Favorite Mainline drain Tool, Make and model GO..

Nazareth said:

How does the k1500 do with basements and tight bathrooms? Never really used a sectional, always done drum machines

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Make sure your customers cats are held up in a different room, that can get messy and awkward. Dogs are usually smart enough to stay clear, unless they‘re ankle bitters.

300. .55, 100’. 3.5” pear cutter. If that doesn’t break through then I step down to a 2” and repeat with the 3.5.
I have a k6200, which is a good machine, just heavy af bringing it back up the stairs! K1500 for those 6” sewers.

rooterboy said:

What cable are you using?

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1.25 Electric eel 1/2" ic

Nazareth said:

How does the k1500 do with basements and tight bathrooms? Never really used a sectional, always done drum machines

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A bit cumbersome. A little heavy getting up and down stairs yourself but doable. Fits in any normal doorway or stairwell. I’m usually using it in a basement through a floor drain, with some practice you can get through them in a few minutes.

It’ll eat through anything, and with a sharp cutter will definitely break through deteriorated fittings in clay or cast. But not often.

Also can get messy, lots of clean water coming out slow to rinse the snake leaves you dripping on the way out, but usually the floors covered in poop so people are usually understanding.

We don’t get many smaller drains after hours and that’s the only time I be getting to run the snake.

Spartan 2001 with .66 Magnum and a spear point. Heavy AF though. Most of ours involve basements and stairs.

sparky said:

I need to get a 1/2hp motor for my LT90 Marco

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All you need to know are the horsepower, voltage, duty cycle(continuous) ratings and the NEMA frame size which is printed/stamped on the tag on the motor. If the label is missing you can just measure and compare with this chart;

You’d also want to know the RPM .

I'm partial to the Spartan 300 with 100ft of the .55 cable. I feel like it hits the sweet spot of power and weight, and I was able to clear 85-90% of the clogs I came across when I ran that machine.

I had all the toys for it too: spear, bulb, 1.5 through 4 in C cutters, 3.5 in pear cutter, 3 in spiral saw, and this 4 lobed modified spear head that would blast grease stoppages into oblivion.

I usually started with the 2 in C, unless I suspected roots or a collapsed line. Roots got the pear cutter or spiral, degraded pipes got the spear. I always ran the camera afterwards if possible.

I have a gorlitz go 50 with a bad motor, well I can start it by turning the drum and it works well I replaced the start capacitor that did not work. A new motor from gorlitz is $400 dollars so I am thing of going the cheap way. A Chinese knock off motor used for $130 plus $30 shipping https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/B9kAAOSw9atjkigK/s-l640.png Or I can buy a new machine for $220 dollars 50' X 1/2"" Drain Cleaner 250w Drain Cleaning Machine Snake Sewer Clog W/ Cutter for sale online | eBay the advantage is, It is wired for forward and reverse and has a GFI and an air switch all you need to do is bolt it on and change the pully.

TerryTotoSucks said:

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Thanks again

Is $400 dollars a fair price for a motor for a Gorlitz go-50 it is 1/3 hp?

at least it is available from Gorlitz
Are small electric motors repairable?

rooterboy said:

Is $400 dollars a fair price for a motor for a Gorlitz go-50 it is 1/3 hp?

at least it is available from Gorlitz
Are small electric motors repairable?

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Does it come with a pressure switch, a gfci cord, and is gold plated? 400$ seems steep to me. 200$ seems reasonable.

Depends on what's wrong with the motor and if it's built to be fixed or thrown out. Probably not worth fixing unless it's something simple. Open the wiring hole and check the capacitor and the winding ohms.

skoronesa said:

Does it come with a pressure switch, a gfci cord, and is gold plated? 400$ seems steep to me. 200$ seems reasonable.

Depends on what's wrong with the motor and if it's built to be fixed or thrown out. Probably not worth fixing unless it's something simple. Open the wiring hole and check the capacitor and the winding ohms.

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I will pull the motor and save it. ( in case I want to go back to original)

skoronesa said:

Does it come with a pressure switch, a gfci cord, and is gold plated? 400$ seems steep to me. 200$ seems reasonable.

Depends on what's wrong with the motor and if it's built to be fixed or thrown out. Probably not worth fixing unless it's something simple. Open the wiring hole and check the capacitor and the winding ohms.

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To be honest I do not know how to test a motor? I could look up some you tube videos and see if I want to go that rout.

I went the cheap way and bought a new Chinese drain cleaner for $207 free delivery. I will rob the motor and see how it works on the GO-50 it is a 1/3 hp with forward reverse and an air switch and GFI on the cable. It it works I can remove all of the extra wiring and switches on the frame and use this motor. Simple to replace and the way the Gorlitz is set up with that big greased rod that holds the drum to the frame it should work great. I will post pictures of it when it is finished.

I prefer a K60 with 7/8 cable for most mainline stoppages and use the K 400 drum for sinks, tubs and showers. But I’ll use whatever the company I work at has.

CB750Plumblife said:

I prefer a K60 with 7/8 cable for most mainline stoppages and use the K 400 drum for sinks, tubs and showers. But I’ll use whatever the company I work at has.

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I use a K-60 with 7/8" cable for main lines and I do alright with it. Although the other day I got hung up on something; it was in a PVC main line. I eventually pulled the cable out, but it had me worried. I guess if I had been using a beefier machine, I would not have been struggling to get my cable back.


That's what I learned to use, a K-60 with the companies that I worked for. So naturally when I started up my own shop, I bought a K-60 since that was what I was familiar with. One company, Rescue Rooter gave me a Spartan 2001 I think. That was a beast.
I added a K-50 for smaller branch lines. The K-50 uses a 5/8" & 5/16" inner core cable.

rooterboy said:

I use my spartan 300 with 100' of 55 mag cable and a 2 1/2" c cutter

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I think a 300 is tough to beat.

jakewilcox said:

I think a 300 is tough to beat.

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I’m not trying to be a smart ass but I did it on a regular basis. My friend ( who I need to call ) used one for years and he would call me when he ran into heavy roots or 100’ wouldn’t reach the end of the line.

He didn’t have room in his van for a bigger machine or to carry more cable. His van was so packed sometimes he’d have to unload it just to get to things he needed.

If I know nothing about the line I grab my Spartan 300 with .55 magnum cable x 100 feet and 2.5" C-cutter. I do it because the 300 is pretty light even with 100 ft of cable and stairs up to the house then usually stairs down into the basement gets old but the roots I run into are pretty tough most of the time and usually at 75' on out for the clogs. I know how to baby it to get it open then follow with a larger head. But I can usually tell pretty fast if my little buddy 300 has a chance or to admit I have wasted some amount of time and energy and I will need to start over with my Spartan 2001. I carry a k-60 because it does not take up much space and can do weird jobs that are not as easy with the Spartans.