How to retrieve a lost cutter head in a drain line.avi

This is a video of a General Pipe Quick Fix model "QF" Repair Sleeve which holds the cutter blades that was mounted by Home Depot on a Easy Rooter Drain Cleaning Machine with a 100' x 5/8" flexicore inner cable. Unfortunately, the quick fix repair sleeve and attached cutter blades were detached under torque about 21 feet into the cast iron drainline below the customers concrete slab. This is a video on how to try to retrieve the quick fix adapter and remove it from the drain line. You will need a sewer camera, a 3/8" x 75' drain machine and a small auger bulb retrieval tool head with the leading tip coil pulled a 1/2" out lengthwise (uncoiled) from the spiral ring and a 1/4" to the outside edge of the retrieval head (to the side). Tip: Never use one of these adapters in a drainline underneath the slab. If this wasn't retrievable, the slab would have to be jackhamerred and 3 tons of rock and concrete excavated into the bedroom to get access to the pipe for cut out and removal which will cost thousands of dollars. "Tip" Use a properly welded cable head when snaking underneath a concrete slab and preferrably one that contains a inner core cable in case the outer coiled cable snaps. For instance, a General Pipe Cleaners inner core cable such as a flexcore cable.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• home depot rental
• drain machine
• broken sewer cable
• quick fix repair sleeve
• QF
• general pipe cleaners
• general drain equipment
• stuck snake
• broken snake cable
• free plumbing tips
• free plumbing advice
• do it yourself drain cleaning

[yapi85]

Great job. How much this kind of a job cost the home owner?

[FreePlumbingTips]

@yapi85

Too much... the lesson here is don't use this head attachment by Generals when snaking underground drains... When this attachment is placed on the cable there is a slight chance that it can come off the end of the cable under certain circumstances as it did in this case. After seeing what happened here, I recommend to use a welded cable with a steel innercore system that isn't compromised by a Quick adapter such as this.

[FixxerPlumbing]

Cool you got it out pretty quick. I would have been afraid to mess up my camera with the cable spinning inside the pipe.

[FreePlumbingTips]

@FixxerPlumbing

There is always that chance. It was risky but the operator was experienced and had done this similar type of retrieval a couple of times before.

[mwaguirre]

Good job...patience and no panic mode.

[FreePlumbingTips]

@mwaguirre

Oh, there was panic... but the customer was a very cool wireless engineer and kept a cool head. As the plumber, I was trying stay cool but inside it was all about panic. Panic with a jackhammer and no locater could have made great reality TV... I did say a prayer and it turned out to be a good ending... I just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. However, if it does, I hope this video gives hope and direction...

[FreePlumbingTips]

@DFRinc5660

What choice does one have? Other than jackhammer the slab in the middle of the house, this was the only other option...

[FreePlumbingTips]

For more valuable plumbing information, visit my website on the internet called freeplumbingtips

The Boss...

[DFRinc5660]

Good fishin-----Expert snake handling