Old K-500

[nkyrental]

I inherited an old K-500 Ridgid/Kollman drain cleaner from work. Replaced the electrical cord and it ran fine, so I ordered some C-9 cables, 7/8 ", and new jaws. Got the cables in last week, and tested them out. The jaws seem to grip the cable tightly, but I was under the assumption that the cable would feed itself on this unit. The cable turned with a lot of force, but no forward or reverse movement. Is the movement related to the cutter head working through a clog on this machine? Or do I have the wrong jaws?

[ToUtahNow]

I inherited an old K-500 Ridgid/Kollman drain cleaner from work. Replaced the electrical cord and it ran fine, so I ordered some C-9 cables, 7/8 ", and new jaws. Got the cables in last week, and tested them out. The jaws seem to grip the cable tightly, but I was under the assumption that the cable would feed itself on this unit. The cable turned with a lot of force, but no forward or reverse movement. Is the movement related to the cutter head working through a clog on this machine? Or do I have the wrong jaws?

All sectional machines and many drum machines are hand fed into the drain. The K-500 is a sectional machine so it does not have an auto feed. Many including myself prefer the hand fed machines so you can tell what the cable is doing.

Mark

[nkyrental]

That's what I figured from looking at it, but I was thinking maybe they had a tapered jaw set that would work the cable into the drain. Thanks for the reply.

[PLUMBER RICK]

a sectional machine spins cable. the open wind of the cable will feed itself into the pipe as it contacts the fittings and threads itself in.

the issue is the machine grips the cable. and the clutch handle engages the spinning of the cable. the cable does not self feed through the clutch assembly.

the cable needs to be slightly bowed between the machine and the opening of the drain approx. 2' away. as the cable spins the bow will allow you to work the cable in. this process is repeated until the line is cleared and pipe is clean.

of course you can push the cable into the line and spin it as needed to get it down to the stoppage.

pull up the video on the k-1500/ k-75/ or k-60 to see it working.

rick.