# Ridgid Sectional Cables?



## Jiffy (May 24, 2009)

Specifically the K60 7/8" cables. I've never used the 1.25" Ridgid cables.

I have a K60 and love it for crawl spaces, roof drains, etc. Its mainly used for soft blockages. I usually us a whip or spade.

The thing I like best it that the cable is a decent size and hollow so its lightweight and flexible. 

This works well on offsets in roof drains/vents and I often use it to snake storm systems where I encounter tee's and 90's. It also blows thru traps/floor drains easily. 

I recently got a drill adapter and I'm loving this setup.

So my question is...what is with the reverse wind of the cable? 

In order to get it to feed in you have to run it in reverse which hasn't really been an issue for me on soft blockages BUT I was thinking of getting some of the inner core sections and trying it out on some root blockages. 

I'm just not sure how this will work with the Ridgid root cutters which are designed to spin in forward to cut but the cable is gonna want to push backward due to the reverse wind. 

I'm not new to this, I've been using the drill/sectional set up for years with Eel cables. The eel cables feed in while in forward and the teeth on the cutters are designed to cut while in forward/feeding in and also have teeth to cut on the way out while spinning in reverse.

So why is Ridgids cable designed this way and why are teeth on the root cutters designed to cut in a clockwise rotation when the cable feeds into the line in a counter clockwise rotation?

Thanks for any insight.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Cables are meant to be spun in such a way that when the cutter is held firm the cable tightens up. This means if the cable has a twist that is opposite of a normal bolt than you need to spin it the same direction you would spin a normal bolt.


I know that my newer ridgid k45-af has a right hand twist, like a normal bolt, and is a piece of garbage. Our old ridgid kollman machine, our general machines, and our marco machines the cable has a left hand twist. I guess the newer pos ridgid stuff meant for consumers is right hand twist while the stuff the old pros buy has a left hand twist. We have an old ridgid sectional with 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" cables, I forget which, and it has left hand twist cables as well.












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## Jiffy (May 24, 2009)

This actually makes sense to me. I could see a situation where a sectional cable stuck for one reason or another could actually unwind/uncoil itself.


I was brought up on Eel sectional cables which actaully feed in while spinning in forward/clockwise rotation. The big difference is that the Eel sectional cables have an inner cable that keeps everything in check/holds it all together.


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## rooterboy (Jul 16, 2009)

Only thing the eel cables are really heavy compared to the open wound
ridgid 7/8" or 1 1/4" cables


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

rooterboy said:


> Only thing the eel cables are really heavy compared to the open wound
> ridgid 7/8" or 1 1/4" cables





To paraphrase the rock and roll community; "If it's too heavy than you're too old.".


Seriously though, if your inability to lift the equipment is causing you to not be able to do the job correctly than you need to do it another way or get some one who can do it.


That is my main issue with sectionals. some of the guys who prefer sectionals to drums just can't lift a drum unit. Which means you're spending more time putting down tarps and using a sectional in someones living space just because of your physical disability, or worse, your laziness.


I know a guy who uses a truck with a utility bed and the floor is raised so the 1-1/4" sections slide in underneath from the back end and are held in by the tailgate. He has like 100' in there and the motor unit sits in the bed against the cab. Now that is perfect for him because he does excavation/septic work and can run it outside. But when he gets a call where they would have to run it inside he refers the work to us because I use a drum unit.


Sectionals have their place and can certainly clear clogs that drum units can't if you are running good size sections, 1-1/4+. But you just can't beat the cleanliness, portability, and small work footprint of a drum unit.


That said, if I can get an e-series with a kuv I want to do that raised floor and store sections in there so I can start tackling 6"+ lines. We have an old 1500 and like 150'+ of 1-1/4" sections in two baskets and some loose pieces. That thing is a beast.






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## rooterboy (Jul 16, 2009)

I do not work any harder than I have to. Remember "work smarter not harder". I am a pretty strong guy and own quite a bit of drain cleaning equipment to include drum machines for mainlines and kitchen sinks and sectional machines and cables. I am also will be 60 in December. So I am not going to use eel cable when ridgid cable will do the job, although I have both.


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## V.A Hydro-ooter (Oct 14, 2018)

I use whichever machine I think will do the best job. In my van I have a drum machine for branch lines, drum for main lines, sectional cables for main and branch lines, small electric jetter and a gas powered jetter. 

Sometimes I'll use the small sectional cables and end up having to work double because I needed the big machine. Sometimes I save time and strain on my body by only needing the small sectional cables. I do a video inspection after every main line so I know if it's good or not.

As far as Ridgid sectional cables are concerned, I've used a few over the years. When I bought my own stuff I went with the knockoff brand and haven't had issues after several years and hundreds of drains.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Jiffy said:


> So why is Ridgids cable designed this way and why are teeth on the root cutters designed to cut in a clockwise rotation when the cable feeds into the line in a counter clockwise rotation?
> 
> Thanks for any insight.


Seems weird but I like this style much better since it feeds the cable out in the strongest way possible (cable spins clockwise). I've broken electric eel cables by trying to spin backwards and being stuck.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

gear junkie said:


> Seems weird but I like this style much better since it feeds the cable out in the strongest way possible (cable spins clockwise). I've broken electric eel cables by trying to spin backwards and being stuck.





Just so we are clear, the correct way to drive a cable under normal circumstances(aka the correct way) is the opposite of it's twist. So if a cable has a left hand twist(counterclockwise) like electric eel(usually), marco, or general, than you need to run it clockwise. Other brands of cables have a right hand twist, like ridgid, and thus need to be run in the opposite direction.


Right hand cables spiral like a normal pipe thread. Left hand cables spiral the other way.


If you can't visualize this then get a piece of 3 strand twisted rope or some string and twist it different ways. One direction will uncoil(weaken) the fibers, the other will tighten(strengthen) them.








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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

wouldnt opposite of the twist unravel the cable sorta speaking?..if you went with the twist you would be winding the cable tighter...im pretty sure..


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## MASTRPLUMB (Mar 22, 2019)

To correct Skoronesa,
all cables except #1 Marco, and # 2 small Pistol cables are Left hand wound,
the aforementioned cables are Right Hand Wound,
Sewer and Drain Cleaner National Sales Rep, and 
35 yr Master Plumber & Drainman :biggrin:


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

MASTRPLUMB said:


> To correct Skoronesa,
> all cables except #1 Marco, and # 2 small Pistol cables are Left hand wound,
> the aforementioned cables are Right Hand Wound,
> Sewer and Drain Cleaner National Sales Rep, and
> 35 yr Master Plumber & Drainman :biggrin:





My ridgid k-45af came with right hand wound cables. Electric eel also offers right hand cables.






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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

skoronesa said:


> Just so we are clear, the correct way to drive a cable under normal circumstances(aka the correct way) is the opposite of it's twist. So if a cable has a left hand twist(counterclockwise) like electric eel(usually), marco, or general, than you need to run it clockwise. Other brands of cables have a right hand twist, like ridgid, and thus need to be run in the opposite direction.
> 
> 
> Right hand cables spiral like a normal pipe thread. Left hand cables spiral the other way.
> ...


 Only referring to sectional cables and I understand what you're saying but I've ran my sectional cables for so long counter clockwise with no damage to them so I consider the rotation a non issue.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> wouldnt opposite of the twist unravel the cable sorta speaking?..if you went with the twist you would be winding the cable tighter...im pretty sure..








You took the words right out of my mouth. That's what I was thinking too.

I am not an expert drain cleaner. I do it, but I'm not to the expert level yet. But I'm all ears when you heavyweights start talking about LH and RH twist.

I have to plead ignorance about the whole RH and LH twist of the cable. I'm just happy to clear the stoppage and not get my cable stuck....LOL.


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## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

I would think that Ridgid did this (left hand wound sectional cable) so the machine wouldn't get sucked in/pulled towards the cleanout from the winding of the cable.


It doesn't make much sense though having the cable wanting to come back out (because of the reverse winding) when wanting to go forward...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

AssTyme said:


> I would think that Ridgid did this (left hand wound sectional cable) so the machine wouldn't get sucked in/pulled towards the cleanout from the winding of the cable.
> 
> It doesn't make much sense though having the cable wanting to come back out (because of the reverse winding) when wanting to go forward...





The cable wants to come back out when tightening because it straightens. When you are running a cable down a pipe, the longer it gets the more resistance to rotation it has and the parts of the cable toward you will go from being a straight piece to a helix/spiral inside the pipe. However, when this resistance gets high enough the outer core wraps more tightly causing the cable to once again straighten out and lengthen.


I know it sounds a bit confusing but that's the case. Of course it's less obvious when you hit something with a small(<40'ish) amount of cable out because it happens much more quickly and to a lesser extent. So if most of your jobs are in a city you may not notice this. Where I am I regularly run 75-95' to clear a line so this is much more pronounced.


Mind you all of what I just said is based on my 5/8" solid core cable on my 92/91 drum unit. For 3/4" solid cable which I also run this effect is a god bit smaller. I can not speak to how hollow core or sectional cable would act though I would guess it to be much the same to varying degrees.


There is no performance difference to left hand or right hand twist assuming you run it in the correct direction which causes the cable to tighten. Larger/stronger(3/4"+) cables will perform better running backwards than smaller cables. But you should really try to avoid running any solid core cable backwards. Sectional/hollow cables are another ball of wax I have little experience with.


_Usually_ direct drive machines come with right hand cable while belt driven ones come with left hand cable. This is because in either case the electric motor spins the same way and is oriented shaft forward. Direct drive machines aren't totally direct drive, they have a set of gears to lower the speed and increase the torque which also has the effect of reversing the spin on the output. This causes them to need cables wound the opposite direction.











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