Getting #*$% drain auger past 90.

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Anon99

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My kitchen sink is clogged. I ran a 25' 1/4" snake into the clean out on the outside wall and it didn't clear the clog, though it did drop tantalizing hints, in the form of some solid grease stuck on the very end of the snake, that I was almost there.

So I went out and bought a 50' 1/2" snake. It is a manual one -- didn't even come in a drum. It should reach the clog easily.

But I can't get the #*$% thing more than about 6' in. I am pretty sure that the 1/2" snake is won't go around the 90 degree turn. The smaller snake made the turn with no problems at all.

So what's the trick? I have spent a couple of hours at this and now it's personal!

If this doesn't work, I will call in a professional. I've looked through old threads and I really get the danger of large powered snakes. But I am going to get that #*$% thing around that turn before I give up even if I have to remove the &*%# wall to do it!

It's a guy thing. I'm sure you understand.
 

hj

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My 1/2" snake has no problem negotiating elbows, so either you have a "bad" snake or there is a problem at the elbow. Most snakes will be able to be pushed through an elbow without even rotating them.
 

6t7gto

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Our kitchen sink line,in the wall, was clogged with grease. I tried to snake it but all it did was pass thru the grease. I got my air compressor. Shoved the air hose in the wall. Put a rag around it and had my wife open the valve on the compressor. The air pressure pushed the grease stoppage from the 1 1/2 " pipe into the 2" pipe in the basement and flushed out easily.
david
 

JohnjH2o1

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Our kitchen sink line,in the wall, was clogged with grease. I tried to snake it but all it did was pass thru the grease. I got my air compressor. Shoved the air hose in the wall. Put a rag around it and had my wife open the valve on the compressor. The air pressure pushed the grease stoppage from the 1 1/2 " pipe into the 2" pipe in the basement and flushed out easily.
david

That would only work if the sink wasn't vented.
John
 

hj

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quote; Our kitchen sink line,in the wall, was clogged with grease. I tried to snake it but all it did was pass thru the grease.

In that case you had the wrong snake. A good one "flails" around inside the pipe rather than just "boring" a hole through the stoppage.
 

Anon99

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My 1/2" snake has no problem negotiating elbows, so either you have a "bad" snake or there is a problem at the elbow. Most snakes will be able to be pushed through an elbow without even rotating them.

C'mon hj, I've read enough of your posts to know that you must have some handy tricks in your bag! You just want to see me tear out the wall. ;)

As much as I'd like to, I can't see how I can blame the snake. But it is clearly hitting something. It slides right in, no problem, until it gets to a certain point and then it just stops. I'm pretty sure there is no clog there. I'm trying to imagine what could be wrong with the pipe at that point and I can't. Of course, I've got no actual experience, so that doesn't say much.

Could the pipe have collapsed? This doesn't seem too likely as the house isn't that old. Is there any kind of junction it could be getting stuck at that a smaller snake wouldn't? Is there something I can do to the end of the snake that might help?

All of this is reaching, I know, but I've got to do something. What would you guys try in my situtation?
 

Jerome2877

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Try running it in reverse, sometimes this will help get it through the 90. I use a drop head auger bit sometimes when it won't go through with other bits.

If its grease the best bet is a jetter, this will clean the pipe as it goes.
 

6t7gto

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That would only work if the sink wasn't vented.
John

John,
My sink is vented. I'm pretty sure the clog was on the horizontal line, about 2', before the vent went up thru the roof and before it turned down to the basement.
All I know is it worked for me.
david
 

Thatguy

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Our kitchen sink line,in the wall, was clogged with grease. I tried to snake it but all it did was pass thru the grease. I got my air compressor. Shoved the air hose in the wall. Put a rag around it and had my wife open the valve on the compressor. The air pressure pushed the grease stoppage from the 1 1/2 " pipe into the 2" pipe in the basement and flushed out easily.
david
For kitchen blockages I use hot water from the water heater and rags as a gasket. You can also get a fitting that adapts the faucet aerator thread to garden hose thread. I use a dowel to keep the rag gasket from coming back at me.
I suppose the water level in the vent rose some, but it usually works. 10' vertical rise in the vent gives you 4 PSI, 12# of force in a 2" pipe.
Sometimes you need an assistant to watch for the water level rising in other sinks, depending on where the blockage is.
 
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hj

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Thatguy, if that were going to work, then so would filling the disposer side with hot water, closing the other drain and holding it tightly, then turning on the disposer. It will act as a "pump" and create almost as much pressure as your hose and water.
 

Thatguy

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Thatguy, if that were going to work, then so would filling the disposer side with hot water, closing the other drain and holding it tightly, then turning on the disposer. It will act as a "pump" and create almost as much pressure as your hose and water.
I should have mentioned, if there is a disposal I disconnect the output pipe and then do the hose/gasket thing or use a snake. It's quite a bit more trouble.
 

Hairyhosebib

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When you are running a cable and it won't go past a fitting, run it in reverse long enough to get it to go around it. This will really upset some people but the first thing I do with a cable that is 1/2 inch or smaller is to cut the end off that holds the head and that big bulbed part of the cable and just put a little bend on it. Don't even bother with a head at all! I work at a university. Pretty much all the drains are cast iron. Sometimes getting a drain unplugged can be one hell of a lot of work!! I have ran cables in with drop heads clearing the stoppage only to pull the cable out and the drop head is gone. Wherever it went it will be certain to cause the next clog. I have got the cable in fairly easily only to be unable to pull it back out. DO NOT PULL ON IT!! You will stretch it and ruin it! If it is a 1/2 inch or smaller, I remove it from the drum and chuck it up in a 1/2 inch drill. I get it spinning and walk it out, it may come out of the drill chuck several times, keep trying. Cables are very expensive.
If you are going through grease, the cable may go right through it and the grease will close in behind it. When you are running the cable, push it in and out while the cable is spinning. Go to the Automotive section in Wallmart and buy a gallon of purple cleaner. It used to be a Castrol product. This stuff will do a pretty good job of cutting grease. It will take the skin off your fingers, so wear gloves. Something else you can do is to screw a nipple and elbow in the clean out thread to extend it out. This makes it easy to pour water or the cleaner in and easy to see when the pipe stoppage is clearing. Running a sewer machine is dangerous work. I have seen cables come out of drains and literally wrap around people. Do not do this without someone watching and helping you. One time the cable came out and wrapped around the guys hands. If there had not been an assistant there to unplug the electric, there is no telling what might have happened to the guy! WORK SAFE AND SMART!
Another thing you can try is to plug the vent if you can get on the roof, cap off the sink drain in the house and try to use a wet vac and suck it out. I have done this when kids dump sand and rocks down the outside sink at one of the universities campus childrens center. That is a stoppage that is really hard to get a cable through. DAMN KIDS!!
 
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Jerome2877

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Go to the Automotive section in Wallmart and buy a gallon of purple cleaner.

While this may work I don't think its a very enviromentally friendly idea to dump hazardous material down a drain! Bio clean would be better or use a jetter for grease.
 

hj

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I used to "get after" any plumber who damaged a snake because of poor work habits. You do not want to know what I would do to him if he "cut the end off of a new cable".
 

Jimbo

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You guys keep saying "run it in reverse". He is using a 1/2" cable and pushing it in by hand! Assuming he is in a 2" pipe, it SHOULD go around a 90, but just pushing it is a challenge!
 

Hairyhosebib

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You are right Jimbo, just pushing it can be a real challenge! It is hard back breaking work. It may go in easily too, but getting it out is the real challenge. pulling out a cable with underwear or a towel wrapped around it is hard to do. HJ, you may call it poor work habits and damaging a cable by cutting the end off, I call it getting the job done as quickly as possible. I'm responsible for getting plumbing done in a hundred plus buildings at night. I have eight hours to work and trouble calls coming in of various degrees of problems while I'm doing the ones I have already been given. It's pretty stressful work. Everybody's problem is an emergency! I'm curious, HJ, How hard is it for you to get a 3/8 or 1/2 inch cable through a 2 inch cast iron floor drain trap with the head on it? I know it's darn hard. I have been doing this kind of work since 1978, I'm starting to get tired, my back is not as good as it used to be. Plastic drains are much easier to deal with than cast iron. I have ruined far fewer cables by not having that oversize head impeding my progress.
 

hj

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Not hard at all. I have both spring heads and drop head versions, so I use the one which will work the best, but whenever possible I use the cleanout fitting rather than go through the "P" trap. The head is NOT what damages the cable, but rather the sharp turns in the "P" trap, when the snake has to make a 180 "U" turn, and then immediately turn 90 degrees the other way. THAT stresses the cable.
 

Anon99

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Update

You guys keep saying "run it in reverse". He is using a 1/2" cable and pushing it in by hand! Assuming he is in a 2" pipe, it SHOULD go around a 90, but just pushing it is a challenge!

You are right. The 1/2" cable is hand-only. It just won't go through whatever the heck is going on down there!

I broke down and bought a 5/8" inch snake that is powered by a drill. This tries to get stuck in exactly the same place but, with enough spinning around, it eventually makes it through.

So the 1/4" goes through no problem. The 3/8" goes through but with a fair amount of difficulty. The 1/2" won't go through no matter what I do.

The only explanation I can come up with is that my drains are made out of 7/16" pipe!
 

Doherty Plumbing

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The only explanation I can come up with is that my drains are made out of 7/16" pipe!

Getting a 1/2" snake around a 1 1/2" 90* elbow is going to be tough, especially if you aren't able to spin the cable as you push on it. But who knows what's inside your walls and what fittings were used. Maybe the snake is going around a tight bend and getting stuck on the inside the pipe on the outlet hub of the fitting.

Who knows.

Spring heads really help too.
 
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