# Cable getting hung in sewer.



## JenkPlbg (Nov 27, 2011)

I use a ridgid k-60, for residential drain cleaning, on main lines.
I was wondering if you all ever have much of a problem with the cable getting stuck in the line. It took me, what seemed like for ever, to finally get the cable out of the line yesterday. And it happens to me quite frequently. I wasn't sure if this was something that happens on a regular, or if it is me, or if it is my cable or machine?
It is a sectional machine, and 5/8" cable.


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

JenkPlbg said:


> and 5/8" cable.


Not what you should use on main lines.


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## AlbacoreShuffle (Aug 28, 2011)

What type of blade are you using ?
You could be using to small of a blade and its getting hung up on offsets or separations in the Line.
I always try to use a blade that almost scraps both sides of the pipe.
I also LOVE when a cable gets hung up, because 2 out of 3 times I'm going to get a nice repair job out of it.


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

JenkPlbg said:


> I I wasn't sure if this was something that happens on a regular, or if it is me, or if it is my cable or machine?


It doesn't happen as much to those bottom dwellers that clean drains for a living. Those non-plumbers must have sold their souls or something. It's easier than it looks. 










Paul


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Are the blades shiny or muddy? Did you try a single blade or a whip. When it came out did it feel like something snapped or did it feel like it was pinched? Does the cable spin when its stuck? Do you like the Easter Rabbit, what I'm saying is a little detail helps. 
Thanks for your cooperation
Scott


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## beachplumber (Feb 7, 2010)

If it happems often i,m thinkin operator


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## jtrooter1 (Nov 30, 2011)

Haha i agree a little detail helps but what kills me in this trade is guys arent doing the customer any good if for one) you yourself dont know what youre doing. two) your machine/cable is not designed or meant for use for the application. three) getting a cable stuck in any mainline you do does not mean you will get a repair out of it everytime. Cables are expensive. Chances are if you arent taught the correct ways you or your boss wont be in business very long..


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

I've removed several K50 5/8" cables from sewer lines. I love my LE 148 My-Tana retriever.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Drain cleaning is easy...
All you do is stick your cable down the pipe and spin it up feeding it in until the line clears.... Right? :laughing:

Well okay it's not quite that easy...
In fact I often tell newbies not to bore me with details I'll figure it out myself when I get there....
They'll have about a year of experience before I even want to hear what they think....
I'll tell them where they went wrong..... It's part of the learning curve...

You are going to have a few things to get right before you start seeing results...
Like...
Picking the right spot to cable from....
And
Using the right equipment for the job....


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Redwood said:


> Drain cleaning is easy...
> All you do is stick your cable down the pipe and spin it up feeding it in until the line clears.... Right? :laughing:
> 
> Well okay it's not quite that easy...
> ...


I remember my first blind tee, back to back showers. Tried for an hour + then called for help. An older guy who probably was running drains since the last supper came in and in less than 30 seconds had it clear. Guy just stood up turned on the water and left. I made him come back and show me till I could do it.


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

As stated earlier the cable is not designed to clear a main sewer line. The 5/8 the cable is binding up and twisting together. Is the rest of the story damaged cable being pulled back? This is an old trick used to manipulate the situation and customer to believe the drain is in worse shape than it is and to create a false sense of urgency to act in a specific predictable way to spend more money.

You have been taught wrong.


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## JenkPlbg (Nov 27, 2011)

Yeah, sorry for the lace of detail, but I guess in reality, I'm not usually sure what to look for. I have always gotten the cable back out of the sewer. That is our only sewer machine, It could be the larger size cable, to be honest, I just went on ridgids website and saw which cable usually came with that machine.
I always get the cable out, and I always check for the best place to enter the line. Just about 1 out of 8 < ruff estimate > the cable will be going smooth, then get a little hard to feed, as if it has reached a blockage, and then it will get easy again. After running it a little bit farther, when i go to pull it out, it seems to be completely hung, I eventually get it out of the sewer, but It stays Jammed until the last 10 feet or so. This last time I was using the spade bit, and on the end seemed to have a shiny cat litter like substance on it. My only thought is that maybe i get the clog tied up in the cable, and then its hard to pull back, because im pulling the clog back as well, until it eventually comes off the end. 

Yes, I agree if you are not properly trained, you have no business doing it. I am generally new construction, and remodels. My boss, wants me to learn and run service, but needs me to stay in new construction, remodel end for now, due to amount of employees vs work load. But he has me on call, so every 3 weeks, and a few times during the standard week, i have service calls. I can run the machine, and mos times clean out the sewer, but I need a lot more experience, and was curious on some of the answers I would get on why my machine is getting hung. 
Thank you, and sorry for the lengthy post... Its early, and I'm rambling.


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## JenkPlbg (Nov 27, 2011)

Oh and when it gets to the point where it is hung.
In forward, it will barely spin and then stop.
In reverse it will barely spin, and when on auto feed, will even start to pick the machine up, like pull it backwards.
I have to shift back and forth between directions, and yank on the cable, and it finally barely starts to pull out of the line, until the last 10 feet or so.


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

Okay, I am confused. you have K-60 sectional machine and run 5/8" cables, which are too small for main line btw, and it has an AUTOFEED? 

Are you sure about what kind of machine that you're running?


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## Mr Plumber (Oct 20, 2011)

ChrisConnor said:


> Okay, I am confused. you have K-60 sectional machine and run 5/8" cables, which are too small for main line btw, and it has an AUTOFEED?
> 
> Are you sure about what kind of machine that you're running?


What size main line are you referring too? I know a lot of plumbers around here who use 5/8 for 4" mains


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## drtyhands (Aug 16, 2008)

Thread is getting all twisted


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

drtyhands said:


> Thread is getting all twisted


So is his cable.


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## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

Mr Plumber said:


> What size main line are you referring too? I know a lot of plumbers around here who use 5/8 for 4" mains




5/8" sectional cable in 4" mains ???


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## Mr Plumber (Oct 20, 2011)

AssTyme said:


> 5/8" sectional cable in 4" mains ???


No there using drum machines.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Maybe the Original Poster is running a retriever head into a clog of roots and getting hung up that way? I don't know. It happened to me when I was a green drain cleaner, picking the wrong auger heads for the job at hand.

Drain cleaning is not going full bore, like a bull in a china shop. You feed the cable in slow and steady until you feel resistance, at about the same time, you'll hear the rpm's of the drain machine change, that will tell you you're hitting something, presumably the stoppage. At that point you s-l-o-w-l-y and carefully push the cable in, while 'working' it. Ideally you want to chip away at the stoppage until it's cleared.


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## JenkPlbg (Nov 27, 2011)

Well, allthought it is a big difference, I was using 7/8"cable, the machine can use both, and I wrote down that I was using 5/8, which was incorrect.


This is the machine we use, and by main, I mean 4"
I was using the spade head at the job I was referencing too. A co-worker said i was probably getting the cable caught on the clean out, the whole way out of the sewer. ( I could not use the clean out, because I could not get the cast iron 4" plug out of the clean out)


http://www.ridgid.com/ASSETS/0E5AE25744904A2A89BDF7EB6FDA12B0/K60_Sectional_Machine_3C.jpg​


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## Dun' Right (Sep 27, 2010)

JenkPlbg said:


> Well, allthought it is a big difference, I was using 7/8"cable, the machine can use both, and I wrote down that I was using 5/8, which was incorrect.
> 
> 
> This is the machine we use, and by main, I mean 4"
> ...


I've had that problem before. But nothing that a 2" hole saw and a little surgeon sawzall action couldn't fix. (assuming it was a 4" brass plug in a cast iron c/o)


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## cityplumbing (Jun 12, 2010)

As stated earlier. Sounds like roots to me. Put a cutter head on the cable run your cable slowly, back and forth. When you first feel the stoppage.. Have you pulled any roots out at all?


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

When I clear a drain line I run the cable a minimum of 3 times. The first head is to open the line and I use the same size head as the cable then I increase the size of the head incrementally with each pass. I do this until I can run a 3 and half inch cutter head smoothly through the 4 inch line.

I will always run enough cable to get to the tap location. I have the cable and make it a point to run it all. I am a firm believer that the real issue of the stoppage is down line from the opening of the drain stoppage.


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## rob the plumber (Oct 21, 2011)

The k60 is a nice machine. I use one for 3-4" drains. I have a couple friends that don't have much service experience and always try their 5/8" cable machines on larger lines. Horrible idea.


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## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

rob the plumber said:


> The k60 is a nice machine. I use one for 3-4" drains. *I have a couple friends that don't have much service experience and always try their 5/8" cable machines on larger lines. Horrible idea.*




There are plenty of us that know what we are doing and use 5/8" or smaller on a 4" and sometimes 6" main.

I use .55 cable which is a hair over 1/2" for 90% of my 4" - 6" mains.



Unless you're talking about sectional cable ?


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## rob the plumber (Oct 21, 2011)

Really? That seems like a tangled phone cord waiting to happen.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

AssTyme said:


> There are plenty of us that know what we are doing and use 5/8" or smaller on a 4" and sometimes 6" main.
> 
> I use .55 cable which is a hair over 1/2" for 90% of my 4" - 6" mains.
> 
> ...


I think the 5/8" was a reference to Ridgid's K50 cable. It's open and VERY flexible. Nothing like a .55 for a drum machine.


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## rob the plumber (Oct 21, 2011)

Is that cable constructed currently than a sectional cable?


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

rob the plumber said:


> Is that cable constructed currently than a sectional cable?


What do you mean? Currently? As in, do they still make it?


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## rob the plumber (Oct 21, 2011)

Sorry, swype keyboard auto correct got past me. 
I meant is the cable constructed differently that a sectional cable?


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