Customer Reviews

Cobra Products 88250 1/4-Inch-by-25-Foot Power Drain Clearing Drum Auger

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Although I seldom write a review, I thought some shared observations might be helpful to others. This is based on my experience. Some of the observations may not apply in other applications. My drain was not completely clogged, and no chemicals had been used that could cause injury or damage surfaces while using the power auger. I am not affiliated in any way with the company or distributors of this product.

1. I spent the additional money (about $6) for the power auger as opposed to the manual only, since the power auger can be operated manually as well. On long runs, using a drill is helpful.

2. As shown in the image, it comes with a sharp exposed barb that could cause injury during use and/or damage your vehicle during transport.

3. This is a messy procedure, but worth it to me. I suggest disposable gloves, paper towels, and an old towel or two to put down. Wipe the cable off as it is pulled back out. As the end comes out, handle it gently to prevent making a mess.

4. Some users report that they cannot get it to work using the drill. There is a thumb screw at the end that must be tightened (snugly is all it takes) to grip the cable. Hold the part that is on the drum side of the thumb screw and slowly rotate the drill in the clockwise direction. The whole canister and the cable turns in the process as light pressure is used to feed the cable in. This allows the barb to move through the obstruction. The screw must be loosened, more cable pulled out and then re-tightened before feeding further into the drain line.

5. I chose this product because I am on a septic tank. Use of chemicals can kill off septic tank organisms that break down the waste and interfere with septic tank performance. Chemicals can also damage plumbing.

I used it on a bathroom lavatory that was draining slowly. Since it took a larger quantity of water before it began to back up in the sink, I knew it was more than simply removing a clog from the trap. I removed the trap to allow feeding directly into the drain line. If the trap is not PVC, replacement parts may be needed on reassembly to prevent leakage. As the cable was slipped into the drain line,I rotated it clockwise to make a turn or to work through debris. Be gentle with the cable- it is made of piano wire. It resists bending well, but if bent, it cannot be bent back to original shape. After rotating it, I would pull it back a little after going a foot or so more. If it moved freely, it was a turn in the piping. If there was resistance, it was debris. The first time I pulled it out, there was a wad of hair, and I assumed the source of restriction was removed, but after reassembly, the lavatory drained even slower, and could not be cleared with forceful plunging. It was not until I removed 42g of hair (about a double handful) during multiple passes that the drain began to flow like new. I expect much of the remaining hair went down the drain. I then used it on the shower drain to restore good drainage after snaking it twice.

I took it outside and used water pressure to clean the cable good and then let it dry before feeding it back into the canister. If it came with a protective cover over the barbed end, I would have given it 5 stars instead of 4.

I used this to unplug my toilet. I didn't even need to hook it up to a drill, because the manual mode worked just fine. It turns effortlessly. One thing that would be nice: if the first foot of cable were a different color--that way, when I'm retracting it from the drain it would be easy for me to tell if there's only a little bit left, and then I'd slow down to make sure the drill on the end doesn't snap up suddenly and hit me in the face. (In spite of the lack of color coding, I managed to prevent this from happening with great care. ;)

My parents have a problem with their kitchen sink stopping up from the disposal. They always called a plumber and I noticed all they did was use an auger to clean out the clog. They always took their time to make it look hard and $150 to $200 later they were done. When I found this item I figured it was worth a shot even though I was skeptical about being able to fix the problem since I have no plumbing experience. After connecting it to my drill and feeding all 25 feet into the outside clean out drain I felt the clog come loose. About five minutes of back and forth action with the hot water in the sink running I accomplished what would have been another fleecing from a plumber. GO FIGURE!

This portable drum auger gets the job done on small, close in clogs. But here's the caveat: it comes with a thumb screw, which secures the snake when the drum is spinning, that screws into a cheap plastic nut. Click on the pic and it'll expand the image where you can see it all better. The thumb screw/nut is the achilles heel of this thing. Be very careful: don't overtighten the thumb screw or it'll break the nut. And don't let the thumb screw hit anything when the drum is spinning because that'll break the nut too. If the nut's broken the whole thing's worthless. Your only recourse then is to pull the snake out of the drum, jam it down the drain with your bare hands and hope you get lucky. What I learned to do was replace the thumb screw with a half inch long, round head machine screw and then use my fingers to tighten and loosen it. Now it can't be overtightened; and if it hits anything while turning, it's just a glancing blow.

Also, you don't want too much space between the drum and the drain opening because the snake will tangle itself up in a heartbeat. Manually advance the snake, leaving no more than a foot or so between the drum and the drain opening, move it in and out a couple of times, then repeat the process until your drain starts flowing again. It's a good feeling to see the water go swirling down!

My shower has been draining extremely slowly for the last 6 months or so. I've been pouring gallon after gallon of liquid plumber down there to no avail.

This snake completely solved my problem in about 15 minutes, easily pulling several large wads of hair out of the drain pipes. The snake has the directions printed right on the drum so its easy to operate. Easily hooks up to a drill, but if you don't have one this should still work great for you.

Great value. This thing is about 100x more effective than liquid plumber / draino, for only $20. Like another reviewer said, even if you only use this thing once it's a good deal. I plan on using mine for many years, and will happily buy another should it rust over.

i connected it to a regular electric hand drill(which i think is necessary for the job)and unclogged the shower drain after a few minutes of trial and error; it is a bit bulky and may need 2 people to operate but i was able to do it by myself; i highly recommend this product for the $20 I paid for it; even if it is used only once it will pay for itself

Ordered it to clear two clogged drains: one bathroom sink, one washing machine drain. Took about an hour or so, and it completely worked. Most more cost effective than calling a plumber, euh? Tips:

- The clogged place may be way way further down the drain than you thought. I expected it to be in the J-connector, but actually it is at least 5 feet in the wall, for the washing machine one, I used all 25 ft.

- Un-tight the screw on the tip, loos the cable for about 2-3 feet, stick in the drain, tighten the screw. Then attach the power drill and let the "whole drum" spin. Apply some pressure with your hand on the cable to push it down. Then repeat the process.

- Be prepared to drag some very nasty stuff out of the drain (hair mostly, with muddy stuff). Prepare a scissor to cut them off the cable.

- Be patient, I tried 3 times for the washing machine drain (full length in and out), and eventually it worked.

- Don't pull too hard at the end of the cable, if it disconnects from the drum, you may have to open the drum to fix it. I broke it in the end, since the cables are already dirty, I just threw the whole away. It has completed its mission, well done.

Actually you can buy the same product in local hardware store at the same price if you are in a rush.

I purchased this for a clogged toilet - knowing nothing about augers or the act of augering. The label on the front says "not for use in toilets" which worried me a bit but since so many reviewers used it on toilets - I decided to give it a try. It does scratch the porcelain - I am going to try to buff it out but as of now there are some grey scratches. It is fairly manually intensive as you have to release the cord, tighten the screw, twist the cord or drill, then release the screw, release more cord, tighten the screw, etc. After doing more research, I probably would have purchased a toilet auger which protects the bowl, has a bigger head, and requires less hand in toilet action - but when dealing with a clogged toilet, time is of the essence and so we made due. Tried it manually first, but for this job the drill was necessary. The head is fairly small so I imagine the drill allows the cord and head to be whipped all around the pipe so that no obstruction may be missed. It took about 10 minutes of patience and drilling. The culprit was apprehended- a make up brush- and toilet back to new. We then used it on the kitchen sink - because we could since we didn't buy the toilet auger. Released all of the dog hair and grease for a much quicker drain. One does feel rather empowered after using this device and realising that plumbing problems don't always require a plumber. Use with care as I imagine a drill in a porcelain bowl can do some damage. Also, you must clean and oil it or it will rust. It does not have a storage or carry case - that will be up to you- but for $20 -saved me $200 at least- I can't complain.

My bathtub clogged up about a year ago, I called a plumber, and he had a similar snake, spent about 10 minutes, and took me for a little over $200. In anticipation of the inevitable, I ordered this snake, and sure enough, last week the tub clogged up again. I took out the stopper lever, fed the snake down, chucked it into my cordless drill, and within five minutes the water was swirling down the drain.
Great product, and easy to use............

i've tried everything, from lye ect. nothing work, until i got this drain opener, it solve my problems and some future money, now that i don't have to buy that liquid drain opener. thanks