Wash Rack Drain Location

[TheHorseMutterer]

This is a private barn with a whopping 2 horses and a donkey total and only used by me. I’m absolutely anal about cleaning up poop as soon as it hits the floor in a wash rack, and I’m obsessive about draining. It sounds like a trench drain along the back will suit my needs perfectly.

I also talked to the guy who is both erecting the barn (it is a kit barn by DIY pole barns) and pouring the concrete. He is happy to make it slope one direction, as it is “easier” to slope it one way versus all four corners to the center (he was also happy to do a center drain is I wanted one). I’m happy with that explanation since it has been confirmed in this thread, as well.

So, that being said…What drain do you recommend? If I do a trench drain, can I also put in a grease trap in line to catch the stuff that I don’t want in my pipes? Or do you have a recommended trench drain that has one built in?

I don’t know a damn thing about plumbing, but I’m catching on quickly.

[Diamontaire]

One barn I worked in had a wash stall that had the drain to the front. Configuration of barn was U shaped, wash racks were “bump-outs” on the short side, under a big overhang. So, concrete wall down the long side and front of washrack, with the drain in front of where horse’s nose is. The grated drain irrigated the rhododendron on other side of concrete wall.

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=TheHorseMutterer;8945315]
This is a private barn with a whopping 2 horses and a donkey total and only used by me. I’m absolutely anal about cleaning up poop as soon as it hits the floor in a wash rack, and I’m obsessive about draining. It sounds like a trench drain along the back will suit my needs perfectly.

I also talked to the guy who is both erecting the barn (it is a kit barn by DIY pole barns) and pouring the concrete. He is happy to make it slope one direction, as it is “easier” to slope it one way versus all four corners to the center (he was also happy to do a center drain is I wanted one). I’m happy with that explanation since it has been confirmed in this thread, as well.

So, that being said…What drain do you recommend? If I do a trench drain, can I also put in a grease trap in line to catch the stuff that I don’t want in my pipes? Or do you have a recommended trench drain that has one built in?

I don’t know a damn thing about plumbing, but I’m catching on quickly.[/QUOTE]

2 stalls and a wash room. Nice. I have 22 stalls we wash outside, the wash area and front of the barn is paved and slopes to where I want the water to drain to. We don’t bath horses much in the winter. I have a space that I have been planing on making into a wash stall for the last 14 years. Never seems to make it to the top of the important things to do list. Gets close but others things keep taking its place.

Where is this draining to? How long will the drain run (length of the pipe) be?

[Eilsel]

We put in a trench train at the front of our wash rack, it’s about 4" wide and most horses have no problem walking over it, and if they protest once they usually figure it out pretty quickly. I have to say it’s nice not having the poop go directly into the drain. It doesn’t take much slope to make the water run where you want it to go.

[dressagegirl123]

We just use a simple strainer (like you would use in the kitchen) in our trench drain. You lift the grate (mine is metal) with a hoof pick to reach it. Works fine.

[TheHorseMutterer]

[QUOTE=gumtree;8945476]
2 stalls and a wash room. Nice. I have 22 stalls we wash outside, the wash area and front of the barn is paved and slopes to where I want the water to drain to. We don’t bath horses much in the winter. I have a space that I have been planing on making into a wash stall for the last 14 years. Never seems to make it to the top of the important things to do list. Gets close but others things keep taking its place.

Where is this draining to? How long will the drain run (length of the pipe) be?[/QUOTE]

It’s actually 4 stalls - 2 for the horses, 1 for the donkey, and 1 for the goats. The goats just got a new playhouse to live in outside, so that stall may become another horse stall eventually (I don’t need another horse, I don’t need another horse, I don’t need another horse…) Also, I have a small property, so I’m limited on amount of grazing available.

This will drain into some kind of dry well/french drain system. I haven’t worked out specifics yet, but will soon. I assume about a 20’ run to the dry well. Possibly shorter. Trying to limit how much it goes under the concrete in case there is ever a problem with it.

[TheHorseMutterer]

[QUOTE=dressagegirl123;8946560]
We just use a simple strainer (like you would use in the kitchen) in our trench drain. You lift the grate (mine is metal) with a hoof pick to reach it. Works fine.[/QUOTE]

I’m interested to know more about this. I was about to spring for some really pricey catch basin for the trench drain I’m looking at and was wondering if I could get away with something like you’re talking about. Is this just the little circle thing with mesh and do you just put it up against the outlet for the drain (inside the trench drain)? No problems with it moving around or getting dislodged?

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=TheHorseMutterer;8947042]
It’s actually 4 stalls - 2 for the horses, 1 for the donkey, and 1 for the goats. The goats just got a new playhouse to live in outside, so that stall may become another horse stall eventually (I don’t need another horse, I don’t need another horse, I don’t need another horse…) Also, I have a small property, so I’m limited on amount of grazing available.

This will drain into some kind of dry well/french drain system. I haven’t worked out specifics yet, but will soon. I assume about a 20’ run to the dry well. Possibly shorter. Trying to limit how much it goes under the concrete in case there is ever a problem with it.[/QUOTE]

“I don’t need another horse, I don’t need another horse, I don’t need another horse…”

I hear ya. Murphy’s law says, the more stalls one builds, the more land one fences the more horses will show up.

The need for a hair/soap scum/manure/straw,savings general muck trap depends on how much it will be used. Using a “dry well” which is basically a hole X feet deep, X wide with a plastic culvert pipe set in it to keep the dirt walls from collapsing. Gavel in the bottom and the waste water sinks into the ground. Or a purpose designed leaching tank which can cost a lot more.

Depending on use hair and other muck combined with soap scum can and will build up, collect at the bottom and slow water percolation, absorption rate. And may need to be cleaned out at some time. Adding a small hair/grease trap will/should take care of this. Small ones are not very expensive and not labor intensive to install.

A 20’ drain pipe is not long but is not short either. There is not a lot of water (volume of) running through this. Nor a lot of water pressure. It drains rather slowly. Hair and other debris combined with soap scum doesn’t all get washed down the drain pipe. Bits will be left in the pipe and dry forming small damns that will get larger with time. Over the course of time it will drain even slower and the “damns” get bigger.

At some point it may need to be cleaned. On a drain run this short not a big job using one of these it comes in different sizes for standard size drain pipes.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BrassCraft-Large-Drain-Bladder-BC00333/100569152

It is attached to a hose and you slide it into the drain pipe a X amount of feet at a time. It has a hole on the end that is “puckered” tight, water pressure builds up inside, it expands like a balloon sealing itself in the pipe. When enough pressure has built up the water jets out and blows solids down the pipe.

Turn off the water and push it further down the pipe and repeat as many times as necessary.

It maybe a good idea to have a drain access clean out installed. The person installing this should know what I am talking about. Not much labor involved and the extra fitting are cheap.

[SnicklefritzG]

We need to give Gumtree his own forum