ONE-WAY
TICKET
Pressurize with
a plunger that pushes
but doesn’t pull.
BY JON THORN
When you insert a plunger into the toilet bowl, you create a
seal around the exit of the toilet so
that when you push down, a positive
pressure is created that moves the
blockage downstream. The drawback
to this design is that when you pull
the plunger back up in preparation for
the next push, you create a vacuum
that moves the blockage back to its
original position.
So, to effectively clear your toilet, you either need
a plunger with a stroke volume large enough to
move the blockage to a larger cross section of
drainpipe with a single push, or you must plunge
so aggressively that you not only dislodge the
blockage but break it up, which allows the toilet
to flush properly. Most plungers don’t have an
adequately large volume to succeed in just one
stroke, and aggressive plunging makes messes.
After much contemplation, it occurred to me
that a one-way valve installed in your plunger would
allow you to create a positive pressure on the push
stroke, but avoid pulling the undesirable vacuum
with the plunger bell. This would allow you to
steadily pressurize a pipe, thus moving the offending blockage downstream with each stroke.
My solution was built for just a few dollars. I took
a cheap rubber plunger bell and drilled a hole in
its handle socket. The socket was built to accept
a wooden handle with threads carved into it, but
you can use a length of ½" PVC pipe as the handle
instead. Carefully shave the threads of the plunger
bell with a pocketknife (not too much, or your
handle will fall out), or if you’re strong enough, just
force your new handle in there. This modification
creates an airway connecting the stroke volume of
the plunger bell to the hollow PVC handle.
Stick a one-way valve on the end of your ½" pipe
and you now have a plunger that pushes but doesn’t
pull. Or, if you’d like, you could turn your one-way
Jon Thorn’s building skills have been honed to the point
where an occasional invention actually does what it’s
supposed to.
valve around and create a plunger that can pull
your blockage back into the toilet bowl … but I’m not
really sure you want to do that.
Photograph by Sam Murphy
68 Make: Volume 23
