An official poll: sectional vs. cable for mainlines

[Service Guy]

Do you prefer sectionals for mainline stoppages?

or Do you prefer drums fro mainline stoppages?

[PLUMBER RICK]

i hope it's obvious.

either the k-60 with 7/8'' sectional.

or the 1.25'' sectional with drill/ timberwolf 300rpm with clutch.

if i'm doing a lot of mains in a day, i'll load my k1500 or general 82 machine.

rick.

[Service Guy]

I am still on the fence.

My history....I learned drain-cleaning on a k-60 for my first 4-5 years...good machine, very versatile, cleans drain very well and very easy on the back, since it can be carried in pieces. Bad: a little slower, a little messier than a drum.
Last 5 years been using drums. Advantages: very quick, self-feed models do all the work, fairly clean. BAd: super heavy, awkward, much more likely to break cables.

I can't decide!:confused: So I created a poll. It is private.

[Drain Medic]

The drum is definitely my choice for main lines. Only time i break out a sectional is if its longer then 100ft run, need to go on a roof, or limited access.

[safeclean]

I am just starting out so my vote is not from an experienced point of view,just what equipment I have.I have 2 electric eel model c sectional machines with 180' of cable that I will be using for mainlines(bought them from a retired plumber for $500 for the 2 machines plus the cables).I do plan on getting a k60,and a spartan 1065 drum down the road.

[gear junkie]

The drum is definitely my choice for main lines. Only time i break out a sectional is if its longer then 100ft run, need to go on a roof, or limited access.
That's interesting, I would think longer runs would be easier with a drum, yes, no?

[All Clear Sewer]

That's interesting, I would think longer runs would be easier with a drum, yes, no?

I was thinking the same thing http://smilies.vidahost.com/contrib/dvv/cwmddd.gif

[Drain Medic]

That's interesting, I would think longer runs would be easier with a drum, yes, no?


No, i have the electric eel, so at 200ft, its still has good torque and spinning cable.

If i need to go past 100ft, i will usually break out the jet anyway.

Very rarely do i need a sectional, in fact im selling the eel, any takers?:D

In my areas do you rarely have to go even 100ft.

[lonestardrain]

If i need to go past 100ft, i will usually break out the jet anyway.

Very rarely do i need a sectional, in fact im selling the eel, any takers?:D

In my areas do you rarely have to go even 100ft.[/QUOTE]


im the same way..i prefer drum also...Spartan 100 and 300...i also sold my fathers electric ell...it was slow and i cant stand the narrowness of the two wheels...i was flipping that machine over and over...and hell if the stoppage is beyond my 80' of Spartan cable i am breaking out the jetter also!!

[Mr Slate]

The K1500 is my tool of choice. I work in a rural setting and every job I go to has to be at least 150 ft to 300 ft. I have two drum machines but will be replacing them with a K60 soon. The way Rick speaks about what it will do makes me think they are shipped from the factory wraped in a superman cape:D

[All Clear Sewer]

I did a 200` run today that 2 other plumbers tried to tell the home owners they had cleaned the line with a 1500......rotflmao

They did it twice in one month....lol...

I cleared the 200` run and said hope to hear from ya next year ;)

A sectional at 200` :killingme: Yea right :thud:

Drum machines rule :bow-down:

[ToUtahNow]

If it's a straight line and an easy stoppage I'd use a drum machine. If it is a hard stoppage with a lot of tight turns it would be either my K-500 or K-1500 sectional machines.

Mark

[PLUMBER RICK]

The K1500 is my tool of choice. I work in a rural setting and every job I go to has to be at least 150 ft to 300 ft. I have two drum machines but will be replacing them with a K60 soon. The way Rick speaks about what it will do makes me think they are shipped from the factory wraped in a superman cape:D


actually in gold leaf foil.

looking forward to your k-60 review.

150'-300' sounds like a jetter will be a faster choice.

i have a 150' to do thursday. it's a main that runs through the property of another house. i've done it a few times over the years and a jetter is quicker, but trying to find parking right in front of the property with truck and trailer is a real crap shoot. with the sectional, i can still get it done and packed in under an hour. also knowing exactly where the roots are from a prior video. i can home in on it exactly with the 15' sections. difficult to home in exactly with a drum. i've tried paint, shrink tubing and anything i could think of. it all washed off or was shreaded off. the sectional couplings don't lie.

rick.

[Service Guy]

I did a 200` run today that 2 other plumbers tried to tell the home owners they had cleaned the line with a 1500......rotflmao

They did it twice in one month....lol...

I cleared the 200` run and said hope to hear from ya next year ;)

A sectional at 200` :killingme: Yea right :thud:

Drum machines rule :bow-down:

The 1500 seems like a ballsy machine to me, maybe the other guys just didn't do a good job. In my experience, a lot of guys just go in once with a small spade-head or what-have-you and get the water to drop, they never bother going in again with the proper head to actually do a good job. (with both drums and sectionals this happens).

[Ace Sewer]

I have to qualify my resonse off the bat; I do not own nor have I ever used a sectional machine. I jet as a matter of preference, cable when I must. Must being roots given the gpm constraints I have accepted for a jetter, and occaisionally flooding problems or access problems. I will eventually buy one of these goddamn highly lauded k-60's just to see, but feel I will find all that dripping floppy cable hanging out a major pain when I do. I think it must boil down to personal preference. I am sure there are tricks to deal with either style of machine, it just matters which set of hassles you prefer, and, like most people, I am comfortable with the devil I know, which happens to be closed reel drum machines.

[PLUMBER RICK]

The 1500 seems like a ballsy machine to me, maybe the other guys just didn't do a good job. In my experience, a lot of guys just go in once with a small spade-head or what-have-you and get the water to drop, they never bother going in again with the proper head to actually do a good job. (with both drums and sectionals this happens).

exactly what i tell my customers.

there is a difference between clearing the stoppage and cleaning the line.

allclear takes pride in his work and gets paid to do it right. others tend to get in and get out.

proper cutter choice, size and design will make it the difference between clearing and cleaning.

of course a video doesn't lie.

there are dozens of times i've been called to camera a line that was just snaked. times that the camera wouldn't even pass through the line.

the customers only knows that the toilet is flushing. i know that the line is clean.

both machines will do a great job in cleaning the line. it's up to the operator to do what he was hired to. clean the line, not just open it.

rick.

[PLUMBER RICK]

I have to qualify my resonse off the bat; I do not own nor have I ever used a sectional machine. I jet as a matter of preference, cable when I must. Must being roots given the gpm constraints I have accepted for a jetter, and occaisionally flooding problems or access problems. I will eventually buy one of these goddamn highly lauded k-60's just to see, but feel I will find all that dripping floppy cable hanging out a major pain when I do. I think it must boil down to personal preference. I am sure there are tricks to deal with either style of machine, it just matters which set of hassles you prefer, and, like most people, I am comfortable with the devil I know, which happens to be closed reel drum machines.

ace, it's really not that messy.

the open wind doesn't retain water like a tight wind or inner core cable.

also the high speed will spin the cable dry as it rotates much 3x faster than a drum.

i know for a fact, that the k-60 is 90% cleaner and dryer than an open cage drum machine. i can always see where the open drum guys have worked. i can never see where i have been with a closed drum or sectional.

even my larger 1.25'' cable with innercore are pretty dry when they come back. i even store the sections inside of motorcycle tires (50').

there is very little moisture when i go to load them.

i wear leather gloves when i'm running the sectional. got tired of ruining the ugly gloves with the sectional. my leather gloves are practically dry when i'm finished.

i too was skeptical at first. i trusted marks advise:check: and
the rest is history:soapbox:

plus if you don't like it, i'll be glad to buy it from you:D i need a back up for my back up's, back up.

fortunately other than a $17.00 bearing, my back ups are waiting to come out to play.:)

come to the roundup and give it a test drive. i know others are. plus with all the wining and dining ridgid is sponsoring, who knows what they might be offering:confused: i know i'll be bringing a check book and credit card. hope it fits in the plane or greg will have to hold it till i get home:eek: actually the k-60 is a great traveling machine. joey doesn't even know when i load it in the back of her purple car. don't tell:D

rick.

[Ace Sewer]

Hey man I'm in. In all honesty I need to jet a sink in front of some folks after cuda's heartbreak. Plus if it's a complete bust I still get away from the phone for a while. Say when... where must be Elyria? Maybe I can bring all my busted/abused camera stuff and get some resolution there; dumb new toolcase acting up again despite ridgid's diligent attention.

[Drain Medic]

ace, it's really not that messy.

the open wind doesn't retain water like a tight wind or inner core cable.

also the high speed will spin the cable dry as it rotates much 3x faster than a drum.

i know for a fact, that the k-60 is 90% cleaner and dryer than an open cage drum machine. i can always see where the open drum guys have worked. i can never see where i have been with a closed drum or sectional.

even my larger 1.25'' cable with innercore are pretty dry when they come back. i even store the sections inside of motorcycle tires (50').

there is very little moisture when i go to load them.

i wear leather gloves when i'm running the sectional. got tired of ruining the ugly gloves with the sectional. my leather gloves are practically dry when i'm finished.

i too was skeptical at first. i trusted marks advise:check: and
the rest is history:soapbox:

plus if you don't like it, i'll be glad to buy it from you:D i need a back up for my back up's, back up.

fortunately other than a $17.00 bearing, my back ups are waiting to come out to play.:)

come to the roundup and give it a test drive. i know others are. plus with all the wining and dining ridgid is sponsoring, who knows what they might be offering:confused: i know i'll be bringing a check book and credit card. hope it fits in the plane or greg will have to hold it till i get home:eek: actually the k-60 is a great traveling machine. joey doesn't even know when i load it in the back of her purple car. don't tell:D

rick.


Funny you say that. I can always tell when a slob was on a job using a sectional. You can see the cable marks all over the floor. Or you can see indentation marks from where the cable banged off the wall.

Whether its a drum or a sectional, take pride in your work and freakin clean up after yourself, when your done, there should be no trace that you were even there, except for the water draining fine.

[All Clear Sewer]

Funny you say that. I can always tell when a slob was on a job using a sectional. You can see the cable marks all over the floor. Or you can see indentation marks from where the cable banged off the wall.:killingme: I love it :killingme:

[clear-flow rooter]

up here in massachusetts when you have willow tree roots 75' out i would like to see anyone get through them with a machine. "not" they would be there for days. sectionals rule, end of discussion:D

[PLUMBER RICK]

wow, even the new members are diehard sectional guys.

it's getting closer as the drums are 14 and the sectionals are 10.

not bad considering out west, it's hard to find a sectional at the supply house or specialty house.

in all my driving around town, i've only seen 1 guy working a sectional in the field and he was doing area drains.

rick.

[Drain Medic]

Im up for the challenge ;)

[Service Guy]

I think the poll isn't even that fair, because people are voting who have never even used a sectional.
To me thats just stupid, to say that one is better than the other without having a lot of experience with both.
plumberrick as well as I, both have had extensive experience with closed drums and sectionals from Ridgid. And yet we prefer teh sectionals..it seems many drum guys never even tried a sectional. So I don't take their opinions seriously at all.:rolleyes:

[Drain Medic]

I think the poll isn't even that fair, because people are voting who have never even used a sectional.
To me thats just stupid, to say that one is better than the other without having a lot of experience with both.
plumberrick as well as I, both have had extensive experience with closed drums and sectionals from Ridgid. And yet we prefer teh sectionals..it seems many drum guys never even tried a sectional. So I don't take their opinions seriously at all.:rolleyes:


For 8yrs all i used to clear main lines was sectionals. Electric Eel. I can run that thing with my eyes closed. I even had a Spartan 1065 on the truck that i maybe used 5 times in those eight years. I was trainned on sectionals.

Then i switched companies and used Spartans 2001 and never looked back. I have a K60. I'll only use it on roofs. To me its a no brainer with the drum machines. I said it before. I go into jobs that other companies can not clear with sectionals, and yes some of those are from the beloved k60. They leave cable marks on the floor, on the walls, its a disgrace. I can wheel my drum machine right up to the bathroom door, set it down on mat, and go to town. No mess, no hassle of manuevering cables, light cleanup. So 8yrs on sectionals and 5yrs with drums. I still use the eel at times, but sectionals are going to become obsolete for outside work as jetters are becoming the way to go for almost every application. Again sectionals are good for the roof work, the crawl space work. But ill take a DRUM over a SECTIONAL ANYDAY OF THE WEEK. ;)

[Service Guy]

I respect your opinion drain medic as you are more experienced with than me with both!
Here is an old post that plumber rick made when he just started trying sectionals and you can see he was skeptical at first too!
bryan, i just purchased a few sectional machines. a k-50, k-60 and a general 88. the main thing i like about the section is the rpm speed of the cutters, cable. there is a whole lot more hands on cable handling with a sectional. also it's very awkward to run a sectional inside a house, not to mention the waste water on the cable to deal with. with an enclosed drum machine, there is very little cable handling and the waste water will stay in the drum til you're outside.

what is interesting is that on the west coast, they sell very few sectional machines and on the east coast, very little drum machines.
i guess i'm on the fence here. for your first machine, i would go with a drum machine. a k-7500 and a k-3800 should do you quite well. i also have a hand full of k-39 drain guns with auto feed and keyless chuck. the standard slide chuck is worthless.

rick.

[rooter-mania]

I have to agree with Rick, sectional machines http://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif are a lot more multi-functional than drum machineshttp://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif, on heavy roots I use my
eels, on large diameter lines manhole to manhole I use my K1000
rodding machine along with a jet, I own both, but the drawback to
main line drum machines is there weight and I'm not getting any younger.



I hope this ends this debate on this matter. lol:itsover:

[MrsSeatDown]

I respect your opinion drain medic as you are more experienced with than me with both!
Here is an old post that plumber rick made when he just started trying sectionals and you can see he was skeptical at first too!

Now the drum machines are sitting and collecting. . .they are part of my inheritance stash:dance:

[Cuda]

The poll question was on 4" on up your preference and I voted drum for hardcore even though it stays at home now unless needed. my k60 rides shotgun now.

[Drain Medic]

I have to agree with Rick, sectional machines http://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif are a lot more multi-functional than drum machineshttp://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif, on heavy roots I use my
eels, on large diameter lines manhole to manhole I use my K1000
rodding machine along with a jet, I own both, but the drawback to
main line drum machines is there weight and I'm not getting any younger.



I hope this ends this debate on this matter. lol:itsover:

Welcome to the forum, unfortunetly this debate will never end ;)

Sure there are many different functions of the sectionals. But then there is the awkwardness of the sectionals running them inside peoples houses. With manhole lines, i wouldnt even consider running a cable in those lines. I use to run a gas powered eel with the heavy duty cable, then i bought a jetter. Weight can be an issue with sectionals as well, as those drums of cable can get pretty heavy walking up and down stairs with them. Most drums now a days come apart very easy to take up and down steps, and also have stair runners on the back of them.

I agree sectionals in the short run would be way more powerfull then a drum, but alot less messier.

Sign up for the Ridgid Roundup, and you'll see All Clear and myself carrying plenty of gold ;)

[Service Guy]

Sorry if I got too emotional for a moment there guys. My brand new K-60 fully outfitted is arriving tomorrow and I feel like a kid waiting to open christmas presents!!!
I am going to hit a bunch of restaurants and businesses in my part of town and hand out my new magnetic business cards to let everyone know I am expanding my services to include more drain-cleaning.:dance:

[All Clear Sewer]

you will need a jetter for the restaurants ;)

[Drain Medic]

I agree with All Clear, your going to need a jetter for those Restuarants....Youll move the grease around, but wont clean the lines witht that machine

[DUNBAR]

up here in massachusetts when you have willow tree roots 75' out i would like to see anyone get through them with a machine. "not" they would be there for days. sectionals rule, end of discussion:D

I have to agree with Rick, sectional machines http://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif are a lot more multi-functional than drum machineshttp://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif, on heavy roots I use my
eels, on large diameter lines manhole to manhole I use my K1000
rodding machine along with a jet, I own both, but the drawback to
main line drum machines is there weight and I'm not getting any younger.



I hope this ends this debate on this matter. lol:itsover:

I bet you joined to up the vote I'm sure...

I agree with All Clear, your going to need a jetter for those Restuarants....Youll move the grease around, but wont clean the lines witht that machine

Hey DM,

What's your opinion of enzyme injection systems for restaurants? I was at a backflow meeting couple years ago and was sitting next to one of the top guys from White Castles. He was stating that when you work for them you learn all aspects of maintenance and repair of all facets of the restaurant, rarely do they call out HVAC or plumbers unless it's real serious.

He made statement to the fact that the enzyme injection setups that treat the lines leading out of white castles proved a 40% reduction in drain cleaning tasks.

Stated that every 3 to 5 days the system gets injected, set up on a timer and mixes with the moving waste matter and speeds the degredation process, breaks down grease a lot better.


I certainly don't deal with this end of drain cleaning, I work for 2 restaurants and thank goodness the employees take care of their grease traps. Some things in plumbing I just want to be aware of, never experience firsthand ever again.

But the fellow from White Castles mainly stated that the injection system paid itself off instantly with how much less manpower it created to keep their systems running error-free.

[Ace Sewer]

Yes, drum vs. sectional? what does it matter... the real answer is jetter.

[Ace Sewer]

I don't know about the enzymes... some managers swear by them, but I don't have the ability to track enough lines closely enough to find out if I think they work. I will say I find fast food restaraunts' lines less greasy than sit down places. They don't wash plates at White Castle, just the stuff they cook with.

[All Clear Sewer]

up here in massachusetts when you have willow tree roots 75' out i would like to see anyone get through them with a machine. "not" they would be there for days. sectionals rule, end of discussion:D


Hi RICK :loser:

[Drain Medic]

Hi RICK :loser:



:killingme::killingme::lmao::rotflmao::rotflmao1:

I was thinking the same thing :D

[Drain Medic]

I bet you joined to up the vote I'm sure...



Hey DM,

What's your opinion of enzyme injection systems for restaurants? I was at a backflow meeting couple years ago and was sitting next to one of the top guys from White Castles. He was stating that when you work for them you learn all aspects of maintenance and repair of all facets of the restaurant, rarely do they call out HVAC or plumbers unless it's real serious.

He made statement to the fact that the enzyme injection setups that treat the lines leading out of white castles proved a 40% reduction in drain cleaning tasks.

Stated that every 3 to 5 days the system gets injected, set up on a timer and mixes with the moving waste matter and speeds the degredation process, breaks down grease a lot better.


I certainly don't deal with this end of drain cleaning, I work for 2 restaurants and thank goodness the employees take care of their grease traps. Some things in plumbing I just want to be aware of, never experience firsthand ever again.

But the fellow from White Castles mainly stated that the injection system paid itself off instantly with how much less manpower it created to keep their systems running error-free.


Dunbar, I see them in alot of the restuarants that i do, and i also do restuarants that do not have them. Still im doing both on PMs.

The only difference i see with or without them is in the grease traps. The traps with them usually are softer, but just as much grease. The traps without em will usually have harder grease.

You still see problems in the main line though. They think because they have those injectors that they can put more grease and food down the lines :rolleyes:

One of the worst, if not the worst grease traps i have ever seen are the ones at Annie Anns Pretzels in the malls :barf:It looks like pig intestines when you pull the grease out of there... nasty stuff.

[Service Guy]

I agree that a jetter is needed on really nasty grease stoppages in restaurants. But until I can afford it, I can at least use 4-blade cutters to chew through.
Got to start somewhere. Sometimes owning my own business feels like a step BACKWARD since I have to start from scratch and can no longer rely on a boss to provide truck, tools, advertising, etc. etc...:(
But overall I love working for myself and doing things MY way!:happydance:

[Drain Medic]

I agree that a jetter is needed on really nasty grease stoppages in restaurants. But until I can afford it, I can at least use 4-blade cutters to chew through.
Got to start somewhere. Sometimes owning my own business feels like a step BACKWARD since I have to start from scratch and can no longer rely on a boss to provide truck, tools, advertising, etc. etc...:(
But overall I love working for myself and doing things MY way!:happydance:


Well, sounds like your going in the right direction. Main thing is, just be honest, and loyal to your customers, and you will have no problems. Everything else will come together at one point.

Good Luck!

[rooter-mania]

Welcome to the forum, unfortunetly this debate will never end ;)

Sure there are many different functions of the sectionals. But then there is the awkwardness of the sectionals running them inside peoples houses. With manhole lines, i wouldnt even consider running a cable in those lines. I use to run a gas powered eel with the heavy duty cable, then i bought a jetter. Weight can be an issue with sectionals as well, as those drums of cable can get pretty heavy walking up and down stairs with them. Most drums now a days come apart very easy to take up and down steps, and also have stair runners on the back of them.

I agree sectionals in the short run would be way more powerfull then a drum, but alot less messier.

Sign up for the Ridgid Roundup, and you'll see All Clear and myself carrying plenty of gold ;)
Thanks for welcoming me Drain Medic, great to chat with fellow Drain Cleaners, We'll have to go on service call , sewerage seeping out of skirt of mobile home I'm sure I'll be using my sectionals on that call

[Service Guy]

Thanks for welcoming me Drain Medic, great to chat with fellow Drain Cleaners, We'll have to go on service call , sewerage seeping out of skirt of mobile home I'm sure I'll be using my sectionals on that call

That sounds like a real nasty one. Tell us all the gory details when you get back.:barf:

[Service Guy]

That reminds of great story. Got a call about sewage leaking under a trailer. I get there and go check it out. The lady says they have had a horrible smell in the house the past few weeks and don't know why, then they noticed a leak underneath the trailer.
I was with an apprentice and I suited up in my coveralls and rubber gloves and told him I'd go in to investigate. I see a large bulge in the plastic underneath the trailer that is leaking smelly liquid. I go under and cut it open with a utility knife and water pours out everywhere as I scramble out yelling, "AAUUGGHH, POOPY!" After it finished draining I went back under and realized it was just a leak on a polybutylene waterline...weird.
So we tell the customer that its just a leak and that we'll fix it. So I crawl back under and start working on the waterline repair. I notice that the smell is still quite strong and there are flies everywhere for some strange reason.

..All of a sudden I look up next to the leak I am working on and....

...THERE IS A DEAD CAT HANGING ONLY A FEW FEET FROM MY HEAD AND ITS ALL BLOATED AND ITS EYES ARE HANGING OUT OF ITS SKULL!!! It was sick!!!:shocked:

I gently asked the lady if she was missing a cat and she said no. Apparently a stray cat was very thirsty, climbed in to the plastic insulation to get water from the potybutylene leak and then got trapped and drowned in the puddle!

I used a rake to drag it out to the side of the trailer and told the lady, "DON'T GO BACK THERE, wait until your boyfriend comes home to deal with it."
Because it was really horrible-looking with its guts all bloated and its rotting eyeballs hanging out of its head.
Just as we are pulling out of the driveway I see her tiptoeing around the back to take a peek, so I rolled down the window, "I warned you not to go back ther, its really nasty."

"But I am curious!", she admitted. I can just picture what happened after she got a good look at it.:shocked::barf::thud:

[ToUtahNow]

By the way I voted drum as long as it was an easy sewer without issues which most are. If the sewer had any issues I would switch to a sectional. For the record I have used/owned both for 30 + =ears but now only have sectionals.

Mark

[proplumb]

real men go with a sectional, keep the drums for the autospin for the diy'rs:happydance:

[Drain Medic]

real men go with a sectional, keep the drums for the autospin for the diy'rs:happydance:


I would love to see the DIY'rs handle some of the clogs i clear with my drums. :D

I watched a guy clean out his sewer one time while i was eating lunch across the street. Looked like a brand new machine. So i went over and started talkin to the guy. He just bought the machine. Said he was tired of getting "robbed" by plumbers.

No sooner did i turn my back to walk back to the truck, i hear the guy screaming. The cable had caught the bottom of his sleeve and wrapped his arm in the cable so tight, that i need a razor to remove his sleeve. :rolleyes:

Hopefully wont ever see that catastrophy happen again.

[rooter-mania]

That reminds of great story. Got a call about sewage leaking under a trailer. I get there and go check it out. The lady says they have had a horrible smell in the house the past few weeks and don't know why, then they noticed a leak underneath the trailer.
I was with an apprentice and I suited up in my coveralls and rubber gloves and told him I'd go in to investigate. I see a large bulge in the plastic underneath the trailer that is leaking smelly liquid. I go under and cut it open with a utility knife and water pours out everywhere as I scramble out yelling, "AAUUGGHH, POOPY!" After it finished draining I went back under and realized it was just a leak on a polybutylene waterline...weird.
So we tell the customer that its just a leak and that we'll fix it. So I crawl back under and start working on the waterline repair. I notice that the smell is still quite strong and there are flies everywhere for some strange reason.

..All of a sudden I look up next to the leak I am working on and....

...THERE IS A DEAD CAT HANGING ONLY A FEW FEET FROM MY HEAD AND ITS ALL BLOATED AND ITS EYES ARE HANGING OUT OF ITS SKULL!!! It was sick!!!:shocked:

I gently asked the lady if she was missing a cat and she said no. Apparently a stray cat was very thirsty, climbed in to the plastic insulation to get water from the potybutylene leak and then got trapped and drowned in the puddle!

I used a rake to drag it out to the side of the trailer and told the lady, "DON'T GO BACK THERE, wait until your boyfriend comes home to deal with it."
Because it was really horrible-looking with its guts all bloated and its rotting eyeballs hanging out of its head.
Just as we are pulling out of the driveway I see her tiptoeing around the back to take a peek, so I rolled down the window, "I warned you not to go back ther, its really nasty."

"But I am curious!", she admitted. I can just picture what happened after she got a good look at it.:shocked::barf::thud:




Great story Service Guy, just last week I was called on a job to clear a Main, I narrowed down the clog to the whole house trap, tried to snake it but couldn't get thru, tried a wet vac thinking maybe stones since the trap was vented thru cellar wall at the front walkway, then I smelled this god awful stench coming from my vac, shut it down, looked into trap and there it was a dead big old rat, went to truck and got a 5 gallon pail w/ lid and two foot pliers used for removing fish hooks from fish, works well for rat removal, all along the customer was asking me what I discovered, told him it was a dead rat clogging his Main and warned him that when I pull it out it's going to smell, I guess he thought I was joking because when I removed the cridder the customer barfed all over my jacket in return caused me to barf all over his sidewalk ( managed to keep it down until I got outside) I think thats the first time in the 25 years in the biz I ever barfed on the job. as to the mobile home call yesterday nasty job, clogged main, put on tyvek suit crawled under trailer to install guide tube so I can run my snakes from outside, went back today with 3 bags of lime and my bill.

Good luck new company I'm sure you will do fine.

[appletondrain]

I have always used a drum machine, but after reading the posts I might look into a sectional unit.