# Which Drum Machine.....



## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

I'm looking to buy a new drum machine and most of my main line jobs require me to drag the machine up and down basement stairs. Which machine delivers the best combination of weight, power, usability and reliability ? I want to run 3/4" cable. Price is not a factor.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

AssTyme said:


> I'm looking to buy a new drum machine and most of my main line jobs require me to drag the machine up and down basement stairs. Which machine delivers the best combination of weight, power, usability and reliability ? I want to run 3/4" cable. Price is not a factor.


Spartan 2001 you can break it down and bring the drum down then the frame. What size lines are you rodding? If they are mostly 4" and some 6" you can go with a Spartan 300 and use the .55 magnum cable which gives great power, and the machine is easy to move around.


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## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

SewerRatz said:


> Spartan 2001 you can break it down and bring the drum down then the frame. What size lines are you rodding? If they are mostly 4" and some 6" you can go with a Spartan 300 and use the .55 magnum cable which gives great power, and the machine is easy to move around.




95% of the mains are 4". Total machine weight is a big factor for me and It seems (without cable) the weight of the top 3 Spartan machines are within 4 pounds of each other ??? Will the .55 magnum cable handle average root jobs and is it available at a fair price in 50' and 25' lengths ? So this .55 cable is just over 1/2" in diameter ? How does it compare to the average 3/4" cable ?


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

AssTyme said:


> 95% of the mains are 4". Total machine weight is a big factor for me and It seems (without cable) the weight of the top 3 Spartan machines are within 4 pounds of each other ??? Will the .55 magnum cable handle average root jobs and is it available at a fair price in 50' and 25' lengths ? So this .55 cable is just over 1/2" in diameter ? How does it compare to the average 3/4" cable ?


The .55 cable is the alternative cable to the 5/8" cable that would go into the Spartan 300 But it does preform very well on main lines and tree roots like a 3/4" cable.

If you want a full size machine like the Spartan 2001 or 1065 and insist on 3/4" cable, you can opt for the .66 magnum cable which out preforms the 3/4" cable any day and it is 40% lighter than standard 3/4" cable.

Out where I work most of our lines are 6: 100+' so I use a 1065 with the .66 cable. But out northwest of me lots of the lines are 4" up to around 100' and the guys I know that rod mains out there use a Spartan 300 with the 5/8 cable when I first met them. They changed to the .55 cable and said they will never go back to the 5/8 cable. They where impressed how good it tears through the roots and how light it made their machines.

The concept behind the magnum, or double wound cable is what it really is, its that they take two thinner wires and run them side by side over an inner cable that is opposite wound. The inner cable is attached to the male and female ends of the cable, and the double wound outer cable is welded to the ends. So when you reach a blockage and the cable starts to torque up the inner cable tries to unwind, as the outer cable binds down, which makes the rod reach max torque quicker and max the cable stiff to torque right though the blockage.

I do hope this helps you out.


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## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

I e-mailed the Sparta regional rep Brian W on sunday and he called me back in 2 minutes. He drove to my house today at 1:30. I called around but he seems to have the best price so I guess he will be making the sale of a 300 drum with 4 25" sections of .55 and the toolbox soon.

Looks like the 300 with 100' of .55 will only weigh in at around 160 pounds 


ThanX for all the help Ron :thumbsup:


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

AssTyme said:


> I e-mailed the Sparta regional rep Brian W on sunday and he called me back in 2 minutes. He drove to my house today at 1:30. I called around but he seems to have the best price so I guess he will be making the sale of a 300 drum with 4 25" sections of .55 and the toolbox soon.
> 
> Looks like the 300 with 100' of .55 will only weigh in at around 160 pounds
> 
> ...


Give Marvin a call at Allan J Coleman See if he can beat Spartan's price.


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## robman1961 (Apr 25, 2010)

Whats a good one for lite work? ([email protected] tub ) I was looking at Ridgids auto-clean or k-40. any suggestions?


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

robman1961 said:


> Whats a good one for lite work? ([email protected] tub ) I was looking at Ridgids auto-clean or k-40. any suggestions?


K-50 with the 5/8 sectionals, and the drum adapters to spin the 1/4 cable.


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

robman1961 said:


> Whats a good one for lite work? ([email protected] tub ) I was looking at Ridgids auto-clean or k-40. any suggestions?





SewerRatz said:


> K-50 with the 5/8 sectionals, and the drum adapters to spin the 1/4 cable.


Another big fan of the K-50 here.

Mark


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## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

robman1961 said:


> Whats a good one for lite work? ([email protected] tub ) I was looking at Ridgids auto-clean or k-40. any suggestions?



Besides a K-39 I think I'm going to go with the Spartan 100 or the Super-Vee. I've heard too many bad things about the K-40.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

AssTyme said:


> I think I'm going to go with the Spartan 100 or the Super-Vee. I've heard too many bad things about the K-40.


FYI, the Spartan 300 lets you remove the the 5/8 drum and you can put the Spartan 100 drums on it.


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## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

SewerRatz said:


> FYI, the Spartan 300 lets you remove the the 5/8 drum and you can put the Spartan 100 drums on it.




Yes, a nice option to have. At this time I'm unsure which direction I want to go on a sink machine. I just know 100% that it has to be a enclosed drum type machine.


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