Cordless Drain Cleaning Tools Can Save You Time, Hassle, and Money
Plumbers are the unsung heroes of the trades. The job may not be as illustrious as electrical, but when the crap hits the fan (sometimes literally), ol’ Sparky isn’t anywhere to be found. Cordless drain cleaning tools can make the job quicker, easier, cheaper, and leave you looking like a rockstar.
Cordless Drain Cleaning Tools for Toilets and Urinals
Cleaning a drain in a toilet or urinal is a bit different than in other areas of the system. The porcelain fixtures can’t handle the same kind of abuse that other access points can.
There are now specialty augers for both toilets and urinals available. Some of these are hand tools, but there are a couple of cordless options available, too. You need to select the correct type since the toilet auger has a different head than the urinal auger. For that reason, it’s best to keep one of each on hand. You can even snag a combo kit that lets you use one powerhead for both types of attachments.
These cordless drain cleaning tools use protective materials to make sure you don’t mar the porcelain. In the same vein, these are 12V tools. They intentionally limit the power so you don’t damage fixtures or pipes on the other side of them. They even have replaceable cables to help you extend the service life of the tool.
Clearing Out Sink Lines, Showers, and Baths
There are several options to cover drain cleaning in a sink, shower, or bathtub. Some include cordless models of hand-powered or corded drain auger and snakes. Because these don’t require a ton of power in most cases, you can find them in both 18V/20V Max and 12V versions. The 18V models usually deliver a bit higher capacity.
These are one of the most popular cordless drain cleaning tools available with several manufacturers in the space. To get the most time-savings, here are some things you can expect to find on better cordless models:
- Fully enclosed drum to contain the mess
- Brushless motor for the best power and runtime
- Variable spin and feed speeds
- Powered feeding and retracting
- Feed lock
Moving away from the traditional drain snake design, there’s actually an air-powered cordless drain cleaning tool now available. You can set the pressure level to avoid damaging the pipe and with the push of the trigger, send a puff of air into the line. Rather than pressurizing the line, the air pushes against the water in the line to move the blockage.
For clogs within 35 feet of the drain, it’s possible to clear plumbing from 1-1/4 inches to 4 inches in just a few seconds.
Sometimes the clog is too stubborn for air and you still need to follow up with a cable auger, but under the right conditions, it’s a massive time-saver.
Secondary/Branch Drain Lines and Main Lines
As cordless technology has moved forward with more available power, it is opening up more robust cordless drain cleaning tools. One that our Pro team uses is a cordless sectional drum machine that’s capable of clearing lines from 1-1/4 inches to 4 inches. While it doesn’t have the power to clear roots, it’s a good fit for other small to medium drain lines.
The sectional drum is removable and allows plumbers to carry multiple cables that are ready to go in seconds while only needing one backpack power base. What they really like is that it has a backpack harness system that’s a huge win when they have to gain access through points such as the vent stack on a roof.
Sewer Lateral Lines
Getting into sewer lateral lines is a whole different animal. Having the power to clear clogs that can include roots is not something we expected from cordless drain cleaning tools a few years ago.
Yet an 18V sewer sectional machine is now available with enough power to clear lines up to 8 inches in diameter and 200 feet away using cables up to 1-1/4 inches. One of our team’s favorite features is the automatic feed and retract. By having a powered retraction, they’re experiencing less fatigue since they don’t have to pull it back by hand.
And if that’s not enough, the Milwaukee MX FUEL sewer drum machine can auger through roots all the way to 200 feet with the same 8-inch diameter capacity. This MX FUEL system also features a unique set of powered treads to help you navigate stairs and load/unload from your van without straining your back in the process.
What cordless drain cleaning tools are you using or interested in? Tell us about them in the comments below! Then head over to Acme Tools to check out more cordless options!
