - the local level maps are better.
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Transgrinder, a drain with manholeÄonly access, was pinpointed by Mullet
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using this method. The local Council can also be pumped for this info.
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Say you're getting info for an assignment on: Urban Geohydrology,
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Stormwater runoff, Suburban river systems, Catchment management, river
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pollution control, your kid brother's high school geography assessment.
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5) Taking the train, driving around... keep your eyes open!
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Keep a handy note book to write down locations. Diode made some fantastic
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finds, Hercules Pillars and Your Taxes, for this very reason. Especially
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look when you are near a gully.
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6) Social engineering / civil engineering.
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Dress up in overalls and go around at night popping every manhole you can
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find. This works better in the city where the concentration of manholes is
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higher. You need to bring / make your own poppers and it is a strenuous job
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but if you look the part the cops will drive by without batting an eyelid.
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Throw some traffic cones around, put on hardhats and reflective uniforms.
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Expressway median strips and dish drains are also fertile sources of
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covers.
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7) What's that lump doing there?
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If you find a public park with artificially built up slopes on either side,
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there is probably a canal in it or better still under it. Parks and nature
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reserves are often used as `retarding basins' ie, they are used as
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temporary buffers for flood water, and have drains going into them.
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8) Long, vacant corridors of empty land... huh?
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In many cities, land over a tunnel is illegal to build upon... so if you
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look in a street map you will find long, narrow parks occasionally. They
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tend to be fenced off and lack large trees. Often a search of these will
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reveal a manhole in the grass.
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9) Ride along the river.
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On yer bike! This is easier in Melbourne than Sydney due to their
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prolific bike paths. Just ride along and scan the shores for entrances.
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The gaping mouth of Autobahn was found by this method, as was Rocktop and
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the Grid's downstream canal.
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10) In the Trenches.
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Get a mountain bike, put on good tyres and mudguards (!), find a canal,
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and hop in. Thus was located Sin City. There is a tendancy for fences to
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block your way in. Ignore them... hang the bike on the top of the fence
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(leave a pedal, in the crankÄup position on the top pole, the bike will
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generally stay while you jump over) and once over the fence get the bike
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down.
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11) All drains lead to the ocean.
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So: check the coast or the local waterfront, wharfs, beaches. Newspapers
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often post details of beaches closed due to stormwater pollution... which
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means there is a big drain somewhere near that beach. Hopefully.
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12) Dear Sir,...
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Write salutory letters to companies which make pipes and culverts 6ft in
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diameter and over, and ask them where they are putting most of their big
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pipes. Such companies are CSR, Humes and Monier/Rocla, this varies from
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state to state.
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13) "Ve haf vays ov makink yu tork."
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When we reveal our amazing, actual-history, adventural exploits to
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lesser mortals, some of them casually mention "Oh, yeah, I did this huge
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tunnel years ago, it was twelve kilometers long, ten feet high, had soft
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lights, piped music, air conditioning and an abandoned electronics
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factory halfway along it." Sure.
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Much of your time will be wasted by such meme-vectors, rumour-spinners,
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and fraidy cats, who couldn't find their way out of a tunnel without
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rails, mains powered lighting and a GPS unit.
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Whilst they sound very interesting, in our experience such people should
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be abducted and interrogated at length with invasive electrical devices
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and psychoactive chemicals, until they reveal the *precise* location of
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the entrance to their rumoured tunnel.
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Those who fail to give precise location details must, as a matter of
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course, be blindfolded and transported to a remote location, and released
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at night, wearing sandpaper underclothing and a funny hat, to teach them
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that ambiguous location data has irritating qualities for those compelled
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to use it.
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14) Gutter Press.
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We realise that the media is hardly worth the effort of reading these
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days. Nonetheless, politicians and pack-rat journalists never miss an
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opportunity to be photographed in a hardhat near a newly made, big hole
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in the ground. The location of such is usually mentioned in the blurb.
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14) The World Wide Drain
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An instrumentality in the process of building a big, expensive drain
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may have a web-page about it. The question is, how to find it? Using
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web search (eg: altavista) and metasearch (eg: dogpile) engines with
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appropriately configured requests, for example "stormwater" AND "drain"
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or perhaps "flood" AND "mitigation" OR "tunnel", will turn up data
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which may be useful. The engines permit quite precise interrogation
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parameters, so you can specify the search to include only those hits
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which, for instance, contain the word "Sydney" or "Municipality" or
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"<insert place of interest here>", thus avoiding responses about lava
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tubes, or quantum mechanical tunneling, or unreachable drains on the
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other side of the planet.
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15) The Good Oil.
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Clan location lists can sometimes be found by pestering Cave Clan through
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their site at www.caveclan.org or www.caveclan.org/sydney
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It is an old Clan tradition that the person who finds the drain gets to name
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it. However, since a lot of the names of drains are related to drain features,
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there is an emerging push that the person(s) who EXPLORE the new drain get to
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name it. But generally we don't care. Do what you like.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ 3) Features, and Techniques for their Negotiation ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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In drains you will find rooms, slides, staircases, balconies, junctions,
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pits, grilles, safety chains, waterfalls and turbulence pillars. These usually
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are easily dealt with using common sense.
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One has to contend with manholes, grilles and gutter boxes to get into and
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out of drains which lack convenient large portals or outlets... drains are
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much more fun if you can say "Yeah we got in at the beach, went up it for
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miles and then popped a manhole, right in the shopping centre car park, there
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all these old grandads and fat women lookin at us real funny, blah blah" etc.
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Manhole covers.
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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Generally these are found in the middle of the street, are made of steel
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and cement, are rusted and wedged in, and weigh anything up to 60kg in the
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case of the large square Gatic.
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When a cover has been in situ for a long time, factors like corrosion, thermal
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expansion/contraction, and vehicular hammering progressively jam the cover in
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its collar. Whilst some (Trimar) covers lend themselves to being popped from
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below, by having chamfered edges and taking the load only on the corners,
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often the average 40kg familyÄsized pizza manhole (so named due to the 8
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radial struts one sees from below them) by Durham is an impossibility for
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anyone without the strength of the Incredible Hulk, and even then sometimes
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that isn't enough: the cover may have a car wheel parked on it, if might have
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been cemented over or welded, in the case of some Gatic covers, it could be
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bolted into its collar with quarter inch stainless steel bolts.
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Prevention of car-parking on popular grilles can be achieved by attaching a
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traffic cone to the top of the grill mesh, with a couple of hose clamps. If
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the traffic cone has the initials of the local water authority inscribed upon
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it, it will be left alone by most road crews and council workers, and will
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ensure the grille is usually not parked upon.
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Poppin' Covers : what to pop
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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There are, for the first of the listed reasons, extreme dangers involved in
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popping these from below unless you know exactly, EXACTLY where you are...
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you might be faced with two shafts less than 10m apart: one will take you out
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on the footpath, or to a picnic area. The other one could conceivably earn you
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a semiÄtrailer front wheel in the brain at 90km/h. With the exception of some
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old inner city covers which are "Spiderwebbers" and can be seen through, most
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are lightÄtight (so you can't see what lies above you). If you hear a quick
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"thumpthump" sound, do not open the cover... this is the sound made by road
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vehicles going over the cover and it is largely impossible to predict if
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one is approaching from below due to the damping provided by the cover and the
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weirdly distorted echos in the tunnel itself.
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The Clan tends not to pop covers from below for the reasons just mentioned,
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unless their position is known or the outside world can be determined by
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looking through them: spiderwebbers are of two kinds, thick and thin. Thin
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ones aren't used in roads, being common in parks and pathways, due to their
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poor ability to handle repeated loading by vehicles. The thick ones are about
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an inch thick (2.5cm) and weigh a mountain, and tend to have cars going over
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them. Pop a thin 'web by all means; leave the rest alone from below.
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Subside Poppin' Tools
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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When popping a cover from below, if it is really "sealed", tools are useful.
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The first of these is a mallet. Thumping a cover from beneath can often fault
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the jammed in, rustÄloaded grime which seals the edge. The ubiquitous crowbar
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can also be used to force the gap between the collar and the cover base. I
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have high recommendation for devices of a hydraulic nature, particularly the
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small, cheap and readily available bottle jacks, which weigh about 5kg and can
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exert a force of anywhere from 1400kg, to two and a quarter tonnes, through a
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throw of between 5 and 15cm. This can, if placed close to the wall end of the
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top stepiron, conceivably pop anything except the bolted Gatics; if it fails
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in this task it will either bend the stepiron, tear it out of the wall or
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burst out from its position and mercilessly bruise anything nearby. To use
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these one needs a few small blocks of wood to give the jack the required
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height to reach the cover's base. The wind-up parallelogram type jacks also
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exert about a tonne of manhole popping power and their reach often extends to
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about half a metre - great for awkward covers.
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The nice thing about round manholes is you cannot drop them down the shaft and
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kill someone. Trimars can be dropped down their shaft; square Gatics can drop
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down their shafts end on or diagonally. Getting hit with a cover from 5m up
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is likely to kill you. So exercise caution with these. They take no prisoners
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on the way down... understandable really; if I had sat above a drain all my
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life I'd wanna know what was down there in a hurry, too.
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There are two schools of thought about cover popping from below. There is the
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straight upward force and the tilt'n'flip method. The former is quieter and
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better for the square and triangular covers but the tilt'n'flip (push one
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edge up, let the cover tilt up and drop in a bit, then flip over and push
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away from the hole) requires less strength, since you don't take the entire
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weight, and just as safe since the round covers won't fit down the hole.
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Another thing to remember when popping a cover is: face down. It is better to
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have a head full of grot than an eye loaded with abrasive mud, which tends to
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fall out from the seal when you pop it.
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Topside Poppin' Tools
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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Sometimes a manhole will have a pair of lifting eyes cemented in a recessed
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position in the top of the cover. These eyes will contain a short
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cross-rod through which a hook or rope can be threadded prior to lifting.
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Some lifting eyes contain a strange shape a bit like a top-heavy steel ice
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cream cone. One has to fit some sort of two-tine hook under this, or tie
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down to it with, say, 6mm diameter climbing rope using a double
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fisherman's knot. Otherwise the best tools to use are purpose-built
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manhole keys. It is useful to contact the manufacturer of the manhole cover
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(they nearly always have the name cast into the metal or concrete) when
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wishing to source their particular cover opener.
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|
The simplest for socketted covers is the hand-held lifter the inverted T on
|
|
the end. You can weld one up simply from mild steel or take a 20mmx8mm
|
|
aluminium bar and cut it to the appropriate shape. It looks like this:
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³
|
|
³ ³ ³ ³
|
|
³ ³ ³ ³
|
|
³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ³ <ÄÄ handle (for hands, straps etc)
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
|
³ ³
|
|
³ ³
|
|
³ ³ <ÄÄ less than 12mm diameter
|
|
³ ³
|
|
ÚÄÄÙ ÀÄÄ¿ <ÄÄ the end you stick in the manhole cover slot.
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ 8mm high, 5mm thick steel
|
|
|
|
< Ä25mmÄ> (or a little less)
|
|
|
|
To use: Stick the T end in the slot on the cover, rotate 90ø and pull up.
|
|
These are the dimensions for Sydney's Durham covers. In SA and VIC different
|
|
sizes are used but all operate on the T principle.
|
|
|
|
Others exist for popping collared spiderwebbers: these are about 1m long.
|
|
|
|
To use: Stick down a hole near the edge of the cover.
|
|
|
|
ÉÍ»
|
|
È˼ <ÄÄ Handle end
|
|
º
|
|
º
|
|
º
|
|
º
|
|
º
|
|
º <ÄÄ 10mm diameter.
|
|
º
|
|
º
|
|
ȼ <ÄÄ crowbarÄlooking end
|
|
|
|
Once seated, lean on handle end. Leverage pops it. Key to the city, you might
|
|
say.
|
|
|
|
Bolted gatics can be popped with a socket wrench and a crow bar but this is
|
|
inelegant compared to using the purposeÄbuilt tool:
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³
|
|
³ ³ ³ ³ <Ä handle
|
|
( ( ) )
|
|
\ \ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ/ /
|
|
ÀÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÙ
|
|
³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³
|
|
Bolt from GaticÄ> /// ³ ³
|
|
/// <Ä threads ///
|
|
/// ///
|
|
/// ³ ³ ³ ³ <Ä locknut
|
|
/ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ\
|
|
³ . . . . ³
|
|
³ . . chassis . . ³
|
|
³ . . <threadded> . . ³
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
/// ³ Äij ³ÄÄ
|
|
/// \ ³ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ³ Gatic cover
|
|
/// \ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ <ÄÄ space for T end of handle
|
|
ÀÄÙ \ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
street levelÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
\
|
|
\ <ÄÄ Gatic collar
|
|
\ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³
|
|
³
|
|
³ Manhole Shaft
|
|
|
|
To use this:
|
|
(1) Clear the dirt and stuff out of the hole on the edge of the Gatic.
|
|
(2) Stick the TÄend (under the handle) into the hole and rotate so it is
|
|
securely locked in the hole. Tighten the locknut onto the chassis.
|
|
(3) Screw the other bolt down as far as you need till the cover "pops" open.
|
|
(4) Drag like hell on the handle to slide the cover away.
|
|
|
|
The chassis is a measly 10cm across. Uses steel bolts, and doesn't look suss
|
|
if you are searched by the cops, whereas a crowbar does. Thread diameters
|
|
vary, so steal a gatic bolt near you to determine the type you require.
|
|
|
|
Other implements exist, and they are commercially built for the purpose. One
|
|
is a two metre long item which is operated by inserting one end in the cover
|
|
and sitting (!) on the handle on the other end, much like a seeÄsaw in
|
|
principle. This is very effective but rather hard to covertly transport.
|
|
Another design, which is smaller and hinged in the centre, permits you to pop
|
|
the cover by locking one end to the cover lifting hole and jumping on the
|
|
other end. I broke mine. Oh well.
|
|
|
|
Superficial tack-welds on manhole covers can commonly be fractured or
|
|
chipped-off with chisels or hammers. This may require that you dress up for
|
|
the part.
|
|
|
|
Lift-O-Matics (TM)
|
|
Big Ears of the Melbourne branch of the Clan has been manufacturing quality
|
|
manhole lifters for some time now. The Lift-O-Matic is available from the
|
|
Cave Clan's Melbourne branch.
|
|
|
|
Sydney Clan members have also made sand-cast iron lifters, slung with
|
|
woven Spectra strapping. Spectra (a.k.a. Gemini) is mil-spec, superstrong
|
|
synthetic fibre available at most rock-climbing shops for several dollars
|
|
per metre. It is hard to cut, but abrasion-resistant, lighter than wire rope
|
|
and extremely strong.
|
|
|
|
I recommend that, if you're looking for manhole cover openers, (manhole keys)
|
|
you are most likely to find them at Johnnie Sumner's Hardware, 819 New
|
|
Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill NSW; They do mail orders, their phone number
|
|
is 02Ä9Ä558Ä2424. The place is recognisable by the enormous piles of junk in
|
|
the front display windows. Ask for Allan, he is the only person who knows
|
|
where everything is. They occasionally have cadmium plated TelecomÄtype keys,
|
|
and also the jumpÄon popper I mentioned earlier. They don't manufacture them,
|
|
but can usually get 'em at auctions. The shop has been going since the 1930's
|
|
and also has every conceivable spare torch globe you could want.
|
|
|
|
Doing the lift.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Lift with your legs (squat, then stand up) not your back. Where possible
|
|
more than one person should try to lift the cover at the one time, this
|
|
reduces the load for each person, and minimises the potential for injury.
|
|
|
|
Sometimes you will be compelled to open a heavy cover which should not be
|
|
closed behind you because its sheer mass might prevent you from lifting it
|
|
from below. In such cases it is safe and courteous to place some reflective
|
|
traffic safety cones around the open shaft and the cover so people do not
|
|
fall down or drive into the shaft opening.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Horizontal grilles.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
The old style grille is a castÄiron job weighing about 25kg. Being cast, they
|
|
shatter when you drop them, so try not to drop them. The general method from
|
|
topside, is to stick one's fingers in the gaps towards one end, lift, and get
|
|
the edge up onto the street level. Then reposition your hands on the opposite
|
|
edge to the up end, and drag it out. The bottom surface of these is usually
|
|
concave downwards, so they slide more easily along the road. This method
|
|
preserves both the grille and your fingers.
|
|
|
|
The old grilles are also useful to exit from a drain. One can generally
|
|
shoulder one's target grille loose from within the cramped confine of a gutter
|
|
box; once loose, use your hands, but don't stick your fingers through. The
|
|
more recalcitrant grilles may require another approach: Get under the thing,
|
|
on your back, place your bum on the ground, and force the grille with your
|
|
feet. It helps to listen for traffic for a period prior to lifting.
|
|
|
|
There are also light steel strut grilles in service and to date I have found
|
|
them mostly a joy to use. The tolerance between them and their collar is
|
|
unfortunately large enough to permit pebbles to fall into the gap and they can
|
|
get sealed this way, nothing a good thump won't fix. My least favourite kind
|
|
is the hinged type, whilst they never fall in they can be a nuisance to
|
|
replace if they come out of their hinge, and opening them from below needs a
|
|
different strategy since you cannot slide them. The two major problems I find
|
|
with them are (1) occasionally the arc they open through intersects with the
|
|
kerb so you can't open it or (2) some twit has put a small springÄloaded
|
|
hook ended bolt on it and this locks it into its collar, so you need a spanner
|
|
to undo the nut. If you open one of these, throw the bolt away, they are a
|
|
safety hazard, and in all likelihood were invented by someone who has never
|
|
been in a drain in their life.
|
|
|
|
Vertical grilles.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Generally found at the outlet of a drain, but also occasionally in parks,
|
|
often as a side feature of rooms, vertical grilles are often engineered to
|
|
permit access, though this function tends to go away when local authorities
|
|
discover that the drain is being used recreationally. They are often locked
|
|
(see the locks section below) or welded closed. The solutions to such grilles
|
|
usually comprises a hack saw, car jack, or oxytorch, depending on the design,
|
|
though a half-hour with a large shifting spanner can often prove productive.
|
|
|
|
Sometimes you can, by exhaling and wriggling a lot, go through sideways,
|
|
though it is a bit hard on your pelvis. There is another species of grille,
|
|
prevalent on median strips, which is made of tightly-wedged concrete slots.
|
|
Advice: forget 'em.
|
|
|
|
A trend appearing of late is to put really huge grilles (made of railway-track
|
|
or huge galvanised iron rods) across the upstream end of a drain, presumably
|
|
to separate the water from the junk it carries, such as trees and other major
|
|
floating refuse. Often these are permanently set in the closed position with
|
|
a lock or cemented into the ground. The latter is amenable to being prised up
|
|
with a car bottle jack; you can also bend the bars apart in cemented vertical
|
|
rod grilles using a car jack, this method proving useful at the seaward
|
|
entrance of Fortress.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gutter Boxes.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
These are also known as Gross Pollutant Traps... they help to trap big
|
|
items before they get into the main drain. They tend to be covered by heavy
|
|
concrete slab lids and are often adjacent to street grilles (see above). The
|
|
only effective way to open these lids is Ä on ya back, legsÄup, place your
|
|
feet and push like a bastard. When it 'cracks' its seal, stop pushing straight
|
|
up and direct the thing toward the high edge. Some of these have the added
|
|
nuisance of a pit below them, in which case I suggest if you can't pop it
|
|
with your shoulder, get out elsewhere. Pits can often be fun to interrogate
|
|
for treasure, which should be done carefully, because they are usually home
|
|
to loads of broken glass and rusting syringe needles.
|
|
|
|
Topside slab-popping generally involves crowbars, lifting rings and sometimes
|
|
vehicular towbars, if the conditions permit it.
|
|
|
|
The general technique for closing it when you've used it to exit, is to stand
|
|
it on one edge, swivel it from corner to corner to position it and then just
|
|
let it fall into its hole. Keep your feet clear of the edge.
|
|
|
|
Anecdote: I wanted to get out of Clantomb, Melbourne due to a torch problem.
|
|
The box in question was in a quiet suburban street (one finds this out by
|
|
looking from the gap above the grille), kids were playing street cricket.
|
|
|
|
I noticed it was garbage night... the night people put their bins full of
|
|
rubbish out for collection. This was immediately significant to me, because
|
|
people tend to put their bins on gutter box lids to preserve their lawn from
|
|
damage by their garbage bin. I put on a mean look, my mirrored sunglasses,
|
|
and "Mutant Pathological Axe Murderer" profane body language.
|
|
|
|
I got in, on my back, and pushed. Hard. Really hard. The lid cracked open and
|
|
about a second later I heard the sound of a large load of bottles spilling
|
|
from a steel garbage bin, followed by the sound of young cricketers saying
|
|
things like "Hey Dave, that garbo there just jumped off the gutter!". A few
|
|
bottles rolled into the gutter box but I concentrated on my task, slowly
|
|
piloting the heavy concrete slab away from the edge far enough so I could get
|
|
out. I kept my mouth shut to keep out the dirt.
|
|
|
|
Two faces appeared in the view above me, teeÄshirted youths, one with an SS
|
|
cricket bat. One of them said "John there's a guy down there!" The other one
|
|
said something like "Fucken lets get outta here!" but the kid with the bat
|
|
stayed. The cover was now open enough so I climbed out, covered in webs and
|
|
dirt and stood before the kid who must be congratulated on keeping his cool.
|
|
|
|
I grabbed my bag, then clamped the slab in my hands, walked it on its corners
|
|
until it seated in the collar, and then slowly angled it down until I dropped
|
|
it with a thud into its original position.
|
|
|
|
More kids from the cricket game stopped their conversations to peruse the new
|
|
arrival. I placed the bin upright and put the lid on, leaving the rubbish and
|
|
bottles where they lay. I crouched before the kid with the bat, said "Sorry
|
|
about the mess." in an uninterested voice, and putting my torch in the bag,
|
|
stood, turned and walked off down the street. He didn't say a word. I heard
|
|
the kids smashing the bottles before I walked round the corner.
|
|
|
|
ALWAYS CORRECTLY REPLACE MANHOLE COVERS, GRILLES AND CONCRETE LIDS AFTER USE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stepirons
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Since a lot of old drains have stepirons (those footholds in the walls made
|
|
from old reinforcing bar) which are corroded, don't use them without testing
|
|
them first... the shell of rust on the ouside is useless and may disguise a
|
|
dangerously thin spindle of metal beneath it.
|
|
|
|
The new yellow or black plastic footholds do not corrode, but may be fractured
|
|
or inadequately glued-in, and tend to be slippery.
|
|
|
|
Slides
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Slides can be tricky, stick to the dry patches. If the slide is steep and not
|
|
very high you can force your back against the roof for extra points of
|
|
attachment.
|
|
|
|
As part of the Clan's ongoing quest to improve drain exploration amenity, the
|
|
slide in Fortress has had a rope installed so you can go up or down the slope.
|
|
A rope has been installed at the falls in Milsons Park drain, the slide
|
|
in Coal Cliff drain, and several ropes have been installed at Swoo ][.
|
|
These are either 11 or 12mm diameter kernmantle synthetic Edelrid dynamic
|
|
climbing ropes, or larger diameter nylon ropes, and are pretty reliable,
|
|
and they have been tied to what will probably remain reliable anchors for
|
|
some years yet (stepirons, galvanised safety chain mountings, dynabolts or
|
|
exposed sections of heavy reinforcing rod). The slides are often slippery
|
|
so you need to crouch at right angles to the cement to avoid slipping.
|
|
We'll get around to installing a rope at Sydney Slide one day.
|
|
|
|
Some drain explorers with ties to the rock climbing community have mentioned
|
|
that it is possible to gain additional purchase when scaling waterfalls, by
|
|
placing self-loading camming devices (SLCDs - "Camalots" by Black Diamond, or
|
|
older "Friends" by Wild Country) in cracks between the pipe sections or in the
|
|
concrete/brickwork itself. These devices bite outwards against the crack
|
|
edges when you exert a pull on them, and rely on the structural integrity of
|
|
the crack edge material to maintain its position under load. Since this
|
|
integrity cannot be guaranteed in erosive conditions such as the humid drain
|
|
atmosphere, this technique should be used with caution, if at all.
|
|
|
|
Waterfalls
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Attempting to scale these if they have no stepirons or ladders is extremely
|
|
risky. Without a rope, harness and figureÄ8 (or similar) I would be inclined
|
|
to decide not to descend or ascend it. Boosting people in wet conditions is
|
|
inadvisable. Often previous explorers have left "ropes" behind, but these are
|
|
usually highly unreliable (for example, rotting sash cord) and should not
|
|
only not be used but should be cut off to remove temptation from clueless
|
|
gits who might be tempted to rely on them.
|
|
|
|
Waterfalls are the primary reason one doesn't go exploring drains when it is
|
|
raining outside. You *might* survive being flushed through a tube, dropped
|
|
over slides and dumped violently in a mangrove. You DON`T survive being thrown
|
|
at a wall and then falling any number of metres to a cement floor, at an angle
|
|
you cannot control. You die and get found rotting on a trash rack by people
|
|
walking by the riverside a couple of days later. Simple as that.
|
|
|
|
Stairs
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Take 'em one at a time. Big stairs (like Greatstairway) demand this since the
|
|
steps are all a metre high. Test and use handrails if present.
|
|
|
|
Ladders
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
These should be inspected first and tested by getting on the bottom rung and
|
|
trying to shake the ladder. Hawker's Folly has possibly the most dodgy ladder
|
|
in history with three out of six attachments to the wall missing.
|
|
|
|
Balconies
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Generally these have handrails next to a shaft of some kind. Testing handrails
|
|
by swinging on them is not a lifeÄprolonging practise for reasons which should
|
|
be obvious.
|
|
|
|
Pits / G.P.T.'S
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Step over these if possible. The deeper ones (like Bourbon's in Melb) are
|
|
anything from knee deep to over your head. They tend to have sharp rubble at
|
|
the bottom of them so tread carefully. There is amusement to be had by fishing
|
|
around for buried coins and other such items in gutter boxes and GPTs,
|
|
I have already recommended the use of gloves, but also suggest a small shovel
|
|
for this activity.
|
|
|
|
Sometimes a flooded GPT can be drained: look for an outlet pipe at ground
|
|
level and open the cap (eg: Yoda's in Sydney). Siphons represent another
|
|
more tedious method for draining a GPT but were used successfully by Mullet,
|
|
Diode and myself in the GPT behind the round doors at Scorpion's Flaps, to
|
|
remove several cubic meters of water in the course of an hour. We used long
|
|
sections of 100mm PVC gutter pipe, right-angle elbows and duct tape to seal
|
|
it. Small siphons such as the one at the far end of Fortress can be emptied
|
|
using small pumps and batteries, or even manually though this will be a
|
|
tiring and possibly pointless exercise unless you are fanatical about sifting
|
|
the bottom for exciting treasures such as expired credit cards, rusting engine
|
|
components and sand-scoured twenty-cent coins. Occasionally there are good
|
|
finds to be made in GPTs, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
|
|
|
|
Natural formations
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Animal habitats, unusual geological formations (stalactites, stalagmites,
|
|
flowstone) and similarly interesting things are best left alone so the next
|
|
explorer can enjoy them too.
|
|
|
|
Safety chains
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Replace these once you pass. Don't just leave 'em dangling. They can be used
|
|
to assist you in getting up slippery waterfalls... throw a weighted rope over
|
|
it and, if you don't pull on it too hard, you can use the rope to help pull
|
|
you up. In general they are reliable but should be inspected before use where
|
|
possible.
|
|
|
|
Pillars
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
The ones I have in mind are threeÄstorey turbulenceÄinducing jobs at Hercules
|
|
Pillars. These are on a slippery slope. What I tended to do to pass these was
|
|
slide down and grab a pillar, then walk to the side of it and repeat the
|
|
process, which prevents the build-up of speed.
|
|
|
|
CDS UNITS
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
A new addition to the bottom end of a lot of trunk drains in the future will
|
|
be the aforementioned Pollutec CDS litter-trap. They consist of a Nautilus
|
|
shell shaped cavity with a cylindrical stainless steel perforated plate in the
|
|
centre of it. Water goes thru this, and anything bigger than a ciggie butt
|
|
won't fit through the plate. They have an overflow of unspecified dimensions
|
|
which might be usable as an explorer bypass. CDS units are really a great
|
|
idea, and the rivers WILL be cleaner for them (maybe it is too late for the
|
|
Yarra!)
|
|
|
|
However... they omit a certain safety requirement: they assume that no-one is
|
|
ever going to be in a drain when it floods. Regardless of wether the person/s
|
|
unfortunate enough to be trapped in such a device have legal permission to be
|
|
in the drain or not, at the moment they have NO WAY OUT of the separator and
|
|
if it fills right up, they'll drown. There are no stepirons in the stainless
|
|
steel separator plate, and apparently nothing in the way of an easily-lifted
|
|
access/escape hatch.
|
|
|
|
I spoke to the environmentally-friendly, suit-wearing Pollutec rep droid about
|
|
this at Ozwater/Ozwaste trade fair in May 1996. Got that glazed look in his
|
|
eyes, like it had never crossed its mind that their legal arses could be on
|
|
the line about this if negligence (in not providing a way out for a trapped
|
|
person) in the event of a drowning, could be proven attributable to a CDS
|
|
unit.
|
|
|
|
It is fortunate to note that these things seem to be installed on the side of
|
|
large "dam" rooms (such as the first main room in Yoda's) which means that
|
|
during a flood an explorer will not necessarily be sucked into the CDS
|
|
unit, instead being slowed down by the water already in the dam. An irritating
|
|
aspect of these dams is that they represent an murky, deep and hazardous
|
|
obstacle full of sharps and rotting biological material when the unit is not
|
|
emptied regularly.
|
|
|
|
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! You may wish to raise this with Pollutec via:
|
|
cds@pollutec.com.au
|
|
http://www.pollutec.com.au
|
|
also see http://www.cdstech.com.au
|
|
|
|
No flames or abusive noise please!
|
|
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ 4) Locks and their neutralisation ³
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
|
We are not stupid. We know why locks are there... to cover the legal clauses
|
|
in the public liability insurance that the large public works authorities use
|
|
to prevent themselves from being unable to pay if sued for damages in the
|
|
event that some litigious git's relative gets killed in a drain, bridge
|
|
(etc) and charges them with negligence, intention to provide fun without
|
|
a license or some other such delusional jurisprudential nonsense.
|
|
|
|
We also know that locks are there (ostensibly) to prevent kids from getting
|
|
into bridges and drains (etc) and exposing themselves to - gasp, how dare
|
|
they - danger. The deaths in the mid 1970s of children exploring the bridge
|
|
at Pheasant's Nest illustrate this danger. However, we are not children.
|
|
|
|
Historically, works authorities were asked for keys but refused to reply to,
|
|
or even acknowledge, requests for keys. So it used to be that locks would
|
|
be picked or smashed and replaced (with our own) on more worth-it explored
|
|
structures. It was pretty obvious from the graffiti around the lock where to
|
|
write if you wanted a key. (Strange, no-one ever wrote for a key.) Eventually
|
|
though we found it was just cheaper and easier to take the locks off and not
|
|
replace them, 'cos all we got were items of legal-threat fascist hate-mail
|
|
and our locks cut off.
|
|
|
|
The usual arms-races ensued: if there was a lock, and it couldn't be picked,
|
|
it would disappear. Then there'd be a new lock and that'd go, too. Then
|
|
there'd be a really good padlock on, pick-proof, re-keyable, and then that
|
|
lock would also be decommissioned. Then they'd shackle-shield the replacement
|
|
for that lock. If a lock was shackle-shielded, then the entire door would
|
|
mysteriously unhinge, or disappear, or a few bars from nearby grilles would...
|
|
er, go away. Then the door would be replaced and welded shut so the access war
|
|
would simply move to another door. All of which was pointless. Why not just
|
|
use locks which keep most people out, and be prepared to accept that there is
|
|
a small group which will get in no matter how much money was spent trying to
|
|
keep 'em out? Lock removal technology will always outstrip lock technology.
|
|
|
|
Maybe we should use tandem locking (see below). There will always be drain
|
|
explorers, and other kinds of curious, determined people. There will also
|
|
always be jimmy bars, oxy torches... often, an el-cheapo hacksaw (like the
|
|
MiniHack - a plastic handle from which the hacksaw blade protrudes -
|
|
permitting the blade through tight gaps which are not accessible with a normal
|
|
hacksaw) can be used cleverly to provide access while leaving the lock in
|
|
place. Even quite large bolt cutters can be concealed on the person: most of
|
|
each handle length is cut off, metal tubing sections of slightly larger
|
|
diameter than the bolt cutter arms stumps are then chosen with diameters
|
|
enabling the arms and sections to tightly telescope. When required for use,
|
|
the tubing sections are sleeved over the stumpy arms of the modified bolt
|
|
cutter, and cutting proceeds normally... we needn't mention the new
|
|
4-inch portable battery powered angle grinders, need we? Exclusion
|
|
approaches to access control will always ultimately fail.
|
|
|
|
This is not an advocation of gratuitous lock removal, it is raising the issue
|
|
of rethinking public access to public works. I think a policy of maximum
|
|
access is better, since this enables people to have a look (at their own
|
|
risk), doesn't involve smashing locks and also enables people to get out in
|
|
a hurry if needs be.
|
|
|
|
Methinks when people are old enough to smash locks, people are old enough to
|
|
take responsibility for the subsequent damage that may occur to them as a
|
|
result of being in the once-locked area. Conversely, the authorities should
|
|
realise that locking grilles and welding manholes is a very good way to trap
|
|
people _in_ a confined space.
|
|
|
|
Those familiar with Zen will see shades of Ganto's Ax in the following story,
|
|
related to me by a Melbourne Clan Co-Founder (mystic music please...)
|
|
|
|
"Ages ago, the grille at the first split in Dungeon had been left closed
|
|
and the lock was locked - but not locked around both hasps, so you could
|
|
still open the grille. We were sick of smashin' endless Board of Works
|
|
padlocks off the grille, so we bought a lock and locked the grille - through
|
|
the other hasp of the grille AND the shackle of the Board of Works's lock.
|
|
So they had keys and we had a key (actually a lot of us had keys!) and
|
|
whoever wanted in could get in, and be responsible with the locks by locking
|
|
'em up in tandem after going through. This worked for about two years."
|
|
|
|
"Anyway, one day we came along and found our lock had been oxy'd off, and
|
|
the Board of Works lock was back on, and the grille was locked up again. So
|
|
we came back and took their lock out, and went in. Then we saw the notices
|
|
pasted on the wall of the drain from Victoria (Uphold the Reich) Police,
|
|
saying blah blah tresspass, blah break'n'enter and blah they'd press charges
|
|
and all that shit. So after that we'd break off their locks and remember
|
|
how it was.... eventually they gave up and now the grille is always open."
|
|
|
|
The local locksmith must have loved it.
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ 5) Tips and techniques ³
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
|
|
|
Day or night?
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Whilst the time of day can be often considered irrelevant to the sacred
|
|
practise of urban speleology, I would like to suggest a few advantages to
|
|
choosing exactly which hour of the day one would consider doing a drain.
|
|
|
|
I have generally found that the exploration of drains in daylight slightly
|
|
less fun than the nightÄdraining. One's nightÄvision doesn't really kick in
|
|
for several minutes and coming out is a blinding, dazzling experience. Ouch.
|
|
|
|
However, dayÄdraining gives you a better idea of the cloud conditions which
|
|
are prevalent just before you get in, and it is also fun to have the drain
|
|
occasionally lit up from sunlight pouring in through a small grille in the
|
|
top of the drain or through the diffuse beam of a lit side tunnel. The
|
|
warmth of the longÄforgotten sun can be a pleasant embrace after slogging
|
|
along subterranes for an hour or three.
|
|
|
|
The night drain is one done for reasons of stealth. There are some places you
|
|
just can't get into or out of during daylight without having some guard waste
|
|
his time and yours by asking a whole lot of questions and getting answers
|
|
he is probably too stupid to believe, despite your having torches in broad
|
|
daylight. Try and be quiet and avoid external torch use if possible.
|
|
|
|
One finds the smell from the surface wafts into the drain at night. In
|
|
general one can pop questionable manholes with considerably greater safety
|
|
at 3am when there is all but zero traffic. Coming out of the drain with
|
|
the munchies and having nowhere nearby to sell you food is sometimes a bit
|
|
of a drag, but there are good japes to be had by, for instance, shining
|
|
your laser-pointer beam on the inside ceiling of cars stopped at traffic
|
|
lights, from your cosy position in a nearby gutter grate.
|
|
|
|
Drainwalking.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
One of the things the neophyte drainer discovers is that drains are slippery.
|
|
That is, the surface is either covered in algal slime or is just implicitly
|
|
smooth due to erosion and wetness. There is a wide variety of conditions,
|
|
ranging from virgin rough concrete to slimy red brick, cement pipe, plastic,
|
|
surfaces covered in pebbles, mud, broken glass and assorted members of the
|
|
slime families. Until one is used to it, one tends to just fall over a lot,
|
|
usually to the mirth of ones colleagues.
|
|
|
|
It is also noticeable that the "boomp" sound of your shoes on the concrete
|
|
changes pitch upwards as the diameter of the pipe you're in decreases.
|
|
|
|
Appropriate footware helps. Something with a soft rubber sole and a lot of
|
|
tread, particularly spiky tread, is better than the smooth soled stuff, and
|
|
Blundstones, Doc Martens, and the like are now known to cut the mustard
|
|
(contrary to my previous claims). Sneakers are ok, but don't handle the slime
|
|
too well, and their spongy sole construction offers less protection to
|
|
penetration by rusting nails, broken glass, etc.
|
|
|
|
To walk in a drain without falling, don't attempt sudden movement. It is the
|
|
acceleration or deceleration generated by sudden moves which will cause you
|
|
to lose traction. Generally an even pace, with weight spread evenly over your
|
|
sole, will provide better grip than an edgeÄstep or toeÄcreep.
|
|
|
|
Naturally if a drain is dry (ie, has the small trickle down the middle but
|
|
dry everything else) walk on the dry sections. In the smaller diameter round
|
|
tunnels, parabolics, oblate ellipsoid, and larger oviform drains one can use
|
|
a rhythmic pattern of walking three or five steps on either side of the water
|
|
running down the middle, to wit, place feet as follows:
|
|
|
|
Direction of travel ÄÄÄ>
|
|
==============================================================================
|
|
left right left left right left left right left
|
|
****** water ************ water *********************** water ***************
|
|
right left right right left right
|
|
==============================================================================
|
|
|
|
Believe us, it makes life easier on your ankles, it tends to keep your feet
|
|
on their appropriate side more of the time, and is less strenuous than walking
|
|
each foot on its own side of the water all of the time. Of course, you may opt
|
|
for the simpler but occasionally more slippery approach of just walking in the
|
|
water itself, but keeping dry has its advantages, especially after prolonged
|
|
sessions underground where wet feet become unpleasantly soggy and painful to
|
|
walk on.
|
|
|
|
Some drains are slightly shorter than the explorer, which demands some
|
|
contortion. Crouching rapidly sets thigh muscles on fire; walking with head
|
|
towards one shoulder, or with hands beind your back to remove some of the
|
|
strain of stooping forward, helps. For a little while.
|
|
|
|
Move your eyes around! Paying attention only to the drain flooring leaves you
|
|
vulnerable to walking into the occasional pipes/beams slung across the tunnel
|
|
roof, or protruding inlets, because you didn't see them. Yes, top-of-skull
|
|
impact with steel, rock or terracotta is usually painful.
|
|
|
|
Going Much Further Up Drains
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Sometimes there are worthwhile, large tunnels which can only be reached via
|
|
small tunnels. Hence the keen drain explorer may need to crouch, squat, crawl
|
|
on all fours or belly-grovel for a period. Generally this will demand that you
|
|
get wet, unless you bring a transport aid. My investigations into the cut-off
|
|
bottom half of domestic shopping trolleys demonstrated they are heavy, hard to
|
|
conceal, look suspicious, are too large to go in anything less than metre
|
|
wide, and - true to form - do not steer very well.
|
|
|
|
Pipe diameters are standardised. In less restricted pipe (say, 750mm diameter
|
|
or more) there is adequate clearance for skateboards. You can use these in
|
|
525mm diameter pipes, but you're really forcing the issue. In a 450mm pipe,
|
|
forget trying to lie on the plank. A 375-dia pipe will just fit the skateboard
|
|
but not much else.
|
|
|
|
The usual technique is to lie upon the deck face down, (face up means your
|
|
hair gets caught under the wheels and everything you see is upside down!)
|
|
after placing some layers of padding (towels, carpet underlay, urethane foam)
|
|
on the deck to prevent body bruising. Some people don't care about the
|
|
direction of the plank relative to them, some prefer to reverse their plank
|
|
and have the skid-pad end near their head. Push with legs/feet and steer by
|
|
leaning in the direction you want to go. Gloves help - they protect fingers
|
|
from debris and also keep them dry, and warmer than the ambient concrete
|
|
temperature. Armoured kneepads are good too, but may chafe the skin behind the
|
|
knee joint.
|
|
|
|
Drains are skateboard-hostile. You cannot prevent abrasive grit (suspended in
|
|
the water) from penetrating the bearings, but you can use serviceable bearings
|
|
from Naachi, which are $20 per set of 8, and when servicing them, re-pack
|
|
them with Castrol anticorrosion boat-trailer bearing-grease, and they will
|
|
last a long time even after prolonged submersion in salt water.
|
|
|
|
Im my experience a skateboard is also good for towing items. An eyehook can
|
|
be screwed into a standard (er, Toyworld $20 `disposable') deck, and attached
|
|
to the explorer with a length of rope, this was standard practise at many of
|
|
my drainage worksites. A standard skateboard is not so good for personal
|
|
tunnel transport without modification, because there are pipe sections with
|
|
enough debris to bog normal wheels under body weight, or rubbish which
|
|
becomes caught around the trucks and axles, or the standard 60mm diameter
|
|
wheels drop into and jam in the joints between the pipe sections. You do get
|
|
sick of the "ooof" "ooof" "ooof" feeling on your ribcage.
|
|
|
|
Sydney Clan's Mr India uses large diameter wheels on his radical, customised
|
|
drain-plank - sourced from Manly Blades [manlyblades.com.au 029 9763833,
|
|
Shop 2, 49 North Steyne, 2095]. They stock drain-proven (but a tad expensive)
|
|
gear such as "Deckhead Dozer" 125mm diameter, alloy hub, urethane wheels with
|
|
knobby tread, for $160 per set of 4 (with stand-offs to stop the wheels
|
|
chafing the underside of the deck). Another wheel, by "Censored Performance"
|
|
has a solid nylon hub in a 76mm diameter wheel, which is about 45mm wide; 4
|
|
for $65. They also sell "Independant" extra-wide 215mm aluminium trucks for
|
|
$50/ea. Note that wide trucks and large wheels will improve debris clearance,
|
|
minimise bogging and joint-jamming, but the price paid for this is that you're
|
|
a little more cramped into the roof of the drain.
|
|
|
|
Skateboards will fishtail (auto-swerve) in round pipes, tending to oversteer
|
|
and overcorrect constantly. You can lathe standard wheels into a truncated
|
|
cone (mounted on the axle with small end pointed outwards) and this will act
|
|
to centre the skateboard automatically, but will increase bogging and wheel
|
|
wear on flat sections. One can also fit narrow, in-line skate wheels
|
|
(rollerblade wheels) onto skateboard trucks, though you will need washers or
|
|
sleeves to account for the missing wheel thickness on the axle, they aren't
|
|
very comfortable to ride, and they bog quite easily in certain types of
|
|
debris.
|
|
|
|
My TruToys, scratched-up, delaminating-from-water-exposure-and-I-don't-care,
|
|
skateboard deck is 760mm long, and hence won't turn around in a standard
|
|
diameter pipe section from the 750mm size down. I wouldn't be too upset about
|
|
shaving 10 or 15mm off the ends, the whole board is worth next to nothing.
|
|
Long, 38 inch (965mm) boards are more comfy to lie on but less likely to be
|
|
able to be turned around in a given drain (need a 1050mm diameter pipe to
|
|
turn in).
|
|
|
|
Skateboards can be fitted with lights and batteries, which leaves hands free
|
|
to push if you have no head torch (you will appreciate this even if it looks
|
|
silly topside). Mind your head, and do try not to run over your fingers.
|
|
Additional trucks don't significantly improve stability, and they degrade the
|
|
steering but do minimise the bowing in the deck.
|
|
|
|
Note that small-diameter tunneling presents its own problems. It is not always
|
|
a given that the air supply is adequate. Further, you cannot turn around in
|
|
a conduit with a diameter (or long diagonal) less than the distance from your
|
|
patella (kneecap) to the back surface your pelvis (hips). This distance is
|
|
mostly the femur, (thighbone) : your spine and head length can be longer than
|
|
this but they are flexible and can curl to conform with the pipe wall whereas
|
|
the femur is solid bone and will not (wow, just like a skateboard). So, when
|
|
one approaches a small pipe, one must consider the possibility that not only
|
|
will the forward crawl/skateboard roll be a trying episode, but may have to be
|
|
done later in reverse. Get in the pipe and try to turn around right near the
|
|
entrance. If you can't, decide on the basis that you will not, after say
|
|
200m (!) of grovelling, find a convenient shaft in which to turn. You might
|
|
find a nice, deep erosion scour pit to turn in, but don't bet on it.
|
|
|
|
You can squirm along a pipe of diameter slightly more than your cross-section,
|
|
with your arms stretched out in front of you. It is serious physical effort,
|
|
not something to be undertaken lightly, squirming in reverse is even harder.
|
|
There is also scope for life-threatening panic for those who do not focus and
|
|
concentrate. If you are in a small conduit and it rains, you won't be able to
|
|
squirm much faster than your normal squirming rate. The consequences of this
|
|
are obviously significant.
|
|
|
|
Navigation.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Don't rely on maps, mostly they are old and they have been known to be
|
|
notoriously unreliable, with bypasses and overflows and tributaries added
|
|
to the drain long after the map was printed. Taking a compass is ok in some
|
|
drains (rock, red brick and plastic) but round cement and precast reinforced
|
|
sections have enough iron in them to yield completely erratic results (a
|
|
compass needle will do a complete 540 degree donut in the space of 2 pipe
|
|
sections in some cases) since these sections commonly have their own fields.
|
|
|
|
Holding your torch next to your compass when taking a reading is also a good
|
|
way to get a bad reading because the torch has its own field, generated by
|
|
the current flowing through the torch itself.
|
|
|
|
As for getting lost, with the exception of Dungeon (with a 3D figure 8 space
|
|
loop) and Maze (which has so many alternate routes it is all but impossible to
|
|
memorise) this phenomenon is rare... mark your entrance manhole with some
|
|
ribbon or spraypaint. If all else fails, remember that water always flows down
|
|
hill and make a mental note of which way it was flowing when you first got in.
|
|
Eventually you will end up at a beach or similar outlet if you continue down
|
|
stream. A street directory is sometimes a useful asset.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Propaganda
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Back in the early history of the Clan it used to be that message bags with
|
|
cassette tapes or reading material were left in the far upper reaches of
|
|
drains. For example when the Melbourne branch of the Clan came to Sydney they
|
|
would put a cassette into sticky-taped plastic film bags and attach them to
|
|
some part of the drain. This was so other drain explorers would find the
|
|
material and try to make contact with the Clan. Sadly they were often wrapped
|
|
inadequately to protect the contents from attack by floodwater, bacterial
|
|
growth or humidity, by the time we got to them, if they were still there (in
|
|
some cases half a decade later) they were unreadably degraded.
|
|
|
|
To ensure that a message (or, say, a copy of Urbex) left in a drain will last
|
|
for a long, long time, roll the material up and insert it into a clean,
|
|
well dried 1.25L PETE drink bottle. For extreme dessication you could add in
|
|
a small bag of silica gel, but this probably won't be necessary. Screw on the
|
|
lid tightly. Take a cable tie and lock it around the neck flange of the
|
|
bottle, and through that cable tie, thread in another cable tie, which you
|
|
lock around a stepiron or something like that. Cable ties are cheap, they
|
|
do not rust (like wire) or rot (like string) or unravel (like inadequately
|
|
tied rope), and last for decades. It is appreciated if these are left for
|
|
total newbies - people with existing Clan membership should get their Il
|
|
Draino/Urbex from the back catalogue instead of undoing all the work which
|
|
went into placing the message bottles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photography
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Drains are not a friendly environment for cameras. Apart from being wet (and
|
|
hence fatal to the camera if you drop it in the water) they are humid, and
|
|
vater vapour from the drain will tend to condense on the camera lens if the
|
|
camera lens is cooler than the drain's air, smudging your photos. Some Clan
|
|
photographers transport their cameras in sealable, zip-lock baggies, or
|
|
have looped rope on their cameras to keep them attached to their wrists.
|
|
|
|
Nonetheless the Clan has taken thousands of photographs in drains, and many
|
|
of these have gone on to grace the illustrious pages of Urbex or Il Draino,
|
|
the magazines for the thinking drain explorer.
|
|
|
|
Sydney Clan's sooper-haaardcore photographer ///Siologen feeds his camera rig
|
|
400ASA film, but changes it to 800ASA if he thinks there's a need for greater
|
|
field depth, but general field depth is not something he worries about because
|
|
drains, usually being depth-similar, don't generally need it - what they need
|
|
is maximum aperture due to the dimness of the light.
|
|
|
|
Long exposures can be used to interesting effect in drains which are either
|
|
dimly lit from outside or drains which are lit by moving torchlight.
|
|
The colour temperature of the light source changes the tone of the shot, for
|
|
example a long exposure shot will look yellow if lit by tungsten filament
|
|
torch globes, but will instead gain a pleasant hue of vomit green if lit by
|
|
fluorescent tubes. Xenon flashes are spectrally white so you get a white shot
|
|
if you paint with a flash, which also gives a strobe effect if your subjects
|
|
move.
|
|
|
|
The surface texture of the drain influences the granularity of the shot. While
|
|
red brick gives a crisp definition, something amorphous like rockblasted
|
|
stone does not, so focussing is difficult and the shot can become a bit murky.
|
|
Some drains lack visual cues to act as a size scale, so it is useful to
|
|
include one or more persons in the shot, which also eliminates the dark
|
|
fogginess of the center part of the drain, which reflects no light. He uses a
|
|
reasonably large, collapsible aluminium tripod for some of his shots, and
|
|
says "Fuckin' tripod!" a lot when getting through tight squeezes or when
|
|
getting out in a hurry.
|
|
|
|
My personal kit is a 35mm camera with a timer delay, a flash, a small
|
|
telescoping tripod, and a slave flash unit where possible. I use a fairly
|
|
fast, 400ASA colour film, because that's as long as I can keep the shutter
|
|
open without manual intervention. But, since my camera is old, I can lie to
|
|
it about what film speed it is using - like, using 400ASA film but setting
|
|
the camera at 200ASA gives it twice the exposure it should get.
|
|
|
|
Flashes are a must, but don't use them if, say, exploring an abandoned factory
|
|
at night. Use IR diode array floodlights and IR sensitive film. Note that
|
|
a standard camcorder detector element will see into the IR spectrum pretty
|
|
well.
|
|
|
|
Cameras are a little bit risky insofar as they contain a record of your, uh,
|
|
trespass. Hence, it may be necessary to pop the cover and expose the film
|
|
(or crush the disk, if you're using a digital camera) to eliminate the
|
|
evidence. When I get my exposures developed, I use one-hour fotomats, pay
|
|
cash and give a false name, to minimise the chance of my name and address
|
|
details being passed to various interfering anti-fun authorities.
|
|
|
|
TaggingÄup.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Otherwise known as graffiti. We recommend the nonÄozoneÄdestroying aerosol
|
|
paints available in hardware stores, since paint is absorbed well and we have
|
|
found it stays a long time compared to artline textas. Charcoal is all but
|
|
useless in drains, being washed off by the next flood. Crayon is ok.
|
|
|
|
Melbourne Clan have painted whitewash on certain parts of certain drains to
|
|
facilitate message-writing. The Pentel white correcting-fluid pens are good
|
|
and things written with them last a long time, but concrete rapidly grinds the
|
|
plastic tip down and they require squeezing to get the ink running, which
|
|
gives hand cramp when writing ornate graffiti.
|
|
|
|
Textas remain the tool of choice for discrete, precision tag-up.
|
|
|
|
Modern-day textas tend to use an organic aldehyde as the solvent for carrying
|
|
pigment down the tip by capillary action. Textas can be made to last longer
|
|
or rejuvenated when they dry out, by unscrewing their tips, or unplugging
|
|
their plugged end, and adding solvent to the fibre inkwell. Makeshift solvent
|
|
material is cheaply available from hardware stores - acetone. Don't use too
|
|
much solvent or the texta writing will be thin and washed-out, or the texta
|
|
will leak. Flooding the texta is not a good idea, you want maybe one or two
|
|
millilitres of solvent.
|
|
|
|
Certain types of concrete tend to clog or erode the tips on artline textas.
|
|
usually one can prevent this by wiping the concrete smooth and dry before
|
|
writing. If you want to tag and your texta has "died" it may be possible
|
|
to tag using the inkwell directly. Unscrew or unplug the texta, shake or
|
|
pull out the fibre core (hard to do on aluminium artline textas) and use
|
|
it to write your tag.
|
|
|
|
The real advantages to spray paint are that it can write on the rough sufaces
|
|
and can also be used as a pesticide. I find this useful for clearing redback
|
|
spiders from gutter grilles; since there is never methane buildup in
|
|
these openÄaired grilleÄboxes, you can safely convert your spraypaint to an
|
|
impromptu flame thrower and nuke the little mothers (gouts of flame emerging
|
|
from drainage grilles may arouse suspicions, however). Dispose of your empty
|
|
can in a responsible way, dont just flick it in the water. Puncture your can
|
|
extensively to allow rapid natural oxidation after use if it looks like going
|
|
to landfill.
|
|
|
|
Stickers were a popular method of tagging, and they last a long time, but
|
|
tend to work better on smooth, clean, flat surfaces - for example on top of
|
|
previous works of graffiti.
|
|
|
|
The Clan tends to put their PO box and http addresses in the drains they
|
|
explore, along with the handles of members present on the expedition, and the
|
|
date... the wrong date. We sometimes date it so that we were supposedly
|
|
inÄdrain a few days before we actually were, or a few days after.
|
|
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ 6) Technical and safety stuff which matters. ³
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
|
|
|
The basic rules of drain exploring.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
1) When it rains, no drains. Check the skies, get a weather report. DO it!
|
|
2) Always go in numbers (3 is good, more can get a bit crowded).
|
|
3) Tell a third party where you are going. In some cases you might arrange
|
|
someone to come looking for you, if you haven't called them by a
|
|
prearranged time.
|
|
4) Take a reliable torch. Also take a reliable spare torch.
|
|
5) Check the air for noxious, unbreatheable or poisonous impostors.
|
|
|
|
Lighting
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Torches are your lifeline in the drain. Drains are so dark that your brain
|
|
fools you into thinking that you saw something, just cause it is so used to
|
|
seeing that it is uncomfortable when it isn't. There is not a visibleÄspectrum
|
|
photon to be had. Wave your hand in front of your face and you won't see it,
|
|
you'll only ÄthinkÄ you did. So forgive me, but I will go into this topic
|
|
in some detail.
|
|
|
|
It goes without saying: don't use candles, you can't smell methane.
|
|
|
|
Always carry a spare torch! I'll say it again, always carry a spare torch.
|
|
Make sure they both work when you go in. Examples of unsuitable light
|
|
sources can be found at the end of this section.
|
|
|
|
Photonic ettiquette.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Do NOT shine your torch or fire your camera flash into other explorer's eyes.
|
|
This is rude and messes up their night vision for some time. The reason why
|
|
you need surprisingly little light to see by when your eyes have dark-adapted,
|
|
is that dark-adapted human eyes have extreme sensitivity to light, because of
|
|
the HUGE signal-gain of the processes intrinsic to retinal rods and their
|
|
rhodopsin-based photon capture machinery. When the irises are fully dilated
|
|
and your eyes have adapted to detect single photons, it really hurts
|
|
to have several thousand trillion of 'em pumped into your retina.
|
|
|
|
Whilst usually not critical in a drain, carelessly shining a light, or firing
|
|
a camera flash in a nocturnal topside expedition will invariably attract
|
|
unintelligent pest organisms like moths and security guards. Practise
|
|
"light-care". Let your eyes adapt, and then travel with as little illuminant
|
|
as possible.
|
|
|
|
Torches in general
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
There is a tendancy among newbie drain explorers to carry a macho-lookin'
|
|
photon-blastin' torch, which is a little silly insofar as they are hard to
|
|
conceal when walking to or from a drain, or when being interrogated by proto-
|
|
porcine authoritarian low-lifes.
|
|
|
|
Small torches are easier to hide on your person, as well as being easier to
|
|
cover when lit for "light-care" reasons.
|
|
|
|
Cheap torches are less of a hassle to abandon or lose, and tend to be less
|
|
reliable than good quality torches but can be made more rugged in numerous
|
|
ways.
|
|
|
|
Since the drains are wet and dark, the first requirement is that torches are
|
|
reliable. Reliable is good. You need your light source more than it needs you.
|
|
Turn your torch off and try and walk along in the dark to demonstrate this.
|
|
|
|
Second requirement is waterproofness. Water will short your torch or corrode
|
|
its guts, making it unreliable. Unreliable is bad.
|
|
|
|
The next requirement if the torch is not attached to you in some way, is that
|
|
it floats... drop a Maglite in the water and it'll sink like a brick,
|
|
possibly to where you can't get it back, so add a wrist-loop, or forget 'em,
|
|
unless you feel you need a torch which doubles as a truncheon (or is that a
|
|
boat anchor).
|
|
|
|
A certain amount of ruggedness in design is useful.
|
|
|
|
The early Dolphin torch, the Series 1, whilst bulky, fulfills these
|
|
requirements. Its seal is straightforward, it is easy to assemble in the dark
|
|
by feel (one should know how to reassemble one's torch and replace the
|
|
battery/bulb in the dark) but is relatively hard to hide.
|
|
|
|
Keyring-mounted mini-maglites are good for emergency use.
|
|
|
|
The Petzl Zoom headtorch (with added silicone waterproofing, custom LED globe
|
|
and NiCd batteries) is my illuminant rig of choice. Clones of Petzl head
|
|
torches also exist for less money and use flange-fit bulbs in lieu of the
|
|
Miniature Edison Screwbase bulbs used in genuine Petzl units. The most common
|
|
failure mode of the Petzl head torch is breakage of the copper strands in the
|
|
wires leading from the battery compartment to the headlight, either near the
|
|
headlight or the compartment case. This is cheaply remediated with a length
|
|
heavier duty wire of the same outer diameter. The Petzl carries a fitting for
|
|
a spare globe.
|
|
|
|
I recommend SRT Australia 97096299, 11 Nelson Ave Padstow NSW. They sell:
|
|
Princeton head torch. No zoom, very waterproof, uses 4 x AA cells $75.65
|
|
Petzl Zoom head torch. Zoom, water resistant, uses 3 x AAs or 3LR12 $78.50
|
|
|
|
Some reports have stated that the Princeton is somewhat brittle and
|
|
susceptible to case fracture with hard shocks.
|
|
|
|
I usually back up my petzl with a two D-cell flashlight, and also a
|
|
finger-mounted orange LED micro-torch. Spelean (92642994) is the sole
|
|
Australian proprietor for Petzl, though there are other licensed distributors.
|
|
|
|
Occasionally people bring fluorescent-tube torches into a drain, and they
|
|
work fine for local viewing but aren't so good for shining light into
|
|
the middle distance, and they also break relatively easily in our experience.
|
|
Cuts from broken fluoro-tube glass take a long time to heal up, healing is
|
|
inhibited by the rare-earth phosphors inside the tube.
|
|
|
|
We are all envious of TV crews and their high-powered Sun Gun systems, with
|
|
belt-mounted batteries. We are not envious of the effect these devices have
|
|
on our dark-adapted eyes. Ow!
|
|
|
|
Cyalume sticks are a good emergency light source. They are bright for about 3
|
|
hours then go for another 5 hours. Shelf life is about 3 years. Freezing
|
|
probably helps preserve the protein component which makes the light. It is
|
|
fun to make these glow, then cut them open and pour the glowing goop on the
|
|
street at night, people get it on their tyres and leave glowing treads going
|
|
off into the distance... just don't get it on your clothes or it will
|
|
permanently stain them. They can be obtained from disposal stores ($5-10 each)
|
|
or from Sigma Aldrich: Unit 2, 14 Anella Avenue (or PO BOX 970) Castle Hill
|
|
NSW 2154; in red, yellow or orange (12 hr duration), six sticks for $40
|
|
(+ $15 P&H), though Sigma no longer have green, white or blue for some reason.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Globes/Bulbs.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
|
|
Incandescent Filament Types
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
I don't bother with Halogens. They are very bright, but also very hot, are
|
|
powerÄhungry, expensive and eventually go yellowish. Kryptons are more
|
|
efficient than the standard globe but also a little dearer, and many people
|
|
use them happily. Globes come in bayonet, MES (miniature edison screwbase) and
|
|
flange fittings. The voltage and current ratings are usually stamped into the
|
|
metal fitting. The filament is usually tungsten, the globe is usually
|
|
backfilled with an inert gas like krypton or xenon to minimise filament
|
|
evaporation.
|
|
|
|
Making filament globes last for longer
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Say you have a 4.5V globe in your torch, and you feed it 4.0V. This means it
|
|
isn't quite as bright as it could be, but human scotopic vision is very
|
|
sensitive, and the percieved dimness problem goes away once the eyes have
|
|
dark-adapted.
|
|
|
|
Filament globes last a LOT longer when you operate them below their designated
|
|
voltage - globes are manufactured to have a certain life - a few hundred
|
|
hours - at their correct operating voltage, then they die, forcing you to buy
|
|
another bulb, however they often die faster than this, because a freshly
|
|
recharged battery will deliver slightly more than its rated voltage, and this
|
|
excess voltage will quickly evaporate the filament (or migrate the dopants in
|
|
the case of semiconductor light sources), shortening its lifespan. Using
|
|
them at lower voltage means you win two ways, buying fewer batteries and
|
|
killing fewer globes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Semiconductor Types
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
For prolonged, medium output light, you can employ the new high-intensity
|
|
light emitting diodes (LEDs) which are now available. They work for 11 years
|
|
continuously, and come in a variety of sizes and colours, including white.
|
|
|
|
You can use red ones if you don't want to mess up your night vision, and you
|
|
can use infrared ones if you want to make an IR floodlight for use with a
|
|
nightscope. LEDs are very power efficient because they waste almost no energy
|
|
as heat. They're hard to break, being made of epoxy, not glass.
|
|
|
|
White LEDs do have some significant drawbacks associated with their use. They
|
|
are costly, polar (must be fitted right way around) and their total brightness
|
|
is currently much less than a typical cheap incandescent globe. If you're with
|
|
other people who are using regular torch globes, the LED light will appear
|
|
dim relative to their torch light. They are prefocussed and hence the Petzl's
|
|
Zoom function doesn't work with the LED source.
|
|
|
|
They don't like being over-voltaged. For example, a LED which likes to run
|
|
off 20mA, pushed by a 3.6 volt source, will die quickly if fed with 4 volts.
|
|
Also, the LED needs at least 3.6 volts to light up, some batteries may not
|
|
deliver this voltage after some period, even though the cells still have lots
|
|
of energy left in them - they will be dim if fed their required current at
|
|
less than their required voltage. Getting around this requires a DC/DC
|
|
converter and tricky support circuitry.
|
|
|
|
So, they're best used for single person operations, as close-up light sources,
|
|
or emergency use.
|
|
|
|
Crudely retrofitting a globe with white LEDs is simplicity itself. Choose a
|
|
LED with the right voltage for the sort of battery with which you power your
|
|
torch, or include a 0.25W resistor of appropriate value in series with the
|
|
LED for use with a particular LED if there's excess voltage coming from the
|
|
DC source.
|
|
|
|
Voltage: Resistance
|
|
3.5 0
|
|
4.5 33
|
|
6.0 82
|
|
9.0 180
|
|
12.0 270-330
|
|
24.0 680 (ex: DSE)
|
|
|
|
Take out the normal glass bulb, break the glass, solder the LEDs (in series
|
|
with required resistor) onto the protruding wires where the filament used to
|
|
be. (LEDs are polar so ensure it's soldered into the globe the right way
|
|
around.) You can cut short the leads on the LED to make it fit where the bulb
|
|
used to be. Some LEDs give more light than others, some have better beam
|
|
focussing than others. Once it's all soldered up, you can seal it with
|
|
silicone, let it dry, screw it into the same socket as the original bulb used
|
|
to fit in.
|
|
|
|
I built a LED globe for my Petzl, using three white LEDs at six candela each.
|
|
The current drain is 60mA, and it's quite bright - staring into it is painful.
|
|
It goes continuously for a couple of days off my abovementioned NiCds. Its
|
|
sole drawback is its lack of a focussed spot at a distance. I have since made
|
|
a MES screwbase accommodate six such LEDs after filing the LEDs into 60 degree
|
|
wedges, but this was quite tricky.
|
|
|
|
These LEDs are $7 retail at Jaycar. Note that because LEDs have low current
|
|
drain, NiCds don't "die" as drastically as they do with conventional filament
|
|
globes.
|
|
|
|
Cave Clan Research and Development Division are in the process of making white
|
|
LED globes with inbuilt overvoltage protection, current regulation and
|
|
undervoltage compensation, for cavers, drain explorers, rock climbers, and
|
|
other connoiseurs of miniaturised, high-tech, energy efficient lighting. For
|
|
details see http://cat.org.au/~predator/whiteled.htm - there is no guarantee
|
|
that the production model will be ready prior to circulation of this .txt
|
|
but the URL is where the first mention will be made thereof.
|
|
|
|
Laser pointers are hazardous to dark-adapted eyes and hence should not be
|
|
used carelessly, if at all.
|
|
|
|
Care and Feeding of Batteries
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
I recommend Alkaline types for the casual expo and high capacity (4 or 5
|
|
Ampere/Hour D cell) NiCd types for light weight, and prolonged rechargeable
|
|
power, over a life of several years.
|
|
|
|
Australian Consumer Association did tests revealing that Energiser alkaline
|
|
batteries do have a more gradual close-to-flat discharge curve than equivalent
|
|
size Duracell batteries. Both Energiser and Duracell are far more expensive
|
|
than Woolworth's "Acme" brand alkaline cells, which perform very similarly to
|
|
both Energisers and Duracells.
|
|
|
|
Take batteries that are "known about" - that is, don't borrow gran's torch
|
|
in the hope that she keeps the batteries fully charged. Life really sucks
|
|
when your torch goes flat. Especially in a drain. Especially at night.
|
|
Especially if it isn't your &@#{%$* torch.
|
|
|
|
My current favourite torch, The Petzl Zoom, (variable focus) uses a special
|
|
Duracell 4.5V 3LR12 (MN1203) battery, which including 12% tax, thanks Mr
|
|
Costello, costs a lot, $11.10, and outlets are scarce. You can drop 3 AA's
|
|
into the adaptor it comes with but they are expensive. Accu rechargeable
|
|
batteries for Petzls cost too much ($80.00, you could get another head torch
|
|
for that!).
|
|
|
|
So I have retrofitted my Duracell Petzl batteries : I used 'em, then cracked
|
|
'em open, pulled out the dead alkaline cells and fitted three 1Ah 1.2V NiCd
|
|
A cells each (in series with a polyswitch protector rated to trigger at
|
|
three amperes) to give 3.6V DC, 1 amp-hour. They're silicone-sealed for
|
|
waterproofness, the tag-ends solder-coated to minimise corrosion. Wicked.
|
|
|
|
Note that The Cave Clan Research and Development Division will also
|
|
retrofit old, dead Duracell 3LR12 batteries with rechargable 1Ah NiCds and
|
|
polyswitches on request. See the URL for white LED globes (above).
|
|
|
|
Different cell types differ in their discharge/voltage characteristics.
|
|
|
|
Alkaline cells, Nickel Metal Hydride cells and the standard Zn/NH4Cl "carbon"
|
|
cells, will get dim gradually over their life before getting totally flat.
|
|
By comparison, NiCds will not dim much at all, but will then go from nearly
|
|
flat (dim) to totally flat (dark) very quickly.
|
|
|
|
What this means is, say you're using alkalines, and you notice the globe
|
|
dimming. You might have half an hour before the alkaline battery is totally
|
|
dead, whereas once you percieve a similar size NiCd going dim, you might only
|
|
have light left for a couple of minutes. This is something which although not
|
|
threatening in itself is something of which the NiCd user should be aware.
|
|
|
|
The steepness of the NiCd discharge curve is not such a concern if you use a
|
|
LED globe (see below) because LEDs exhibit low current drain and will still
|
|
function on an almost-flat NiCd for some time. This is not an excuse to go in
|
|
drains with half-flat NiCds.
|
|
|
|
Make sure NiCds are totally flattened before recharge, to remove the 'memory'
|
|
effect. I deep-discharge my 3.6V NiCd battery with a 2.2V LED until it doesn't
|
|
glow any more (each 1.2V cell is flattened down to 0.73V) then charge them at
|
|
the "charging current = 0.1 x the total battery amp capacity" rate for 10
|
|
hours or so. Do whatever the manufacturer recommends for your battery. Some
|
|
NiCds will self-destruct if you fast charge them at rates higher than the
|
|
10 hour rate.
|
|
|
|
NiCd's are very cheap in the long term despite the initial capital outlay.
|
|
They handle abuse well; for instance, they won't degrade if left fully flat
|
|
like lead acid cells will. NiCd's also have practically zero internal
|
|
resistance, so don't short them out as this causes the electrolyte to boil
|
|
and the cell will split or the internal tabs will melt. Short-out damage can
|
|
prevented by putting a bimetal strip switch (Klixon type) or better, a
|
|
polyswitch in series with the cells in the battery. A polyswitch protector
|
|
acts like an infinitely resettable fuse. Polyswitches (positive temperature
|
|
co-efficient resistors) are obtainable from Jaycar:
|
|
|
|
Trip Current (amp) Jaycar Cost (each)
|
|
3.75 $3.25
|
|
2.8 $2.85
|
|
2.4 $2.75
|
|
|
|
Choose one rated way beyond the expected current loading of the battery (say,
|
|
over three amps), so it won't interfere with normal operation loads. Using
|
|
polyswitches in your battery rig is excellent cheap insurance to protect your
|
|
investment in the battery itself.
|
|
|
|
Dropping charged batteries in salt water, especially fully charged, is highly
|
|
unrecommended, hence the recommendation to use good silicone sealant.
|
|
|
|
My charger hangs off the mains, but you can also buy or build ones that will
|
|
deliver 6V off a 12V car battery. Mains-driven ones may consist of a stepdown
|
|
transformer, a bridge rectifier (WO-04 or equivalent), an optional smoothing
|
|
capacitor, resistors to bring the voltage down to that required by your
|
|
battery, and alligator clips for attachment to terminals. The typical circuit
|
|
is on p247 of the Dick Smith Electronics Catalog, but it's a pretty wasteful
|
|
circuit. There are other circuits which use three-terminal regulators (for
|
|
example, the LM317T regulator in a TO-220 (solder-tags, not chassis-mount)
|
|
to give you the required voltage, these are more efficient.
|
|
|
|
Note that Alkaline and Zinc-carbon cells develop 1.5V, NiCd cells develop
|
|
1.25, NiMHs develop 1.2V, lithium cells 3V, - pick a bulb voltage appropriate
|
|
for the number of the type of cells you will use. Four 1.5V cells, or
|
|
five 1.25V cells, develop 6V, so use a 6V globe, or for longer globe life and
|
|
generally a cooler globe (important in plastic torch fittings which can and
|
|
DO melt) use a 7.2V globe and feed it 6 volts. You get the idea.
|
|
|
|
Battery Specialties, at Unit 5, 8Ä10 Deadman Rd, Moorebank NSW (02) 98240033
|
|
sell a nifty sealed lead acid battery : PS650L, 6V 5Ah for $25.00 (incl tax)
|
|
and deliver for $10 to anywhere in Oz. It's a spring terminal battery in a
|
|
standard lantern battery configuration, so it will fit in a dolphin. These
|
|
require storage in the charged state and are less tolerant of shorting,
|
|
possibly they are also a little heavier.
|
|
|
|
Alkaline cells are costly unless you re-use them, and they *are* rechargeable,
|
|
since the advent of electronic chargers-on-a-chip which pulse-charge the cell
|
|
and then sense the back-voltage of the alkaline cell to prevent the cell from
|
|
overcharging. Oatley Electronics, Lorraine St, Oatley NSW (02)Ä95843563
|
|
sell a mail order a shortÄform kit ($24 + P&H) to build or the full form kit
|
|
(including the power supply, it uses 240VAC) for $36 + P&H. I have no data
|
|
on their performance, though the late Mullet thought they were pretty good.
|
|
|
|
!!! SHITTY PRODUCT ALERT !!! SHITTY PRODUCT ALERT !!! SHITTY PRODUCT ALERT !!!
|
|
Do ÄNOTÄ buy the Eveready PKLÄ1200 rechargable lantern battery. It is fucked -
|
|
overpriced empty space, has woefully little capacity for its volume, is not
|
|
waterproof when you buy it, and doesn't even give you 6V (a measly 4.8). It
|
|
uses elÄcheapo cells and an unsealed bimetal strip switch to prevent
|
|
internal overheating (they could have spent extra cash on a decent Polyswitch
|
|
resistor, but no...) in the event of a short. Eveready's fascist technical
|
|
staff won't divulge the schematic of the simple charge board inside that
|
|
battery, which you need to reconstruct because it will eventually corrode if
|
|
exposed to moisture. LowÄquality pricks.
|
|
|
|
!!!!! ANOTHER SHITTY PRODUCT ALERT !!!!! ANOTHER SHITTY PRODUCT ALERT !!!!!
|
|
Another crappy Eveready product is the rechargable RC-290 flashlight. Whilst
|
|
the parabolic reflector at the front does a very good job at focussing the
|
|
globe's light into a nicely collimated beam, the torch has a woeful, measly
|
|
internal 2.4V 0.28Ah NiCd inside. This torch is marketted as a power-failure
|
|
operated rechargeable flashlight... I think I'd want a LOT more than 0.28Ah
|
|
(about 1 hour of light) stored up inside a torch I'd purchased in preparation
|
|
for a power failure. The RC-290 can be retrofitted with 2 of 1Ah "AA" NiCds,
|
|
and the existing NiCd pile removed. Real estate inside the case is tight, the
|
|
1N4004 power diodes on the printed circuit board should be re-soldered to the
|
|
copper-track side, enable the new NiCds to fit. Such a retrofit will give
|
|
about three hours of light.
|
|
|
|
You can cheaply build a good 6V 4Ah NiCd rechargeable lantern battery! Buy a
|
|
6V lantern battery with a plastic case, use it till it dies, carefully open
|
|
it up, pull the guts out, and shove five of the 4Ah 1.2V NiCds, and a series
|
|
3 amp polyswitch, into it. It's a tight fit. Solder the cells together, use
|
|
insulated, medium-duty conductor. Seal it. Charge it. Re-use it for the next
|
|
twenty years, and be happy. You can usually score two of these excellent 4Ah
|
|
1.2V NiCd cells from emergency "EXIT" lights, which use them as a backup if
|
|
the power fails. They come with metal tags terminals in this case. Hmmm...
|
|
take the whole EXIT sign and use *that* as a torch... um, nah.
|
|
|
|
Cost of 5 4Ah 1.2V NiCd cells is about $80 at DSE, though there are places
|
|
around that sell 'em cheaper. Jaycar (city) sell a really great D-cell sized
|
|
1.2V NiCd with 5.1Ah capacity! $17 each, $15.25 each if you buy ten or more.
|
|
They're Vinnic brand, Catalog number SB2466. Their fone number in Sydney in
|
|
the city is 92671614
|
|
|
|
Gates Energy Products of Gainesville, Florida make 4Ah 1.2V NiCd D cells as
|
|
does a French company called SAFT, so does Vinnic (at Jaycar).
|
|
|
|
Here is some more free advertising for nEveready: despite the most useless
|
|
battery on the market, they did make a great torch, once Ä the series 1
|
|
Dolphin, of which I think you can still get a good Republic Of China copy,
|
|
from DSE for thirty bucks... Performer brand or something. Ha ha, sucked in,
|
|
Bhopal Bastards.
|
|
|
|
I have no personal experience with the new, high capacity Nickel Metal Hydride
|
|
cells. I would recommend them on the basis of the fact that per unit volume
|
|
they store twice as much energy as NiCd's and exhibit no memory effects. I
|
|
don't know about their discharge voltage characteristics. A high level Clan
|
|
man attempted to recharge some NMH cells in a NiCd charger... once. One of
|
|
the cells detonated and blew the end off the charger, so at least I can tell
|
|
you to be meticulous when recharging NMH's.
|
|
|
|
You can often calculate how long your rig will provide you with light. If
|
|
you're using a globe which uses 3 volts, 0.22 amps, then a 3 volt battery
|
|
(two 1.5V cells) rated at 1 amp-hour gives 1Ah ö 0.22a = 4.5 hours of light.
|
|
|
|
LEDs use weenie amounts of current, sometimes 0.02 amps, so you get light
|
|
for much longer time off the same charge.
|
|
|
|
It is prudent to do a test session with your torch and batteries to find out
|
|
how many hours of light you can expect from your particular rig. Set up your
|
|
torch with a globe and a battery just like you'd usually use in a drain,
|
|
turn it on and start the stopwatch, time how long it takes to go dim and die.
|
|
You might be surprised at how little you get. My Petzl rig delivers about
|
|
7 hours light from a 4.5V 0.22A globe, even though it operates under its rated
|
|
voltage, and I carry a spare battery. The 3-white-LED globe will go for about
|
|
two days. I'm rarely underground for 14 hours these days, but it's nice to
|
|
know if I am, or if I come out in the dark of night, I have the light to go
|
|
the distance.
|
|
|
|
Spare batteries are a good idea too, especially in your spare torch (ho ho).
|
|
The spare torch should be immediately used to check out what's wrong with
|
|
the main torch, if possible, so if the spare torch also fails, you still have
|
|
your main torch. I'm a bit iffy about lending my spare torch, because then
|
|
I and the person I lend it to have no backup torch. It sounds a bit fussy,
|
|
but all these backups assure you can still see where you're going.
|
|
|
|
In dire emergencies, Clan personnel have used camera flashguns, cigarette
|
|
lighter flint-ignition sparks, lit matches, laser pointers, flashing lights
|
|
from roadworks, Vistalite bicycle safety blinkies and the backlit displays of
|
|
mobile telephones as light sources. These do not perform very well and we do
|
|
not recommend them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Air quality determination.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
First, a few words from Inspector, a non-clanman who sent us this info to our
|
|
filebase on the late lamented WebBBS.
|
|
|
|
A CONFINED SPACE
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
A Confined Space is a space of any volume which:
|
|
a) is not intended as a regular workplace.
|
|
b) has restricted means for entry and exit.
|
|
c) may have inadequate ventilation and/or atmosphere which is either
|
|
contaminated or oxygen deficient.
|
|
|
|
In the working industry, there are mainly 4 different categories for confined
|
|
spaces. Three of the four categories require the use of ventilation, gas
|
|
testing and monitoring.
|
|
|
|
Hydrogen Sulfide
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Gas Detectors are set to alarm at 10 parts per million, indicating for
|
|
relevant parties to evacuate the area immediately. The area must be
|
|
ventilated and reÄtested before any personnel may legally enter the confined
|
|
space. Hydrogen Sulfide is a dangerous gas as the sense of smell diminishes
|
|
with this gas. One could have a false sense of security if they smell the gas
|
|
and continue to stay in the hazardous area. The Board's Instruction 800
|
|
states that you must evacuate the area immediately.
|
|
|
|
Hydrogen Sulfide is a colourless gas and is very flammable, which sometimes
|
|
has the odour of rotten eggs. It is heavier than air and is often detected at
|
|
the bottom of manholes and trenches. After 2 to 15 minutes exposure humans
|
|
lose the ability to smell Hydrogen Sulfide and it is then that Hydrogen
|
|
Sulfide becomes dangerous as its presence is no longer apparent without
|
|
testing!
|
|
|
|
Carbon Monoxide
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Carbon Monoxide is colourless, odourless, flammable and very toxic. Its
|
|
presence can only be detected evenly by proper testing. Don't be fooled in
|
|
thinking you can smell this gas because you can smell exhaust fumes from a
|
|
car, as said before this gas is odourless!
|
|
|
|
This gas is a chemical asphyxiant and is readily absorbed by the haemoglobin
|
|
in the blood. Then haemoglobin is unable to transport oxygen to the body
|
|
tissues and the body becomes oxygen starved. Actually, the body will absorb
|
|
carbon monoxide 300 times more readily than it absorbs oxygen. Excess Carbon
|
|
Monoxide causes headaches, heart palpitations, with a tendency to stagger
|
|
when walking, mental confusion.
|
|
|
|
Gas Detectors are calibrated to alarm at 50 part per million of atmosphere.
|
|
Any reading above this must be treated as a hazard to your health, as this
|
|
gas can also kill you if the level is high enough, and the dosage is
|
|
cumulative.
|
|
|
|
Methane
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
This is another odourless gas which is also explosive. Hydrogen Sulfide and
|
|
Methane can be tricky gases. One example is that the area can be deemed safe
|
|
by using a correctly calibrated gas detector ...but the trap can be that
|
|
there is sludge on the ground which once disturbed (e.g. by walking through)
|
|
can emit toxic lethal doses of Hydrogen Sulfide and Methane which can kill
|
|
you. There are a few case histories in the industry where an employee has
|
|
collapsed and his colleague has gone to help (natural instinct) and has also
|
|
fallen victim and collapsed and died too. This HAS actually happened and has
|
|
been documented!
|
|
|
|
Gas detectors are set to alarm at 5% of the lower explosive limit. This is
|
|
considered to be a safe working precaution under the Board's Instruction 800.
|
|
|
|
Oxygen
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Oxygen levels must be in the range of 19% Ä 21% to sustain a premium supply
|
|
to the human body. Lower levels will cause head aches, dizziness, weakness
|
|
and finally collapsing. No oxygen, means no life! Also too much oxygen can
|
|
cause unusual behaviour in you or your colleague. One can become irrational,
|
|
suddenly happy (etc) and too much oxygen is also a fire risk (it vigorously
|
|
accelerates combustion)! Experiment...get a normal rag and try to light it
|
|
with a match...take note how much effort is needed to ignite the rag to burn.
|
|
Now get an oxy bottle and hit the rag with a burst of oxygen for a few
|
|
seconds... now light the rag again Ä WOOSH! You will be surprised at the
|
|
difference.
|
|
|
|
Oxygen may be used up by the rusting of fittings and steelwork and by aerobic
|
|
bacteria (i.e. oxygen-using bacteria). Oxygen may also be displaced in a
|
|
confined space by heavier flammable gases, toxic vapours and inert gases.
|
|
|
|
The effect of Oxygen is summarised in the following...
|
|
|
|
21% Normal behaviour
|
|
16% Increased breathing/pulse rate; headaches; nausea
|
|
12% Dizziness; nausea; reduced muscle power
|
|
10% Turns pale, becomes unconscious
|
|
8% Unconscious, fatal in 7Ä8 minutes
|
|
|
|
Drain exploring can be challenging and adventurous, but you must think of
|
|
what you are doing as dangerous and you must consider having a professional
|
|
attitude. Think intelligently and be alert!!!! If Hydrogen Sulphide is
|
|
lurking about in the atmosphere or trapped under sludge in a confined space,
|
|
don't think "Hey this dude is an experienced Clan man, it won't bother him".
|
|
|
|
Self Rescue Gear
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Self Rescue units can be purchased. (I don't know the prices) They come in
|
|
differing configurations usually consisting of a gas cannister and a hood,
|
|
and are carried by a belt around the waist. They can save your life but are
|
|
mainly for short term selfÄrescue Ä 5 minutes or so until oxygen is depleted.
|
|
|
|
There are other units also available which work on a rebreather principle.
|
|
Once popped open, they can supply approximately 30 minutes of oxygen, (if you
|
|
keep calm). They work by the vapour from your breath reacting with the
|
|
crystals in the canister, [potassium superoxide, KO2, which gives KOH, H2O2
|
|
and O2 gas when it reacts with the water vapour in your breath - <prEd>] which
|
|
gives off pure oxygen. The canister has a mouth piece (similar to a snorkel)
|
|
which is used as you evacuate the area. They can only be used once, and then
|
|
must be sent to the supplier for refitting and resealing.
|
|
|
|
Cockroaches
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
These guys are pretty tough, and some people are misÄinformed as they think
|
|
when they lift a manhole and see a hundred or so hanging about under the
|
|
top of the manhole, that the air is OK. The reason they are doing this is
|
|
because they are trying to get OXYGEN. Don't be conned and think cockroaches
|
|
mean it is 100% safe.
|
|
|
|
Summary : Confined Spaces Hazards
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
A lot of this above info probably applies more to SEWER environments but
|
|
remember, don't get too confident, as gases and toxic fumes can form for a
|
|
variety of reasons. If you start to get stinging eyes or a headache...chuck a
|
|
"U" turn Ä pronto! Don't think you failed your exploration, but evacuate and
|
|
think it through and see if you can make the environment safe somehow. Better
|
|
another attempt than than being dead. If your mate has collapsed unconscious
|
|
up ahead or down a manhole from gases Ä the Board's Instruction stipulates NOT
|
|
to rescue, (as you may become a victim too) but to get help. Human nature
|
|
being as it is, usually results in the individual attempting to help his
|
|
friend, but realise you are doing this at your own risk, be on the ball
|
|
and use your common sense. Only you, can be the judge to make the decision.
|
|
|
|
Ventilation is the key to help controlling the atmosphere in a confined space.
|
|
The atmosphere in a Confined Space can change rapidly at any time. As well as
|
|
hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, combustible gases, and oxygen
|
|
deficiencies, such gas as nitrogen oxides, chlorinated hydrocarbons, cyanide,
|
|
petrol vapour, and combustion engine exhaust fumes may be present. If any
|
|
unusual feature such as suddenly increased flow, a change in the colour of
|
|
the sewer/water, you must cease immediately!!
|
|
|
|
The CLANNING Spirit
|
|
...you only live once! "When Clanning, use planning."
|
|
|
|
>>>Inspector has spent 19 years in the confined spaces area and again I
|
|
thank him for his suggestions here. Instruction 800 has been recently
|
|
superceded by another Sydney Water directive but for some reason they won't
|
|
provide us with it. There are now programmable gas detectors on the market
|
|
which, in my opinion, beat shit out of the GasTech units and are cheaper
|
|
to service and self calibrating, too! Lash out on one - wicked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Checking it out before getting In.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Usually you can get into a drain by climbing into a canal (use the stepirons
|
|
or carefully jump down onto a dry patch of concrete) and walking along until
|
|
you reach a tunnel. Or you might find a gross pollutant trap, and just climb
|
|
down the grille and walk in from there. Sometimes, though, you'll be entering
|
|
a grille - shine your torch through it and look down first (some are really
|
|
deep) and occasionally you'll even be doing a manhole.
|
|
|
|
Ok, so you have just popped a cover in the middle of nowhere, and a drain
|
|
yawns invitingly below you. Now then, is it safe to breathe? You can always
|
|
lash out on pellistorÄdetector driven gas analysis systems, (Jaycar sell a
|
|
kit (KG9178, $35) which picks up carbon monoxide and flammable volatiles, I
|
|
don't know anything about their accuracy) but usually the average drain
|
|
explorer will not have these things handy.
|
|
|
|
Manhole shafts tend to have spiders and cockroaches living in them. These
|
|
organisms breathe oxygen like us, serving as a useful way to determine if O2
|
|
is actually present. Note that they can live on a lot less O2 than we can, and
|
|
that just because there are a heap of cockies down there it doesn't mean the
|
|
air is OK. Total lack of it will kill them as well as us, of course.
|
|
|
|
Breathe into the shaft. Usually they are humid and droplets of your condensed
|
|
exhaled water vapour will form. If the vapour stays relatively still, that is
|
|
an indication of stagnant air. If on the other hand it moves down into or up
|
|
from the shaft that is a good sign, since drains are generally not big enough
|
|
to support barometricallyÄdriven tidal `breathing'... it means there is an air
|
|
current in the drain. Better if it is going down the pipe than up, but it's a
|
|
current nevertheless. Since drains are usually open systems (with the common
|
|
exception of some sumped drains) with an air outlet at the downstream end and
|
|
lots of side tunnels, grilles and gutter grates in the catchment, you usually
|
|
have an air current.
|
|
|
|
On old, stagnant shafts, you might find a concentration of methane in the
|
|
shaft. Methane (CH4) is lighter than air per unit volume and displaces oxygen,
|
|
so it floats to the top of shafts with good seals, after flowing along the
|
|
ceiling for any distance. Drop a lit match into it, and stand away from the
|
|
shaft collar. The match may go out since the methane will not support burning
|
|
without oxygen mixed in with it. If it ignites you'll get a WHOOMP! and a
|
|
flame, and I would advise you to seek other entrances :)
|
|
|
|
With the possible exception of anosmics (people who can't smell) you will
|
|
find your nose a useful thing in drains. Sniff cautiously, breathe through
|
|
your nose for the first little while. You may find yourself recognising the
|
|
thin reek of town gas stenching agent, either SO3 (extremely toxic) or
|
|
tetrahydrothiophene (THT... unknown toxicity) since sometimes leaks in town
|
|
gas systems escape into the drains. You will smell sour humidity and the
|
|
smell of rotting vegetation. If you are in a town where the city gas still
|
|
has carbon monoxide then leave if you smell the stenching agent.
|
|
|
|
There are other risks. H2S (hydrogen sulfide, rotten egg gas) is highly toxic.
|
|
Methane is a flammable suffocant with no odour, so is carbon monoxide. You
|
|
might need to be aware that CO2 is denser than air and accumulates in low
|
|
points and behind rubberÄsealed hatches (a la Scorpion's Flaps). As Inspector
|
|
mentioned, walking up a tidal drain can disturb the mud at the bottom,
|
|
releasing methane and hydrogen sulfide, so be careful of this, too. H2S is a
|
|
particularly insidious toxin due to the human nose's reduced ability to detect
|
|
the stuff after a while.
|
|
|
|
Ammonia is poisonous (but noticable), as are nearly all the vapours derived
|
|
from illegal dumping... diesel fumes, cyanides from various industrial
|
|
processes (smells like bitter almonds), solvents (acetone, M.E.K., light
|
|
petroleum) and an endless list of other goodies like electroplating waste,
|
|
etchants, etc. Illegal dumping varies from city to city, but tends to occur
|
|
late at night and in the suburbs near the place where the waste was picked up.
|
|
|
|
Headaches, feeling dizzy, tingling fingers and toes, increased respiratory
|
|
effort... all these point to oxygen deprivation. Note well and live by it...
|
|
if you think anything awry with the atmosphere, then leave. The sooner the
|
|
better, back the way you came. If one of your party needs help, provide it
|
|
but think about your own preservation at the same time. Something to look for
|
|
along the drain route is small feeders from gutter boxes and grilles, these
|
|
often take air from the outside by the Venturi effect and can be a useful
|
|
source of clean air for a brief time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Is this, uh, a... sewer?
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Sewers can occasionally resemble drainage tunnels very closely. There are
|
|
some sure indicators that you're in a sewer, if you are not certain (this is
|
|
generally following a manhole entrance). Look at the water. If you're in a
|
|
sewer, it'll generally have small fragments of white paper floating along
|
|
in the stream. This is toilet paper. Along with this you will also notice
|
|
there are turds rolling along in the stream, and you will see the occasional
|
|
tampon or sanitary pad, too. Along with this you will notice the water is
|
|
sort of greyish, and the smell is sort of like a cross between shampoo and
|
|
washing powder (which get put into the sewage in huge quantites). If you
|
|
are in a sewer, you want to leave.
|
|
|
|
Ed Note: I put this in since I was invited to do a drain by some new drain
|
|
explorers... we got the steel cover plate open with a car jack and got in,
|
|
I looked around thinking ... this is a sewer. They'd done a small section of
|
|
it before, and thought it was a drain. I wasn't sure, so I looked in the water
|
|
and sure enough, there was someone's processed dinner, a used condom and a
|
|
small island of stranded tampons. Time to go, I thought.
|
|
|
|
Determining shaft depth.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
You can always carry a tape measure but a quick and easy method is to just
|
|
drop a stone from the top and time the interval between the start of the fall
|
|
until you hear impact noise from the bottom. It isn't very accurate unless you
|
|
are pretty quick with a stopwatch. A stone will drop 9.8m in the first second,
|
|
19.6m in the next, and 29.4m in the one after that, ignoring air resistance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ 7) Yes, things do live in drains ³
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
|
|
|
Macro
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
The megafauna (eels, spiders, rats, turtles, yabbies etc) are generally not
|
|
a problem unless provoked. Redbacks and Funnelwebs are killers so either
|
|
kill 'em or leave 'em alone. Eels get stroppy if stood upon so look out for
|
|
them... eels seem to have a particular dislike of light sources, and will
|
|
attack submerged torches when not trying to hide. Rats will hear you coming
|
|
and go away quickly, but will fight when cornered. Leeches are rare. You may
|
|
find the odd snake in a 300mm side feeder or gutter box. You will sometimes
|
|
find bats, birds and their nests. Large numbers of hibernating bats are
|
|
sometimes found on the roof of drains. Some may carry Lyssavirus, which was
|
|
responsible for a fatality in Queensland in 1996. They will not attack you,
|
|
just leave them alone. They will do their utmost not to fly into you.
|
|
|
|
Mosquitoes tend to aggregate in stagnant puddles, they are worth your
|
|
vigilance due to the pathogens they carry.
|
|
|
|
Burzum discovered a chicken (bock bock b'gerk) resident in a drain in
|
|
Bankstown in 1996 but this is somewhat unusual. Apparently the thing was
|
|
unlucky enough to find itself in the canal upstream of Wormhole, and it is
|
|
unable to fly out. It lives on cockroaches and worms in the sediment.
|
|
|
|
I have yet to see a saltwater crocodile in a drain but I wouldnt be surprised
|
|
if such were found in Darwin, where the tides are huge (8 to 10m) and the
|
|
crocs are plentiful. I could only suggest that you carry a 12Ägague shotgun
|
|
with solid load shells, since crocs are fast, powerful and vicious. They are
|
|
also patient, and if you go up a shaft will probably wait for you to come
|
|
down again. These dinosaurs have not lasted for as long as they have by being
|
|
stupid. Note that discharging a shotgun, pyrotechnic or explosive device in a
|
|
confined space like a tunnel will significantly damage your hearing if you
|
|
wear no earplugs, and the smoke from the burnt propellant is a respiratory
|
|
irritant.
|
|
|
|
If one night you are in a tidal drain and notice the water glows green around
|
|
you, do not fret; it is not radioactive waste causing this (which usually
|
|
glows blue, if you're interested), rather a planktonic dinoflagellate called
|
|
Noctiluca Scintillans. These bioluminesce (luciferin/luciferase oxidation)
|
|
when disturbed by physical shock, heat or electric current. The chemistry they
|
|
employ to make light is copied in Cyalume sticks. They're pinkish, transparent
|
|
and about 1mm across, and completely harmless.
|
|
|
|
Typically bottom feeding fish also inhabit tidal drains, mullet particularly
|
|
so... these will leap out of the water as you approach, and since they don't
|
|
fly very well, they will sometimes hurtle from the water right into your face.
|
|
|
|
Humans, perhaps more than any other animal, should be treated respectfully.
|
|
Don't hassle 'em. Security guards, and cops, are best avoided, due to their
|
|
intrinsic and amazingly tenacious stupidity. They can often be socially
|
|
"engineered" into ignoring you, via the use off "righteous presence" body
|
|
language, especially when this is assisted by props like hardhats, overalls,
|
|
and work boots, but this will not always work.
|
|
|
|
Occasionally you will meet someone who lives in a drain or abandoned factory
|
|
and they may consider you a trespasser. Since the economic rationalisation of
|
|
the mental health system more and more disturbed individuals have been turned
|
|
loose to fend for themselves. They tend to live in cheap housing such as the
|
|
places we explore recreationally. When one is a guest, one respects the wishes
|
|
of the host. If they suggest you should fuck off, don't wait for a stronger
|
|
invitation. Sometimes, however, they are quite friendly and enjoy a visit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Micro
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Generally it is the microscopic inhabitants which cause trouble. Drains carry
|
|
significant amounts of sewer overflow, dog shit, rotting plant material and
|
|
the occasional dead animal. Particularly after rain, drains contain elevated
|
|
levels of sewer material, since the sewer is built to overflow into the storm
|
|
drainage system instead of bursting out ino the street where the population
|
|
can see it and get ill from it. If cut in a drain, attend to it as soon as
|
|
possible with ethanol or other disinfectant. Deep puncture wounds (stepping
|
|
on nails, broken glass, etc) are open routes to clostridium tetanii (tetanus).
|
|
|
|
Faecal Escherichia coli bacterium is common... indeed, most of the waterborne
|
|
pathogens and parasitic organisms are available to you, including things from
|
|
the pseudomonas family, the vibrios, the aerobacters, the proteus group,
|
|
paracolobactrum, salmonella, various tubercelle bacilli... all of these are
|
|
happy in water and use it as a transmission vector.
|
|
|
|
Those above are treated by antibiotics. Shigella tends to not show up, nor do
|
|
moraxellae, the bacteroides, and the putresing animal inhabitants like
|
|
sphaerophorus are uncommon. Strep and staph are unusual, though clostridium
|
|
botulinum and bifermentans are known to take aquatic vectors on occasion.
|
|
|
|
The virii are another matter. These pathogens are generally rare in storm
|
|
water, preferring aerosol vectors (expelled droplets). Some use insects as
|
|
their preferred mode of transmission. A somewhat newer player on the molecular
|
|
scene is Ross River fever, which is a virus and carried by mosquitoes; the
|
|
first case of this was reported in Sydney occurred in Jan 1995. Experimental
|
|
DNA vaccines exist for this virus but I am unaware of them reaching commercial
|
|
availability. Mozzies will breed in stagnant poos of drain water so explorers,
|
|
particularly those in the northern climes, are advised to seek preÄtreatment
|
|
for this too. As mentioned, some bats now carry Lyssavirus. Contact a
|
|
pharmacist and your GP.
|
|
|
|
From the fungi and worm families, one finds the Ctenomyces interdigitalis
|
|
(tinea) eumycete is uncommon, though the pathogens for ringworm and the
|
|
favosan tinea dermatomycoses are present usually. Histoplasmosis is a fungi
|
|
mainly obtained from pigeon shit dust which contains the spores... another
|
|
reason why these pests are known as the rats of the air. It can become chronic
|
|
and has permaturely ended lives of cavers, generally knocking the shit out of
|
|
your lungs first, then ulcerating the respiratory tract, including nose and
|
|
ears, eventually going for bone marrow.
|
|
|
|
Protozoans are rare, the amebiasis and the Toxoplasmosis Gondii pathogens
|
|
mainly reside in the sewer system. As for the elusive cryptosporidium... who
|
|
knows. If it can get in your drinking water, you'll probably find it in
|
|
stormwater too, and if ingested this protozoan will cause diarrhoea and
|
|
stomach cramps. Giardia is also occasionally found in stormwater.
|
|
|
|
Worms tend to use a snail vector which is not common to Australia. Many kinds
|
|
of algal singleÄcelled life exists but have only caused trouble in plague
|
|
numbers (red tides on seashores or blue-green algae in well-lit rivers with
|
|
excessive fertiliser loads) and are generally not encountered in such numbers
|
|
in drains.
|
|
|
|
In theory one could conceivably get anything from a sewage overflow into a
|
|
drain. Cuts are common when one falls over, and people have occasionally
|
|
ingested runoff unintentionally. VERY nasty things are more common in sewers
|
|
than stormwater: Leptospirosis, for instance, is contractable via the skin,
|
|
and can live for 3 weeks in fresh water (but is killed relatively quickly in
|
|
salt water). Leptospiria icterohaemorragiae, the causative agent, will kill
|
|
you in a week or so, or at least damage your hepatic and renal systems.
|
|
Trouble is, it appears as a cold, rapidly degenerates into pneumonia, and
|
|
then kills you due to fun things like hepatic failure. You have to smash it
|
|
with antibiotics during its incubation period, after which time it is too
|
|
late and you tend to die.
|
|
|
|
One never can tell when it will happen. To date noÄone in the Clan's 15 year
|
|
history has died as a direct result of being in a drain, though some members
|
|
have suffered physical damage at the hands (or feet) of the constabulary.
|
|
We have had deaths through cerebral annuerism, suicide, motorbike and
|
|
mountaineering accidents but our safety record is so far unparalled.
|
|
|
|
Thus I suggest prior immunization. I am immunised against meningococcal
|
|
meningitis, typhoid, Hepatitis A, Polio, diptheria and tetanus, amongst other
|
|
things. You can also take bootÄtoÄarmpit waders, however this may not be
|
|
acceptible to followers of Catholicism who tend not to believe in barrier
|
|
methods. They are a little constrictive but really do keep you dry, as I found
|
|
when I was wearing them 6 hours a day working for a drain repair company.
|
|
|
|
Hey... are we professionals or what?
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ 8) Oh shit, it's raining, help! ³
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
|
|
|
Catchment, tides, rain and what to do in a flood.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Hopefully you will never need to use this info but I am putting it here since
|
|
it may save your life. Prevention is certainly better than cure. Now then, all
|
|
drains have what is known as a catchment, that is, the area where rain falls
|
|
and eventually goes into a drain. Many drains have very, very large catchments
|
|
and you can often tell this by their size Ä a general rule of thumb is that
|
|
the bigger the drain, the bigger its catchment. When it rains over the main
|
|
catchment of a drain, it takes a few minutes to actually get the system loaded
|
|
with water... there are gutter pits to fill, roads to be wet and the like.
|
|
|
|
It is these few minutes which, when used appropriately, can make all the
|
|
difference to the length of the rest of your life. A large catchment can dump
|
|
a couple of megalitres of water into a drain in a few minutes. This and its
|
|
entrained debris (wood planks, old refrigerators, bottles, etc) will travel
|
|
down the drain with frightening speed... 50km/h and higher, you will be
|
|
continually bashed around by the turbulence and totally powerless to grab
|
|
anything at such a speed if it catches you. If you don't drown you will
|
|
probably suffer serious physical and psychological trauma.
|
|
|
|
The last thing you want is to inflict the responsibility of rescue upon some
|
|
poor SES member or fireman who really doesn't need to risk his life getting
|
|
you out. To jeopardise the lives of such people is selfish and stupid. So,
|
|
don't permit yourself to relax so much underground that you fail to heed the
|
|
signs of impending disaster and get into a situation you cannot control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rain and the legendary flash flood.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
The media and authorities point to the alliterative "flash flood' phenomenon
|
|
quite a lot. Flash flooding Ä flooding without warning Ä is bullshit. It does
|
|
NOT happen. You have between two and four minutes to get out, up a shaft or
|
|
on a high ledge before the system is primed... IF you know how to read the
|
|
signals and don't mess about getting to high ground. You can generally tell
|
|
if the drain you're in has ever flooded to the top, look for polystyrene bits
|
|
stuck to the roof or bits of plastic and stick protruding from high stepirons
|
|
or joints in the pipe or walls.
|
|
|
|
Pay attention to what's going on
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Things to notice when a drain is filling up: the air currents change, as does
|
|
the noise level. A quiet drain soon gets noisy as the side tunnels and drop
|
|
junctions start dumping into the main canal. When lots of water goes into a
|
|
drain, the air is displaced, and you notice big gusts of wind... this is
|
|
particularly true if the roads were hot when the rain landed on them; the
|
|
warm water goes into the drain, heats the air above it, which expands,
|
|
pushing cold air out in front of it.
|
|
|
|
Ok, so you're up a drain and notice the side tunnel flow increasing a bit.
|
|
Check the water. Is it dirty? Is it oily? If yes, it is likely to be raining
|
|
and you're in something far worse than deep shit if you don't do something
|
|
about it.
|
|
|
|
Temperature of floodwater can be an important clue, especially on hot summer
|
|
days. During a sunny day, the roads and roofs heat up. If it suddenly rains
|
|
on these hot surfaces, the rainwater gets very warm, then it goes into a
|
|
drain en-route to the ocean. Generally the feeder pipes are buried deeply
|
|
enough to remain cool, and they will cool the runoff before you get to
|
|
stick your hand under it where it drops into the main pipe where you are.
|
|
If there is a LOT of rain on a hot surface, there will be enough runoff
|
|
staying warm enough to be noticeably warm by the time it reaches you in the
|
|
main pipe. Hence, hot runoff is very bad news.
|
|
|
|
Note that in colder months, everything is cold, you can't use this clue. If
|
|
you're unsure, assume rain... underground it is a case of the quick and the
|
|
dead.
|
|
|
|
All these are warning signals that a lot of fast moving H2O is coming your
|
|
way in a hurry, and that you should get out of its way. 1000 litres of water
|
|
weighs a tonne. You get a lot more than that in a flood, and it's very hard
|
|
to walk against it. Can YOU stop a 1-tonne car rolling toward you at say,
|
|
10 meters per second, by standing in its way? Not very much.
|
|
|
|
You will occasionally get false alarms, like the time we were in the Tank
|
|
Stream, and a pipe started pissing out water, and stopped 30 seconds later.
|
|
We later determined that this was a council street sweeper truck spraying
|
|
water into a drain then moving on.
|
|
|
|
Brown Water Rafting
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
If one has a lilo or inflatable dinghy one can actually ride the underground
|
|
rapids, as some individuals in the Clan have been known to do. It is loud,
|
|
fast and an excellent rush, but barnacles, nails, exposed steel reinforcing,
|
|
broken glass and rough cement are very unforgiving of equipment and
|
|
adventurers. Cheap dinghys are available - K-mart's legendary $17 Explorer 100
|
|
and Explorer 200 series represent a dinghy which will do the job, and is
|
|
cheap enough to condemn (or abandon) if seriously damaged. A full-steamer
|
|
neoprene wetsuit will keep you warm and restrict your abrasions and bruising.
|
|
Stormwater rafting should obviously not be attempted in a tunnel with a
|
|
waterfall, staircase, sump or steep slide downstream of your point of access,
|
|
and is not generally recommended to those who wish to live into old age.
|
|
|
|
Emergency escape tactics.
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
First thing to do is keep cool and rational, don't panic. You are in control.
|
|
Then leave in a hurry. What if you're 2km from the entrance? Well, use your
|
|
brain. Water heads for the lowest point... so go to the nearest, preferably
|
|
downstream manhole shaft and climb up it, and wait for the flood to scream by
|
|
below you. You need not pop the cover, just stay in the shaft, and climb
|
|
higher than any `bathtub ring' of polystyrene balls and dead grass you see on
|
|
the shaft wall. Be warned, you may be up there a long time before the raging
|
|
torrent desists. It will be loud and frightening, but breathe calmly,
|
|
conserve your airspace.
|
|
|
|
If there is a protruding wall and you can't get up a shaft in time, get in
|
|
close to the downstream side of that wall. This is not very safe but it is
|
|
better than standing in the path of the oncoming maelstrom. Hanging from a
|
|
grille is not so good either, you will be dumped on (and may lose your grip)
|
|
but that might be better than being flushed a few km at high speed. Staying
|
|
out of the flow is megaÄpriority... nothing can ruin your day like a derilect
|
|
lawnmower in the back of the head, and there are nastier things in the
|
|
feeder canals than old 44 gallon drums; roofing beams, bits of rail track,
|
|
shopping trolleys. The flow smashes them all along, and they are bad news.
|
|
|
|
Another option in the tidal drains is to get in the tidal water. This water
|
|
represents a momentum buffer to all the junk in the drain, and it tends to
|
|
slow the current down, but only a little. You wind up getting pushed out into
|
|
a harbour or bay or mangrove, wet and dirty but generally unscathed, though
|
|
you might be significantly abraded by the barnacles and other encrusting
|
|
organisms (molluscs, bryozoans, etc) which tend to live on the walls in the
|
|
intertidal zone. You need to be at least as deep in the tidal water as the
|
|
depth of the oncoming flood to get any protection. There is often a raft of
|
|
floating junk caught behind a pollution boom, and this is another risky
|
|
nuisance, diving below it may help prevent your entanglement in the morass.
|
|
|
|
Anecdote: A friend and I were in a drain (Sin City) with a large, far away
|
|
catchment. We got in and rode bikes about 400m up the tunnel. I noticed the
|
|
wind change and told my mate to stop. He stopped. I said "Funny, you don't
|
|
generally get this sort of air movement in here. I think we'd better go."
|
|
I turned my bike around and the gust increased, becoming warmer. My mate
|
|
looked reluctant, but I hopped on. "We," I said "are getting the fuck out of
|
|
here. Right now." which we did, reaching the exit in maybe two minutes.
|
|
|
|
We tossed our bikes out of the canal and climbed out. We sat on the edge for
|
|
maybe a minute before the flow reached the exit we had just stood in. First a
|
|
leafÄstrewn fan of street refuse on dark water, then a spume of floodwater the
|
|
best part of a metre high thundered around the corner and out of the tunnel.
|
|
We looked at each other without saying anything as the juggernaut spewed by
|
|
below our view. A beer keg clanged by us, as did a rapidly disintegrating
|
|
television set (they float!).
|
|
|
|
Nearby were some broken concrete sections. My friend and I both strained hard
|
|
to manouevre a slab of the stuff to the lip of the tunnel, and it dropped in
|
|
with a loud `sploof'. We waited for the flood to subside. We looked where the
|
|
maybe 60kg of reoÄcement fell in and there was no trace of it 'cept a dent in
|
|
the canal floor. Amazed, I then decided to find out from where the flood came.
|
|
Riding fast upstream on the road by the canal, I ended up at a sharply
|
|
defined boundary where the road was dry and suddenly wet... the cloudburst
|
|
boundary. I was 3km from where we hopped out of the drain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tide-lock
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
Another hassle one experiences is tideÄlock. That is, being up a tidal drain
|
|
which you entered when the tide was down and rising, to find that when you go
|
|
to leave by this route, the water is up and the roof disappears underwater.
|
|
|
|
This is an avoidable problem, many boating shops and marine equipment supply
|
|
places give out tide charts for free and there is a DialÄaÄTide service on
|
|
the telephone. We advise you not to try roofÄsniffing in order to leave, since
|
|
wave action can suddenly deprive you of air. An emergency method of leaving
|
|
if you have a lilo or dinghy is to breathe from it, as you drag it along
|
|
downstream as you walk underwater to the exit, though this is a tricky
|
|
procedure and you will have limited vision, not to mention a lot of drag from
|
|
the lilo against the roof, as you do it. You will need to use one hand to
|
|
prevent water going up your nose as you go along, and the water pressure on
|
|
the lilo will force it to 'blow' into you as it deflates and you breathe from
|
|
it. Only do this if you know how far you have to go. The lilo will go skyward
|
|
when no longer confined by a roof; don't let it go Ä plug it if you can and
|
|
use it as a buoyancy aid. You can commonly get 50 or 60 lungfulls of rubbery
|
|
or phthalate-smelling air by doing this. We don't recommend it. Tides in
|
|
Sydney are just over 2.4m at High Astronomical Tide (the December king tide).
|
|
|
|
Well, that's it. I think I have written more than enough about the fine art
|
|
of drain exploring. Thank you for your attention, kind regards... <predator>
|
|
|
|
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
|
|
³ 9) Disclaimer / Job-creation scheme for bureaucrats and related parasites ³
|
|
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
|
|
|
|
Cave Clan and its membership probably doesn't know or care what you think.
|
|
|
|
Companies + organisations mentioned herein probably don't condone Cave Clan.
|
|
|
|
Cave Clan denies responsibility for actions consequent to perusal of this
|
|
document. They didn't write it.
|
|
|
|
This file comes free, exclusive of dealer, statutory and delivery charges,
|
|
and no guarantee of satisfaction is expressed or implied.
|
|
|
|
<predator> declares preemptive indemnity against prosecution for use of
|
|
unauthorised thought processes during the compilation of this .TXT.
|
|
|
|
All care is taken to ensure data contained herein is correct but <predator>
|
|
doesn't give more than about 0.06 of a shit if it isn't. Responsibility for
|
|
personal actions rest with their respective enactors.
|
|
|
|
Written under the freedom of the (key)press and the freedom of information
|
|
act (which is purported to exist in Australia but really doesn't), <predator>
|
|
1995, 1999. Updated/revised 1996, 1999.
|
|
|
|
This file is available for free distribution, and may be quoted from if the
|
|
source URL is accredited. Censorship be fucked forever.
|
|
|
|
Send us a blank, stamped envelope and we will use it for our mail.
|
|
|
|
<predator> thanks and acknowledges Cave Clan members for their help and
|
|
suggestions during the compilation of this file.
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Resistance is futile. Go in drains. You must comply. You will be assimilated.
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a Cave Clan Sydney production
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December 1999 Australia.
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S. Hemi, Planet 3, Sol
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</pre>
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</body>
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</html>
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