# Swivel Bulb Closet Auger



## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Just picked one up today at the supply house. I have a regular bulb one as well. I ran it just a little while ago in a friend of mines toliet. His son had shoved a rubber ball down the drain. The swivel bulb stuck through it and I retrived it with ease. I think this has been a good investment.:thumbsup:


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## user4 (Jun 12, 2008)

Plumberman said:


> Just picked one up today at the supply house. I have a regular bulb one as well. I ran it just a little while ago in a friend of mines toliet. His son had shoved a rubber ball down the drain. The swivel bulb stuck through it and I retrived it with ease. I think this has been a good investment.:thumbsup:


If it is made by General Wire it is the same one I have had for years.


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

yea its General Wire. They just started stocking them were I got it from, they swapped over from the standard bulb to the swivel....


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## threaderman (Jun 17, 2008)

I have both but keep just my Ridgid on the truck.What I want sometime in the future is the 6' auger,those are a hell of an tool,though I'm not sure how they hold up.


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## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

I've had a couple of 6' augers over the years and no trouble with them at all. I think the one I have now is a General. The only thing I don't like about them is getting them started in the trap - the extension is fully extended and wobbles around while you're trying to get it started. Once you get going, it's fine.

It also has the interchangeable heads - so I've got drop heads as well as the regular closet spiral. You can also use it on basin arms or tubs.

Some plumbers will not auger a closet because if you break it you've bought it. It often takes very little to break out the piece of china in the middle of the trap. You may not even know you broke it. But it will mysteriously keep plugging up after that.


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Just curious Herk... If the toliet is stopped up beyond the drain at the bottom of the toliet but not down the S-trap in other words hung up right before the S-trap bends, how do they get it unstopped? Buy a new toliet?


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## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

Plumberman said:


> If the toliet is stopped up beyond the drain at the bottom of the toliet but not down the S-trap in other words hung up right before the S-trap bends, how do they get it unstopped? Buy a new toliet?


I'm sorry, but I really am having a hard time understanding what you're asking.

The toilet (note spelling) IS the S-trap. There is no S-trap 'beyond the drain at the bottom of the toliet' though there is usually a bend. With a 3' closet auger, you should be able to get through the toilet. With a 6' extendable auger, you should be able to clear another 3'. 

If you're speaking of the bend at the top of the passage inside the toilet, the auger should get it, and you can always use a mirror and flashlight to see what's blocking it, unless you have sprung for the seesnake micro. (I gotta get me one of those!)

And if you're speaking of the front jet being plugged, a bent screwdriver or a coat hanger can clear that opening. 

All bets are off on a forward trap. Also, unplugging the internal jet on a Norris toilet is not as easy as it should be. And on an ancient Crane you can reach down with a grabbing tool to get out the myriad rubber and styrofoam cones that fall out of the flappers.


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## service guy (Jun 26, 2008)

Herk said:


> I'm sorry, but I really am having a hard time understanding what you're asking.


Same here.:confused1:


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

You had mentioned that some plumbers wont use a closet augers because of fear of breaking the toliet. I guess I worded it wrong. But heres the situation I was asking from.(from OP) I ran it just a little while ago in a friend of mines toliet. His son had shoved a rubber ball down the drain. The swivel bulb stuck through it and I retrived it with ease. I pulled the toliet first and saw that it wasent at the bottom of the toliet like I had thought. It was caught in the middle of the bend. I had to reset the toliet on the flange and run my auger. I dont think I could have gotten it without running the auger, maybe I could have. I was just wondering if the plumbers you were speaking of, buy new toliets if there is something shoved down the drain, like a rubber ball. since they dont run augers


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## Ron (Jun 12, 2008)

Has anyone ever removed the water out of the bowl and run the auger trough it like that, I have, and sometimes with the water out, an object can come back a lot easier when there is no water for it to float in if it's it's a floating object.


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## service guy (Jun 26, 2008)

Never thought of that, thanks for the tip! I use a swivel-head general auger too and it kicks butt, best auger I ever used.


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## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

Plumberman said:


> I was just wondering if the plumbers you were speaking of, buy new toliets if there is something shoved down the drain, like a rubber ball. since they dont run augers


Oh, I understand now. I suppose they'd simply replace the toilet. I'd auger it, and If I couldn't get the auger to work, I'd next try with a mirror and flashlight to see what I was up against. The final step would be to pull the toilet with my toilet truck and haul it outside and try to run through it in reverse.

But you can see the problem with this scenario - if you spend that much time and are getting paid for all of it it's going to be a very large bill. You're getting up to two hours or more, and if you break the toilet you either have to warranty the replacement or explain to the customer beforehand that if it breaks it will have to be replaced. Then, of course, the customer does not want to pay for both the replacement and the time you've wasted messing with it.


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

True... I only pull toliets if I have no other options.


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## threaderman (Jun 17, 2008)

Ron The Plumber said:


> Has anyone ever removed the water out of the bowl and run the auger trough it like that, I have, and sometimes with the water out, an object can come back a lot easier when there is no water for it to float in if it's it's a floating object.


 Frickin brilliant ,Ron.That is quite interesting.
As for a plumber who won't run an auger....HUH!Are you frickin kidding.It's one of the first service jobs your allowed to do.


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## Bill (Jun 17, 2008)

I have taken toilets outside, turned them upside down and run a hose through the bottom of it to clear a clog.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

I hate my drop head auger, it's a piece of crap. I'll stick with the standard bulb head auger.


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## Double-A (Aug 17, 2008)

If you get the 6' extenable one, be sure to keep it oiled. One other thing, keep a 5 gallon bucket on the truck and clean at all times. Put your auger in that and carry it in the house and when you remove your auger from the WC, back into the bucket it goes. Also, put a clean rag over the handle before leaning the auger against the wall.

Remember, you're working on a WC and people freak out when water winds up where it didn't start out from, especially if they have kids in the house.


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## 22rifle (Jun 14, 2008)

I used a 13 gallon trash bag for the closet auger transport. Same concept, different execution.

Great tips Double.


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## blowfish (Aug 24, 2008)

i had a drop head auger made buy general, i couldn't get to go through alot of toilets, i went back to the fixed small head auger.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

threaderman said:


> I have both but keep just my Ridgid on the truck.What I want sometime in the future is the 6' auger,those are a hell of an tool,though I'm not sure how they hold up.


I see no use for them.
A 3' closet auger will go all the way through any toilet made.
If the clog is past that point it is a line clog and a snake shoukd be used...
At a slightly higher cost of course...


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## uaplumber (Jun 16, 2008)

I had a HO today who dropped a tube of ointment into the WC as he flushed it. Called me in. I could see it with my mirror at the top of the weir. I have a small shop vac in the truck, so I forced the hose through and sucked the ointment tube off the weir and into the bowl. The customer checked the tube and decided that he could keep it and use it as he didn't see any cracks. Easy money!


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## plumb4fun (Feb 18, 2009)

I broke a toilet once using a general swivel auger, last time! I went back to the standard bulb auger and never looked back! They also tend to hook up on the plastic inserts in some wax rings and causes them to start leaking.


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2008)

I might do the same. The big swivel head just always feels like something BAD might happen .


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