# Kentic water ram



## MACK ATTAKK (Jan 11, 2015)

Is the General water ram worth purchasing for 700 bucks? What does it do that a rodder can't. How does it work with drum trap on tubs?


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## fixitright (Jan 5, 2012)

I used mine four times in the last month. Three out of four times it saved me.
It's a last resort kinda thing but once you get the hang of it it's worth while.

I paid less than $700.00 but I didn't get all the attachments. 

AND I AIN'T GONNA BLOW NO TOILET OUT.


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## KoleckeINC (Oct 22, 2011)

700 is too much. 350 more like it. You can sometimes increase volume to galv lines with it too provided you have a compressor. Sound investment, I can rod through a drum trap. The ram will shoot a soft clog out of a drum. Sometimes it's better to use a big shop vac though. Especially at 4pm on the third floor of a building.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

MACK ATTAKK said:


> What does it do that a rodder can't?


Well the question is what doesn't it do that a rodder can???:whistling2:


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## fixitright (Jan 5, 2012)

Drum traps you can't get to

Home owner plumbing

As redwood will soon say, Hackery


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## MACK ATTAKK (Jan 11, 2015)

$700 for the complete set. I don't worry about cost though a good tool aways pays for itself.


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## MACK ATTAKK (Jan 11, 2015)

I run into a lot of drum traps. In the past if I couldn't get through with a rod I would cut it out and replace with a drum trap. Yes it's extra work but for the time it takes first try and rod the tub drain to the time it takes to decide that the drum trap needs to be removed. Then doing that work. Much time and energy has been used up. Do you thing the RAM is better option.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

fixitright said:


> Drum traps you can't get to
> 
> Home owner plumbing
> 
> As redwood will soon say, Hackery


You knew exactly what was coming fixitright... :thumbup:

Hackery!:yes:




MACK ATTAKK said:


> I run into a lot of drum traps. In the past if I couldn't get through with a rod I would cut it out and replace with a drum trap. Yes it's extra work but for the time it takes first try and rod the tub drain to the time it takes to decide that the drum trap needs to be removed. Then doing that work. Much time and energy has been used up. Do you thing the RAM is better option.


MACK ATTAKK you are correct...
For a plumber the correct thing to do is eliminate the drum trap and provide your customer with a cleanable drain line. Oddly enough this service is often comparable to what I charge for cleaning a drain especially if it is in a basement without access, pitch, and venting, being complex... More complex ones may be higher...

We are plumbers... Right?


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## Cajunhiker (Dec 14, 2009)

Most drum traps in South Louisiana are embedded into the cement slab behind the tub. To remove such is often impractical unless all other options have been exhausted.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Cajunhiker said:


> Most drum traps in South Louisiana are embedded into the cement slab behind the tub. To remove such is often impractical unless all other options have been exhausted.


And the code required access to a cleanout is there... Correct?:whistling2:


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## fixitright (Jan 5, 2012)

HACKERY


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

Cajunhiker said:


> Most drum traps in South Louisiana are embedded into the cement slab behind the tub. To remove such is often impractical unless all other options have been exhausted.


I've run into my fair share of concrete embedded drum traps. Those suck.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

MACK ATTAKK said:


> I run into a lot of drum traps. In the past if I couldn't get through with a rod I would cut it out and replace with a drum trap.


You replace a drum trap with a new drum trap? How? And why? They're not code approved? Or are you putting in hair traps like belvedere brand hair traps? I just don't get why when a 2" P-trap works better and it can be cabled much more easily.


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## plumbdrum (Nov 30, 2013)

Best Darn Sewer said:


> You replace a drum trap with a new drum trap? How? And why? They're not code approved? Or are you putting in hair traps like belvedere brand hair traps? I just don't get why when a 2" P-trap works better and it can be cabled much more easily.


 If there is no vent then you should keep the drum trap, it's better than one of those hack AAV's., just cut in a clean out ,snake your drain and call it a day. Drum traps work, they have been working for years. If there is a vent available then by all means tie it in and put a trap, no vent it gets a drum trap.


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## MACK ATTAKK (Jan 11, 2015)

I like that comment. "Drum traps work they've worked for years." I don't want to cut it out just because. I just want to clear the blockage so that it works again. That's why I asked of the water ram works. I'm not going to everybody's home trying to bring it up to code. The aim is to make it functional.


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## fixitright (Jan 5, 2012)

The whole point of using a water ram as a last resort is for
places you can't get a cable in.

It's saved me many times.

As with any tool you have to learn to use it properly.


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## Drain Pro (Nov 3, 2013)

700 bucks is way too high. Like someone else said, 350 is more like it. I hardly ever use mine but it really comes in handy when I need it. 


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## plumbdrum (Nov 30, 2013)

MACK ATTAKK said:


> I like that comment. "Drum traps work they've worked for years." I don't want to cut it out just because. I just want to clear the blockage so that it works again. That's why I asked of the water ram works. I'm not going to everybody's home trying to bring it up to code. The aim is to make it functional.



My point to the other plumber saying to cut out the drum trap and install a p trap is not usually going to work due to the fact that there probably is not a vent that feasibly could be installed. Our jobs as plumbers is to protect a trap seal, a drum trap has less of a chance of siphoning than a p trap with no vent. I got the whole self scouring thing but I think this is a reasonable deviation of the plumbing code that would protect the trap seal.


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## plumbdrum (Nov 30, 2013)

And yes the water ram works for certain instances, like what your situation is.Just don't over pressurize the ram, start at low PSI's say 10 and jack your PSI up as needed. Don't forget to block up your overflows or your going to have a mess. Obviously the correct method would be to snake the line, but if it's a lead line or not feasible to snake it the Ram is a good last resort short of ripping out the plumbing.


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## fixitright (Jan 5, 2012)

:thumbup:And if you don't keep a water ram in your truck it's just plain

 [BHACKERY[/B]


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

plumbdrum said:


> If there is no vent then you should keep the drum trap, it's better than one of those hack AAV's., just cut in a clean out ,snake your drain and call it a day. Drum traps work, they have been working for years. If there is a vent available then by all means tie it in and put a trap, no vent it gets a drum trap.


I'm not following how a vent makes a difference. An AAV is not a bad option if there's normal vents down stream and an access panel for the AAV. The code specifically states drum traps are illegal. Granted, I have cabled drains from a vent when there was a drum trap and the clog was downstream of it and left the old drum trap in service if the customer didn't want to replace it because like you say, they do work. But if the drum trap is clogged, that lid isn't coming off and they are getting a new approved trap. All of our old drum traps are made of lead and the lids have basically welded themselves on by the time I get to it.

But I can't see replacing one with a new one regardless of a vent. I get what you're saying about siphonage being less probable with a drum but it seems like a disservice to the customer to reinstall an out of date and illegal trap when a new trap with a code approved AAV would work better. Where do you find new ones?


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## plumbdrum (Nov 30, 2013)

Best Darn Sewer said:


> I'm not following how a vent makes a difference. An AAV is not a bad option if there's normal vents down stream and an access panel for the AAV. The code specifically states drum traps are illegal. Granted, I have cabled drains from a vent when there was a drum trap and the clog was downstream of it and left the old drum trap in service if the customer didn't want to replace it because like you say, they do work. But if the drum trap is clogged, that lid isn't coming off and they are getting a new approved trap. All of our old drum traps are made of lead and the lids have basically welded themselves on by the time I get to it.
> 
> But I can't see replacing one with a new one regardless of a vent. I get what you're saying about siphonage being less probable with a drum but it seems like a disservice to the customer to reinstall an out of date and illegal trap when a new trap with a code approved AAV would work better. Where do you find new ones?



No code approvals for AAV here, thank god.


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## Drain Pro (Nov 3, 2013)

Thank god no drum traps here. 


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## plumbdrum (Nov 30, 2013)

I'll just go back and chat with the plumbers.


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

If your worried about trap siphoning why not just do a deep trap seal ? Make the trap with fittings instead of an actual p trap.


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## MACK ATTAKK (Jan 11, 2015)

Best Darn Sewer said:


> You replace a drum trap with a new drum trap? How? And why? They're not code approved? Or are you putting in hair traps like belvedere brand hair traps? I just don't get why when a 2" P-trap works better and it can be cabled much more easily.


Yes I meant ptrap nice catch


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

plumbdrum said:


> No code approvals for AAV here, thank god.


Well, they can occasionally make an impossible job possible. I'm not a fan of using them other than a last resort. The oatey UPC approved one works great for kitchen sink relocates IF, and that's a big IF, the downstream connections have standard vents and it is accessible for replacing. Being they are air admittance valves you have to have a vent downstream to allow air in front of the water to escape they work fine. It is when the whole system is plumbed with them that issues occur. Why are you so against them? They have their place, much like shark bites.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

MACK ATTAKK said:


> Yes I meant ptrap nice catch


Ah. I wondered.


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