When Does It End!?

smellslike$tome

I never wanted to get involved in drain cleaning. It became a necessary evil though because if you can't clear someone's drain today then they will not call you for anything else tommorrow. So my first piece of drain cleaning "equipment" was a $10 drain king which rarely works and hardly ever even gets attempted anymore. Seeing that it hardly worked I bought a small hand cranked 1/4" cable for tubs and kitchen sinks, etc. which also doesn't always work especially on kitchen sink lines full of grease. Next was the mini rooter which won't do anything for mainlines and requires trap removal for virtually anything else. Next came the 5/8" cable with power feed (this made life much easier) but I soon realized that there are all sorts of things down there you need to see and be able to locate. So then I bought the camera, transmitter, and locator thinking ok now I'm all set. Wrong! I've been on a good 1/2 dozen drain calls in the last month where I thought to myself "what I really need here is a jetter", my camera came up about 30' short the other day, and I've been thinking for months how nice it would be to have a nice auto feed 1/4" sink machine (which still won't clear the grease). I refuse! I began considering the largest electric jetter suitable for residential and light commercial use but I can already see where it probably will not be sufficient for restaraunts and insane root infestations. So what's next, the 20k trailer mounted jetter?

I've heard people (in trade) refer to drain work as "pure profit" because there aren't any parts involved so everything just goes right into the "plus column" but it's absolutely untrue. I already have waaaaay more money tied up in drain cleaning tools than my entire tool arsenal used for everything else. It's also not true that "once it's set up, then it's all gravy" as attested to by the fact that I had to replace 100' of cable a few weeks ago to the tune of almost $300.

Alright so I'm being a little whiny about it, I know. I mean, it is what it is right. Either do it or don't but if you are going to do it it will require certain things, right? Just keep in mind that when you call me out to your house to clear your drain, there will be no pity. On the other hand, I have had drain calls turn into sewer replacements which, financially at least, sort of makes it all worth it.

Anybody got a good used jetter for sale?

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KillerToiletSpider

Check E-bay.

My boss bought a Ridgid K-1750 off of there a month ago for $800.00, all it needed was a new hose.

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smellslike$tome

Nice price. Do you know exactly how he found it because I just left e-bay and "jetter", "drain jetter", and "sewer jetter" all yielded 0 matches, only a couple of sponsered links.

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KillerToiletSpider

He probably searched Ridgid and went through all the pages.

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mdshunk

When I'm searching eBay for something specialized, I often search just for everything matching a certain brand name, or search for some of the common brand and model numbers. Sellers often have no idea what to call the equipment, so they might call it darned near anything; often incorrectly. If the item has a model number, for instance, they'll normally have that in the auction description. Most of my really good deals were improperly described, but they did have either a brand or model or both in the description. Try that route.

smellslike$tome

Went to the ridgid site to check out the k1750. I'm not sure but I don't think that machine would hack it at 1.4 gpm. It says it will handle 4" pipe but I am highly skeptical.

I would love to hear from some guys who are using jetters routinely. I don't want to buy more machine than I need but I certainly do not want to buy less than I need. I'd love to get away with an electric machine but I'm not really sure that any of them are powerful enough to power through 30' of sludge let alone a big honkin' wad of roots. I'm looking at about 99% residential use and probably the bulk of it for greased up kitchen sink lines.

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KillerToiletSpider

My boss bought that machine for one job a year, cleaning the drains in his brothers auto repair shop, it works for the sludge that makes it into their trench drains.

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Sewerologist

If you buy a jetter, go gas with a remote set up. I converted a gas pressure washer into a sewer jetter years ago and it has paid for itself many times over. I will not attempt to unclog a drain without using a cable machine first. I can feel everything with a cable. That dictates to me if the jetter is needed. Older homes with clay pipe are mainly the recipients of jetting, especially with recent installations of 1.6 gpf toilets. The joints of the pipe leak so bad that by the time the ho calls with a problem the sewer is filled with waste and all the water has leak out. You have to create a sh*t milkshake to get it to flow and clear. The 15 amp electric jetters don't always have the ability to do the job and many older homes don't have a 20 amp circuit for the more powerful models. That being said, I have on occasion, rented my buddies electric 15 amp jet when I couldn't run gas and it hasn't failed me, but not without cabling first to get a feel for what's going on and cutting any root obstructions that may have started the whole problem to begin with.

3Kings Plumbing

Spartan has a nice jetter. When I was employed at company X they just bought one I have no idea what the model number is.

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smellslike$tome

OK! Now we're getting somewhere! I have asked myself many times why I couldn't just hook up a jetter hose and nozzle to a pressure washer. Tell me more please. What psi do I need? What flow rate? Do I need the pulse feature? They claim to cut roots but I don't think I believe it. What do you say?

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AllAmerican

Go to eBay. We have had good success with the search terms: "Sewer Cleaner" and "jetter". You may also be able to contact your local Spartan or U. S. Jetting representative. Many times they will know a local plumbing company who has upgraded their equipment and has a good piece of used equipment for sale. There is also the "Cleaner Magazine" classifieds. Their website address is: www.cleaner.com

If you want to get into restaurant sewer cleaning and PM you will definitely need a trailer or truck mounted unit and a small electric unit. You will also need a good relationship with a grease trap pumping company.

Once you have all of the proper equipment you can become one of the "go to" companies for sewer and drain problems and will be able to charge accordingly. There are alot of sewer and drain repairs and replacements to be made.

mickeyco

On eBay they have a thing called "saved search" or something similar, create several searches using different keywords and eBay will send you eMails notifying you of all the items that meet your search criteria. It's a great feature and saves wasting all the time searching yourself.


.

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AllAmerican

A pressure washer is not very good on 3" + lines because of the lower flow rates. A PW may be a good substitute for the small electric unit at a flow rate of 2 - 4 GPM. For 3" - 12" lines you will need a trailer or truck mounted unit. Remember, the lower the pressure of the unit, typically it will have a higher flow rate and vice-versa. You can also connect a smaller, portable hose reel for branch line cleaning to the main hose of the larger unit - just remember to watch your pressure with the smaller hose and heads.

As for the pulse feature, we have found it to be very good for the smaller electric units. It seems to help them down the line. As for the pulse on the trailer/truck mounted units, it can get you into a line you cannot get out of. Of course this can happen without the pulse feature. You have to be careful no matter what the situation. If you purchase a unit with a remote control system, you can be much more cost effective and efficient with only one person.

A trailer or truck mounted unit will definitely cut roots. Our shop cuts roots regularly with a trailer mounted unit. We have one large trailer mounted jetter unit with a max flow rate of 35 GPM at 2000 PSI and 25 GPM at 3000 PSI. That unit can be seen at: www.obrienmfg.com/products_action.asp?p_ID=740 . We have never had a problem clearing any stoppage with that machine. You probably won't need anything that large as a first trailer jetter. Spartan, U. S .Jetting, and O'brien Manufacturing have some very good compact units. A number of shops in my local area doing residential and light commercial seem to favor the U. S .Jetting Model 4018 - 300. It can be seen at http://usjetting.thomasnet.com/item/...-1010?&seo=110 .

The small electric units we use have flow rates of 2 GPM at 1700 PSI. They are available from various manufacturers such as General Tool, Rigid, Gorlitz, Spartan, etc. We have found that those are easy to carry on the vans and can do a good job in a lot of small line situations.

I hope this helps you with your decision.

- Greg

Putty Truck

Check with "All Clear Sewer", too...the poster, ya know.

Herk

I think a 1/4" cable is just too small for kitchen sinks. You need a 3/8" and even then you'll be tying it in knots all the time, especially if the hacks used any water line fittings instead of drainage fittings like I used to run into all the time here.

I haven't cleaned drains for at least 20 years, but I'm soon going back into it. I didn't charge enough, and when all my equipment began to wear out, I realized I hadn't paid for it, and thought I'd be better off sticking with plumbing.

But I've been in strictly service for a number of years and I too realize that I'm losing work to people who do both.

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sewer dawg

I know I'm late on this thread but go with the spartan 758 trailer jetter. It's just the right size for all around use. I'm just reading all of what you said and it sounds like you just need a good multi use jetter. If you wanted a jetter strictly for residential and commercial sewer lines I would go with a US jetter.

you didn't mention what you would use to tow this around with so I'm guessing a normal service van. The spartan 758 is so light you wont even notice it on the back of your van. I have gone through two transmissions using vans to pull the US jetter. I live in the mountains though.

All in all we have used the smaller spartan more often than the larger US and after putting the camera through to inspect we find that the spartan can clean almost everything the larger jetters do....

hope this helped.

lmm600

Hey, I can actually reply to this one. Your original question of when does it end? It doesn't. LOL. I built my own jetter with a 13hp honda and cat pump with a 200 gal tank. I can use 3/8 or 5/8 hose depending on line size and problem. Next you'll find out with real stubborn roots etc, that a rodder may be next.

All Clear Sewer

Someone call my name????

On E by type in "SEWER"
I`ve spent about 20k this year by typing in "SEWER"

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OCRS

Tomorrow we'll be finishing up on the drain blockage at the High Commisioner's residence. The equipment they used to cut the roots was a hydo excavator and apparently costs $4.5 mil. Total costs for this job will be around $40 k. The city will pickup a good portion of that though.