I would like to hear what kind of drain cleaning equipment I should start with to get by with. I have hydojetter, ridgid k380 3/8 50', auto feed super VRE, toilet and urinal augers, all miscellaneous repair parts seals caps etc. What other sewer machines do I need. Camera on way.
Starting new Hydrojetting and drain cleaning business.
- Thread starter baird1971
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That machine will work on smaller lines but it is to small for 4" main lines. ( it will turn on itself in a 4" line) The K-60 is the best all-around machine. You can use both 3/8 and 7/8 cable in the same machine. The cable comes in sections. Unlike the drum machines when you kink a cable you should replace it. Which can get expensive. with the K-60 you just replace the bad section. I also think I saw you will be working in FL. Were most of your drain cleaning will be done from the roof. Drum machines are very heavy and can be a problem getting them up there. With the K-60 the machine is very light compared to drum machines. Because your not carting up the 50' of cable that is in the drum. With the K-60 just grab a few sections of cable and you in business.
John
John
You will never be able to get that machine on a roof. General also makes a machine that is very much the same as the K-60.
http://www.drainbrain.com/pro/13root66.html
john
http://www.drainbrain.com/pro/13root66.html
john
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The problem is any one that's doing drain cleaning in FL won't have much use for it. Have you ever tried to carry one up a ladder? I'm trying to help you out here but you seem to be missing the point.
John
John
I have a K-60, and as John said, it is in it's element when you decide to go on the roof. And if you get the 5/8" cable, it is usable in 1 1/2" and 2" lines. The 7/8" open wind sectional cable will fit in 2" pipe, but you can't get too much of a cutter head down a 2" line with the 7/8".
The things I don't like about a K60 are: Setup time. A drum machine, you carry the machine in with your gloves and outlet tester, after your first trip in with a mat and whatever you need in the way of pliers or the like to get access. A sectional such as the K60, you go in with the mat and hand tools, then come back in with the machine and maybe the guide tube, then a basket of cable and gloves, then put the guide tube on the machine, then start running the cable down the line till you hit an obstruction, then once you hit something you feed the last section of cable back into the machine, run the machine to get it through the blockage, then push more cable in to make sure that you got all of the blockage. Then pull the cable back out and feed it back into the basket, trying not to get sewer juice all over the place. A drum machine, everything to do with the cable and the machine comes in at once, no hooking or unhooking sections of cable, the nasty cable gets fed back into an enclosed drum. 2nd thing I don't really like: power. When you get into some really bad stuff, the K60 doesn't have the power to rip it loose. You have to pull it back from the clog, let it speed up, then chew away at the clog bit by bit. Doable, but that takes more time. A bigger drum machine can build a lot more torque.
That said, if I have to leave on a job with only one machine, it is the K 60 with both 7/8" and 5/8" cable. In fact, that is what stays on my truck. I only load my K375 (much like your 380, someone already changed the 375 open drum to a 380 closed plastic drum) when I think I might want to clean a drain from the inside of the home. I need a bigger machine for the really bad clogs, but am not ready to buy one just yet.
The things I don't like about a K60 are: Setup time. A drum machine, you carry the machine in with your gloves and outlet tester, after your first trip in with a mat and whatever you need in the way of pliers or the like to get access. A sectional such as the K60, you go in with the mat and hand tools, then come back in with the machine and maybe the guide tube, then a basket of cable and gloves, then put the guide tube on the machine, then start running the cable down the line till you hit an obstruction, then once you hit something you feed the last section of cable back into the machine, run the machine to get it through the blockage, then push more cable in to make sure that you got all of the blockage. Then pull the cable back out and feed it back into the basket, trying not to get sewer juice all over the place. A drum machine, everything to do with the cable and the machine comes in at once, no hooking or unhooking sections of cable, the nasty cable gets fed back into an enclosed drum. 2nd thing I don't really like: power. When you get into some really bad stuff, the K60 doesn't have the power to rip it loose. You have to pull it back from the clog, let it speed up, then chew away at the clog bit by bit. Doable, but that takes more time. A bigger drum machine can build a lot more torque.
That said, if I have to leave on a job with only one machine, it is the K 60 with both 7/8" and 5/8" cable. In fact, that is what stays on my truck. I only load my K375 (much like your 380, someone already changed the 375 open drum to a 380 closed plastic drum) when I think I might want to clean a drain from the inside of the home. I need a bigger machine for the really bad clogs, but am not ready to buy one just yet.
I thank you for your opinion, I guess different strokes for different folks. I am going to buy the speed- rooter91 with 100' 5/8 cableI just can't walk away from it talk the price down to $450 brand new only used a couple times, therapy not even a scratch on it. I think roof access in Florida will be minimum, they stopped using cast iron in 1978 were I am at, since then there are outside cleanouts and another in garages behind washer machine.
Cleaning drains here in Florida, I end up on the roof rather often. Not some folk's cup of tea, but oftentimes it is the best all around option.
I am not real familiar with the SpeedRooter 91, but I seem to recall that it is on the bigger side of the drum machines, maybe comparable to the Spartan 300. If I am correct, it is more machine than the K60 power wise.
Sometimes I can find the cleanout in the yard, sometimes I can't. Sometimes it is a mainline clog that can be cleaned through the outside cleanout, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes there is a cleanout on the laundry, oftentimes there isn't. Last time I had a laundry clog, it was PVC, the laundry tub and the laundry were on a sanitary cross that my snake jumped straight across, without a cleanout on the common stack. I ended up taking the K60 on the roof through the vent stack to bypass the sanitary cross.
It sounds like you have the line sizes covered with the 380 and the SpeedRooter 91. If you consistently have the cleanout access you mention, you are definitely lucky.
I am not real familiar with the SpeedRooter 91, but I seem to recall that it is on the bigger side of the drum machines, maybe comparable to the Spartan 300. If I am correct, it is more machine than the K60 power wise.
Sometimes I can find the cleanout in the yard, sometimes I can't. Sometimes it is a mainline clog that can be cleaned through the outside cleanout, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes there is a cleanout on the laundry, oftentimes there isn't. Last time I had a laundry clog, it was PVC, the laundry tub and the laundry were on a sanitary cross that my snake jumped straight across, without a cleanout on the common stack. I ended up taking the K60 on the roof through the vent stack to bypass the sanitary cross.
It sounds like you have the line sizes covered with the 380 and the SpeedRooter 91. If you consistently have the cleanout access you mention, you are definitely lucky.
I definitely agree and I will be getting the sectional machine as well to add to my arsenal. So far I will have the k380, speedrooter91, supervee auto feed, all size blow bags, kinetic water ram with all sizes for all fixtures, toilet and urinal augar, camera with locator and 4000 psi 4gpm hydrojetter with all heads and hoses. All miscellaneous repair parts, new van, leak detection equipment, smoke test equipment, just need the sectional machine and I am almost ready to open my doors.
