# Jetter budgeting



## SummPlumb (Feb 19, 2010)

I will be purchasing a new jetter later this year but I need some help from the drain masters here. 

I will use it for residential, light commercial applications. Can you guys give me the gpm, and pressure recommendations? New or used? Good brands to look for?

I have experimented with a Honda pressure washer I own. It has not foot pedal. I have to turn it on and off. I have 200' of 1/4 hose. It has worked well on those 1 1/4 roll plastic drain lines that drain into the pasture. But I want something more professional looking and acting. 

Thanks in advance.


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

Funny thing about jetters. Some guys buy "glorified pressure washers" and charge the same as or more than the guys with 18gpm trailer units. They make more money overall with 1/10 the investment.

I think a 5.5 gpm 3000 psi is a light start. There is a company called Water Cannon that has affordable starter units for you to consider. Get a good rotating nozzle from Stone Age no matter who's jetter you buy.

Do you have much call for jetting residential lines?


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

4000psi/4gpm


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## SummPlumb (Feb 19, 2010)

ChrisConnor said:


> Funny thing about jetters. Some guys buy "glorified pressure washers" and charge the same as or more than the guys with 18gpm trailer units. They make more money overall with 1/10 the investment.
> 
> I think a 5.5 gpm 3000 psi is a light start. There is a company called Water Cannon that has affordable starter units for you to consider. Get a good rotating nozzle from Stone Age no matter who's jetter you buy.
> 
> Do you have much call for jetting residential lines?


 Most of the calls are nursing homes or apartment kitchen lines. Or if the house is on a slab. A sewer machine does not manage grease well IMO.
Right now I have to end up cutting sections of pipe out.


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## holman23 (Feb 16, 2010)

i fell into this unit, i have had 2 different models such as a big us jetter and a harbon, good but very large to deal with, i know have a unit from mytana that comes on a 4 wheel cart that after replumbing the unit and installing it into an enclesed trailor works very well. i bought this unit for 150.00 brand new because they did not know what they had. 24 hp honda 3000 psi 8-10 gpm max. ater installing 110 gallon tank and some new lines total price involved including trailor about 2500.oo . i deal with res. comm. indust. every day works great. does great on root issues as well


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## njoy plumbing (May 19, 2009)

Has anybody in cold climates had good success with electric or gas models. Its time for us to buy our first unit and I don't want to mess around with too small, so I guess the guys I want to here from have the experience with the cold climates as in Alberta etc....

Thks in advance.


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## Song Dog (Jun 12, 2008)

I had a US Jet (Lil' Jet) 4010 that was great for residential and light commercial before I upgraded to the 4018.


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## aero1 (Feb 13, 2009)

we use an american jetter 10 gal 3000 psi with a 3/8 warthog great up to 8 inch.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

ChrisConnor said:


> Funny thing about jetters. Some guys buy "glorified pressure washers" and charge the same as or more than the guys with 18gpm trailer units. They make more money overall with 1/10 the investment.


Do they really?

Or, do they just spend 2-3 times longer on every job with marginal results trying to do the same thing the trailer guy did on a quick and easy in/out gone job...

I bet they also turn down a lot of the bigger jobs as well because the small machine can't cut it...

You don't want to know what we make on jetting, but it easily pays for that nice new US Jetting trailer rig...:thumbup:


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## PohlmanPlumbing (Sep 15, 2010)

The age old question----"What comes first, the contracts and jobs or the jetter?"


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

PohlmanPlumbing said:


> The age old question----"What comes first, the contracts and jobs or the jetter?"


Tough question...:whistling2:

If you are filling a vacuum I would say build it and they will come...

But then again if there is no need and plenty of providers supplying jetting it would be a sizable payment going out. With every job hard fought...


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

If you are looking for a cart jetter let me recommend General. they by far make the best cart jetter out there. The J-3080 is a great unit 3000 PSI @ 8 gpm I own the J-3000 and love it, we had it for about 10 years now. Only had to replace nozzles as I wear them out. Also have the Ridgid Root Ranger which works great. But there are times I wish I opted for the unit with more GPM.

If you are looking for trailer jet as Song Dog pointed out US Jetting makes a great jetter and they have great customer support. Harben makes a good jetter that is comparable to US Jetting. Spartan has out did themselves on their Solder Warrior and Ultimate Warrior trailer jets. They even made a Hi Flow Ultimate warrior that does 3000 PSI @ 35 gpm but I never been happy with their customer support.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

I like harben for a trailer jetter. I've used both US jetting and harben.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Here is my advice: Unless you are just absolutely slammed with big commercial jetting requests(like 4+ a month) spend the money where it really counts, on the nozzles. Buy a used pressure washer with some balls and buy your hoses, nozzles, guages and valves new.

You can build a real nice jetting setup for residential that will descale 4" cast iron for under 3 grand.

If you get allot of big commercial stuff, then a trailer jet is the way to go for sure. I get so few commercial jobs that I can't justify the 20k plus investment on a trailer jet. The few large lines I get, I do all the prep work and sub out the jetting. There are jest too many companies locally the have trailer jets and are willing to work for nothing with them. If it was only 1 other company in town that had one, I'd jump on though.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Protech said:


> Here is my advice: Unless you are just absolutely slammed with big commercial jetting requests(like 4+ a month) spend the money where it really counts, on the nozzles. Buy a used pressure washer with some balls and buy your hoses, nozzles, guages and valves new.
> 
> You can build a real nice jetting setup for residential that will descale 4" cast iron for under 3 grand.
> 
> If you get allot of big commercial stuff, then a trailer jet is the way to go for sure. I get so few commercial jobs that I can't justify the 20k plus investment on a trailer jet. The few large lines I get, I do all the prep work and sub out the jetting. There are jest too many companies locally the have trailer jets and are willing to work for nothing with them. If it was only 1 other company in town that had one, I'd jump on though.


You can buy the General J-3000 with hoses and nozzles for around 3k, and the J3080 for around 5 to 6K and have customer support and a well built machine. No hit or miss with a pressure washer and a conversion kit.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Does that come with a full 6 piece nozzle kit, rotating nozzle, and rotating chain descaling nozzle?

I think not. Like I said, spend the money were it counts, ON THE NOZZLES.




SewerRatz said:


> You can buy the General J-3000 with hoses and nozzles for around 3k, and the J3080 for around 5 to 6K and have customer support and a well built machine. No hit or miss with a pressure washer and a conversion kit.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Protech said:


> Does that come with a full 6 piece nozzle kit, rotating nozzle, and rotating chain descaling nozzle?
> 
> I think not. Like I said, spend the money were it counts, ON THE NOZZLES.


Well yes it does. Guess it all depends where you buy your equipment. 

Also if you buy a machine like the J-3000 from a good quality sewer equipment supplier you will get great service when it comes time for replacement parts and such. Unlike when you build your own jetter and you need to track down the proper parts on your own. To me that alone is worth a few hundred bucks I might pay. At least I know if something goes wrong with my jetter I can call my supplier and I will have the part on my doorstep in the next 24 to 48 hours. unlike the jetter I did build myself from a pressure washer, and a part went bad, the supplier did not have the parts I needed took a week before I got the right part in hand.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

I can replace any part of my setup same day except for nozzles.



SewerRatz said:


> Well yes it does. Guess it all depends where you buy your equipment.
> 
> Also if you buy a machine like the J-3000 from a good quality sewer equipment supplier you will get great service when it comes time for replacement parts and such. Unlike when you build your own jetter and you need to track down the proper parts on your own. To me that alone is worth a few hundred bucks I might pay. At least I know if something goes wrong with my jetter I can call my supplier and I will have the part on my doorstep in the next 24 to 48 hours. unlike the jetter I did build myself from a pressure washer, and a part went bad, the supplier did not have the parts I needed took a week before I got the right part in hand.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

*Just thinking on it*

I have been thinking about setting up with a jetter rig this year, I live in a town of 50+ k but along with surrounding smaller towns might be 85k or so. Lots of restaurants and dairies. I know of one other company that is actually a septic tank pumper and installer that has a 3500 rig not trailored. Guess I just don't know how much demand there is for jetters here. I have an extra enclosed cargo trailor I can build it into but I dont want to spend 1000,00's and have it set out there doing nothing. Any thoughts?


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

mpsllc said:


> I have been thinking about setting up with a jetter rig this year, I live in a town of 50+ k but along with surrounding smaller towns might be 85k or so. Lots of restaurants and dairies. I know of one other company that is actually a septic tank pumper and installer that has a 3500 rig not trailored. Guess I just don't know how much demand there is for jetters here. I have an extra enclosed cargo trailor I can build it into but I dont want to spend 1000,00's and have it set out there doing nothing. Any thoughts?


See how many of those restaurants you can get a service contract on for jetting, then decide if it is worth building.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Here is another angle to consider.

What type of work are you looking to do? If you do mostly commercial, the trailer jet is the obvious answer. If you do mostly residential though, the portable jetter might be the ticket and here's why:

Convenience. My portable is in my truck on every call. I get many residential jet jobs just because I can do it right now. I give the option of cabling and jetting on every job that warrants it.

I'll give the last one I did as an example. I go out for a laundry/kitchen stoppage on an old no-hub cast iron house. Right off the bat I know that the line is probably rotted out as that is usually the case with old no-hub kitchen lines that stop up.

I give the standard price to cable the line and explain that it will just give temporary relief. The only way to guarantee that the line will stay open long term is to hydro jet it and then camera inspect it. Assuming that the line is found to be structurally sound, you will be fine for many years. If after removing all the gunk and scale we find that sections are rotted out, we can give you an estimate to replace/reline the bad pipes. In that case we will at least know where the line runs and where we stand. The price to do the jetting and inspection is "x" vs the price to just cable the line.

*I can do either one right now.*

That last line has sold many jet jobs. If the only unit you have is a trailer jet, you will lose most of those small residential jobs. For many commercial guys that is an acceptable trade off though. Just thought I'd put that out there though.


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## Nayman's Drain (Dec 17, 2010)

njoy plumbing said:


> Has anybody in cold climates had good success with electric or gas models. Its time for us to buy our first unit and I don't want to mess around with too small, so I guess the guys I want to here from have the experience with the cold climates as in Alberta etc....
> 
> Thks in advance.


I'm 3 hours North of you up Hiway 21, and have both 1 electric & a gas powered.
Electric works great on smaller 1 1/2 & 2 inch lines at 1500PSI
The gas powered one, I use for 3 to 6 inch.
Electric is General with 65 feet
The gas one I have 1/4 & 3/8 lines with 250 feet each on a beefed up pressure washer [email protected] 4.5GPM.

As said before, the NOZZLES are what to concentrate on. A spinner nozzle is a must, as well as a nozzle to open ahead while pushing against the blockage.
One of the mail things to remember is to DRAIN both jetter and hose to prevent ice blockages in either.
If need be, find me in Yellow Pages & call me for more info.

Nayman's


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

How well do jetters go around turns like 90 degree turn downs in the alley etc. How well do they work if no C/O's and jetting from the roof. 
Also,,, I notice these jetters are very powerful to do the things you all talk about, but how destructive is it on orangeburg, concrete asbestos piping and the like especially when trying to make a tough turn.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

If the orangeburg is still round, use only 2000 psi.

If it's already elliptical and badly bubbled on the inside, your giving life support to a corpse.



mpsllc said:


> How well do jetters go around turns like 90 degree turn downs in the alley etc. How well do they work if no C/O's and jetting from the roof.
> Also,,, I notice these jetters are very powerful to do the things you all talk about, but how destructive is it on orangeburg, concrete asbestos piping and the like especially when trying to make a tough turn.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

Protech said:


> If the orangeburg is still round, use only 2000 psi.
> 
> If it's already elliptical and badly bubbled on the inside, your giving life support to a corpse.


Very true, I'm not sure I've seen orangeburg not egged. I'm even more surprised if the cable makes the turn down at alley without going into the mud. So am I to gather that the jetter is more for piping ( whatever the material) that is still in good condition?


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Eh, it's not that cut and dry. For instance, I have used a jetter to open up cast iron lines for re-lining where a cable couldn't go because 1/3 of the pipe was missing on the bottom. The cable will just start threading into the ground where as with the right nozzles you can keep the jet floating mid-pipe while it pull sand and debris out.




mpsllc said:


> Very true, I'm not sure I've seen orangeburg not egged. I'm even more surprised if the cable makes the turn down at alley without going into the mud. *So am I to gather that the jetter is more for piping ( whatever the material) that is still in good condition*?


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

Impressive, I can see what you're saying, what about this for example,,,, on a sewer today actually, C/O's 90 ft. out in yard, stoppage was at house but could not get cable to go around or through a turn or something. But being so far away instead of pulling a side cutter off I dropped down through 4" CI vent and got through it tight but ok, not roots came out though. Best guess and realizing you weren't there in this scenario would you think a jetter would have worked? Sorry for the dumb questions I am very ignorant on jetters.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

dunno


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

I appreciate your time and thoughts, I will wait on buying a rig right now till I can learn more about their capabilities. Thoughts from anyone is welcome.


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