Milwaukee "Air Snake"

SlamDunk

I'm thinking of purchasing this device. But before I do so, I wanted to seek your opinion. I'm a maintenance man in a pharma company with many bathrooms and colleagues who like to flush paper towels regularly. It seems too good to be true. There has to be something I a missing but Milwaukee is a good tool manufacturer.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Larry Weingarten

Hello, I haven't used it, but here is a similar device that I know has been around a long time: https://drainbrain.com/products/r-kinetic-water-ram/ Seems there must be something to it.

Yours, Larry

Fred

I've often wonderedwhat damage those devices might do as far as blowing out a wall on a 100 year old pipe? Of course there is always that natural instinct that if 10 PSI is good, 30 or 40 will do the job much better.

jacobsond

Better hope you have a good seal or your getting wet. If the clog is past the vent probably not going to work. I have a little dewaldt battery powered snake. Works good enough.

SlamDunk

It is all new plumbing, pressure tested. Milwaukees video says it will pass by vents and work upto 35’.

Fred

I don't have one and never used one but I am a huge Milwaukee tool fan and I'm betting it does what they say. I may order one. I just have to control my temptation to use as little pressure as is required to get the job done.

EBEBRATT-Ed

My girlfriend plugged everything up in the garbage disposal a few months back. Of course I tried "Liquid Plumber" and it didn't budge. The only way in was the small drain nut on the trap with a snake..........tried this for half an hour...no dice. Cut the trap out and realized the plugged drain was in the wall and no amount of snaking would clear it.

I went to HD and bought one of those rubber expandable things you hook to a garden hose it expands and pushes water down the drain.

Worked like a charm

SlamDunk

Fred said:

I don't have one and never used one but I am a huge Milwaukee tool fan and I'm betting it does what they say. I may order one. I just have to control my temptation to use as little pressure as is required to get the job done.

Me too.

SlamDunk

I had a situation recently. A floor drain in a bathroom was backing up brown. ick. I wonder how a ball of air would fare through the P trap?

L Thiesen

I just watched the demo of the Air Snake , I was not impressed, the demo drain line had no vent and was only about 4 ft long. Still it was a struggle, I don’t see how this would work with a vent in the system. looks like a good way to throw crap all over the room though, that always impresses the customer.Ha Ha.
I used one of the rubber things that attach to a garden hose and expand when under pressure to the dia of the drain pipe and then use the water pressure to clear the clog. Well the darn thing split under pressure and then the hose shot water all over the room. The customer was not impressed, so I never did that again.

Fred

The last drain I had to open was a bathroom sink. It literally took me hours upon hours to open. Worked fine one day, next day clogged? The drain pipe went into the wall, 90 * turn, six inches in, ran a foot where it connected to a Tee, one end of the Tee turned up and went to the roof as a vent, the other end turned down, ran about 2 feet to the underside of the floor (Second floor), turned 90*, ran 5 ft. across the bathroom to the opposite wall, turned 90* again and ran another 5 ft. into the waste stack. What a nightmare. I finally managed to get a power snake all the way through and then getting it out was another nightmare. I was ready to just stick a sign on that sink that said "Permanently out of order".

Leonard

AT home tub clogged and plumber's helper didn't cut it. So tried water. Took a tennis ball and hose and made something like "rubber thing that attaches to garden hose and expands"

Didn't work since water leaked out of clog as fast as it came out of hose. Ended up snaking it.

When it clogged again the tennis ball method helped a little, but with pipe full of water violet plunging with plumber's helper worked that time. Worked best if all water (no air) in pipe, air compressed and reduced pressure on clog.

the_donut

Had a whole apartment backed up. Had our drain guy camera it. Went in circles around perimeter drain. Couldn’t find the outlet after running 200’. Turns out city capped outlet when they began work on building across street a year ago. Liquids leeched out from clay tile. But solids couldn’t get out. Eventually solids built up.

Took almost a week for city to figure it out. They’ll be paying the hotel bills and digging up their road they finished in November to run a new line.

L Thiesen

One other thought I had is that by useing the Air Snake you may just move the clog farther down the drain line.

unclejohn

I had the Drain Doctor out at my house this summer and he used some kinda hose connected to a huge tank he towed behind his truck. Filled the tank with water from my outside faucet and he said either 1000psi or 4000psi could not understand him that well with the wad of Red Man he had but my drains are clear. He went down through the roof vent, he also sent me into the bath room and said to yell if things went crazy. Nothing did.

SlamDunk

I will buy one and let you know how it works. so far, it has only been paper towels, so i am hoping it will fall apart.

I want something better because the Cleanout plug was stuck and I tried to run snake down floor drain thru p trap but couldnt make the turn. when i reversed motor, snake let loose, ( I was winding up the spring and didnt know it was stuck) ,and it spun. It was like a full blender wiThout a lid. The two pot, two urinal room had horizontal splatter on all four walls up to the ceiling. I hated everyone.

Thus, my interest.

the_donut

You can tie a string to your head and make it turn by pulling string in direction of turn.

j a_2

unclejohn said:

I had the Drain Doctor out at my house this summer and he used some kinda hose connected to a huge tank he towed behind his truck. Filled the tank with water from my outside faucet and he said either 1000psi or 4000psi could not understand him that well with the wad of Red Man he had but my drains are clear. He went down through the roof vent, he also sent me into the bath room and said to yell if things went crazy. Nothing did.

It’s called a water jet, pretty good if used by the right person

j a_2

The kenitic water ram can get you in trouble at residential property..real fast

SuperTech

I have a kinetic water ram, I've used it a couple of times at home with good results. I've blown out the drain on a shower as well as a clogged toilet. I prefer a plunger or snake for the toilet.

What kind of trouble can you get into with it?

the_donut

SuperTech said:

I have a kinetic water ram, I've used it a couple of times at home with good results. I've blown out the drain on a shower as well as a clogged toilet. I prefer a plunger or snake for the toilet.



What kind of trouble can you get into with it?

Head stuck in a broken flange, never fun with toilets. Always happy when it’s a fill valve or flapper.

SlamDunk

Bought it. will be here next week.

Fred

Anxious to hear how it works!

Sharond

Don’t waste your $$$.  Still gotta clear the clog at the trap. May as well start there at least that’s where the clog is every single time water backs up into my tub. Seems the apt above love to put  paper towels and oil down the drain. The 2 one bedroom apts on the first floor suffer. Me more than the other guy cause the darn trap is under  my living room floor.  Why it’s not in the front yard is beyond me. 😡

SlamDunk

Works for 80% of our problems. Bought a second one. Have appropriate snakes for the 20%

BillyO

I have been using generals kinetic water ram for 20 years, on every type of drain, any age. Very rarely do I ever have to pull snake off truck. Great investment!!!!!