ROC post,beds/herts borders

Just a little report on yesterdays adventures with prendy79,he done the research on this one!!after a bit of a recce the clues were there!!




then there was the LOST moment lol!!



After a bit of PERSUASION on the rusty old clasps & a bit of huffing and puffing we got the hatch open.





Then a bit of a gutter!!!the place was full of water!!!!!!(about 4 foot we reckon)




So we left after closing the hatch and putting the clasps back !!!
were gonna keep having a look in the hope of catching it empty ...cant wait to get down there!!!!
But unfortunately neither of us own scuba gear!!!lol
so there you have it !!!I suppose patience is a virtue!!!

PS does anyone know if these posts have drainage or will it just stay full?????

Nope. The only way this is going to empty is if someone gets in there with a pump.

That's what happens when there's even the slightest way for water to get in. Doesn't just have to be the hatch left open... the hole I see in the pics is enough.

all that work for a wet post. shame


could you get down and try the hand pump?

has any one ever tried that?

hand pump??

lutonman12 said:

hand pump??

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All ROC posts have a hand pump to pump water out of the sump at the bottom of the shaft. They're almost always siezed, and if it's 4ft deep it will already be under water.

Either way you would need a spare week to hand pump it out... you need a genny pump for that volume of water, and somewhere to pump it to, bad for to dump that amount of water on surrounding land.

If it's 4 ft deep that's probably nigh on a metric tonne of water in there.

^agree with the above. apart from the volume/ weight of water: actually 1 cubic metre of water = 1 (metric) Tonne (and 1 litre = 1kg) so there is erm lots of tonnes of water in there (I wont guess how much because then I will be wrong also lol).

Bunk3r said:

^agree with the above. apart from the volume/ weight of water: actually 1 cubic metre of water = 1 (metric) Tonne (and 1 litre = 1kg) so there is erm lots of tonnes of water in there (I wont guess how much because then I will be wrong also lol).

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Duh yeah, sorry.

Seems a shame!!!we will not be defeated!!!!!trying to source a diesel pump!!its quite near a main rd so we should be ok to put the water down the drain .any other ideas are welcome.

P.S when(or if!!!) we get it drained do you guys think it would be worth trying to seal it (i.e)block the hole in the top and close the storm doors then lock it up maybe(just to preserve it )or is this frowned upon???

lutonman12 said:

P.S when(or if!!!) we get it drained do you guys think it would be worth trying to seal it (i.e)block the hole in the top and close the storm doors then lock it up maybe(just to preserve it )or is this frowned upon???

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Do you own it? If not, contact the owners and ask them what they want you to do with it.

yea seems like a good idea it is near(ish) to a farmhouse,might be an idea to get em on side .they might even have a pump!!!!lol

Feel free to give me a shout when you go. I've never seen an ROC post.

was a good day out,even though it was full of water it was still good to see,especially because it was pretty well hidden but so close to home.

my brother had a diesel pump but decided to ebay it when parts of the country last flooded! D'oh

Oh well, bucket on a rope mate........and a week of work!!

lutonman12 said:

P.S when(or if!!!) we get it drained do you guys think it would be worth trying to seal it (i.e)block the hole in the top and close the storm doors then lock it up maybe(just to preserve it )or is this frowned upon???

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heh we ownly frown on damaging places, not conserving them

I wouldn't put locks on it without knowing who the landowner is and giving them a key though.

lutonman12 said:

yea seems like a good idea it is near(ish) to a farmhouse,might be an idea to get em on side .they might even have a pump!!!!lol

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could be worth asking the farmer, it's on a public bridleway though so who would own that.....council maybe?

If it has flooded to that sort of depth, there could be problems elsewhere. Seals perhaps? If you intend making this a project, it might be worthwhile thinking about a permanent way to keep the sump drained, and pay regular visits?

Seahorse said:

If it has flooded to that sort of depth, there could be problems elsewhere. Seals perhaps?

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As far as I am aware, seals

Have never been a recorded problem in an ROC post. The lack of food alone would ensure that!

And you a nautical man, too. Shame on you!

Bryag said:

As far as I am aware, seals

Have never been a recorded problem in an ROC post. The lack of food alone would ensure that!

And you a nautical man, too. Shame on you!

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Dear God

Wouldn't have surprised me to find some aquatic life in a certain ROC post you and I visited Bryag

On a serious note, Bryag and I only managed to move a small amount of water from an ROC post with an hour and a half's worth of pumping furiously (good man Bryag) and myself hauling up full jerrycans of water....

See watermark in pics below for the amount the level dropped:





You're gonna need a bigger pump