HELP! Snake is stuck in the drain.

[DonBa]

This is a 1/4 inch coil snake 25 feet long in a hand rotator device.
There is a knob ( 1/2 inch ) on the front and is an expanded part of
the coil. Son-in law sent this down the bathroom sink drain with the
trap removed. There was resistance for about 15 feet and then it
started going freely. Now it will not come out. It is in about 20
feet. Any sugestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Don in Colorado

[Runningwater]

Post by DonBa
This is a 1/4 inch coil snake 25 feet long in a hand rotator device.
There is a knob ( 1/2 inch ) on the front and is an expanded part of
the coil. Son-in law sent this down the bathroom sink drain with the
trap removed. There was resistance for about 15 feet and then it
started going freely. Now it will not come out. It is in about 20
feet. Any sugestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Don in Colorado

Don, you have a few choices.
You can rig some kind of device to pull back really hard. Like a winch.
it will probably damage the snake cable, or break it.
Or you could find out where the drain runs to, cut the wall, cut the pipe,
and pull the cable from there. This is probably what is going to happen.
Drywall, plaster, patches and paints.

[Jeff Wisnia]

Post by DonBa
This is a 1/4 inch coil snake 25 feet long in a hand rotator device.
There is a knob ( 1/2 inch ) on the front and is an expanded part of
the coil. Son-in law sent this down the bathroom sink drain with the
trap removed. There was resistance for about 15 feet and then it
started going freely. Now it will not come out. It is in about 20
feet. Any sugestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Don in Colorado

Can you still rotate it continuously?

If you can't, follow runningwater's suggestions.

If you can, I'd suggest trying one more thing before employing more
drastic measures.

Cut the snake off a couple of inches from where it enters the drain.
You'll probably have to use an abrasive wheel, like an "angle grinder"
to do that, but even a little abrasive cutoff wheel in a Dremel
Moto-Tool will do the job if you're patient.

Clamp the end of the snake in the chuck of a variable speed drill and
use the drill to rotate it counterclockwise while pulling back on it.
The whipping around of the business end of that snake might let it find
a way to move away from whatever is trapping it, and from that point you
should be able to pull it out the rest of the way by hand.

HTH,

Jeff

[Runningwater]

Post by Jeff Wisnia
Cut the snake off a couple of inches from where it enters the drain.
Clamp the end of the snake in the chuck of a variable speed drill and
use the drill to rotate it counterclockwise while pulling back on it.
.

Damn! thats a wonderful idea! I never thought of that!
I like to use a small hand snake myself to "feel" the clogs.
next time i get jammed up, im gonna try this.
thanks!

[Ned Flanders]

9 times out of 10 i can make a sink better without a snake.

plunger first always. I carry 3 plungers, one normal toilet size 2 smaller
ones.
the middle size one covers other drain in double basin.
smallest plunger covers tub overflow/sink overflow.
When you plunger a drain you really want to remember it is the sucking
part that really gets the job done. The pushing helps but you really need
to get
both going.

Post by Runningwater

Post by Jeff Wisnia
Cut the snake off a couple of inches from where it enters the drain.
Clamp the end of the snake in the chuck of a variable speed drill and
use the drill to rotate it counterclockwise while pulling back on it.
.

Damn! thats a wonderful idea! I never thought of that!
I like to use a small hand snake myself to "feel" the clogs.
next time i get jammed up, im gonna try this.
thanks!

[J***@yahoo.com]

Ann Landers want's to know if *YOU wash the snake before you use in
her sink !

It upset her when her Plummer said, ' Of course NOT. '

Post by Ned Flanders
9 times out of 10 i can make a sink better without a snake.
plunger first always. I carry 3 plungers, one normal toilet size 2 smaller
ones.
the middle size one covers other drain in double basin.
smallest plunger covers tub overflow/sink overflow.
When you plunger a drain you really want to remember it is the sucking
part that really gets the job done. The pushing helps but you really need
to get
both going.

Post by Runningwater

Post by Jeff Wisnia
Cut the snake off a couple of inches from where it enters the drain.
Clamp the end of the snake in the chuck of a variable speed drill and
use the drill to rotate it counterclockwise while pulling back on it.
.

Damn! thats a wonderful idea! I never thought of that!
I like to use a small hand snake myself to "feel" the clogs.
next time i get jammed up, im gonna try this.
thanks!

[Mike Grooms]

<***@yahoo.com>

I remember reading this in Dear Abby 20 years ago. It was about plungers.
Her plumber told her he didn't have a separate one for toilet and sink, and
he didn't even bother rinsing them off between the two. All women were
properly horrified.

[sammyspain]

Post by Ned Flanders
9 times out of 10 i can make a sink better without a snake.
plunger first always. I carry 3 plungers, one normal toilet size 2 smaller
ones.
the middle size one covers other drain in double basin.
smallest plunger covers tub overflow/sink overflow.
When you plunger a drain you really want to remember it is the sucking
part that really gets the job done. The pushing helps but you really need
to get
both going.

That's what she said.

Post by Ned Flanders

Post by Runningwater

Post by Jeff Wisnia
Cut the snake off a couple of inches from where it enters the drain.
Clamp the end of the snake in the chuck of a variable speed drill and
use the drill to rotate it counterclockwise while pulling back on it.
.

Damn! thats a wonderful idea! I never thought of that!
I like to use a small hand snake myself to "feel" the clogs.
next time i get jammed up, im gonna try this.
thanks!

[Marty]

Post by Jeff Wisnia
Can you still rotate it continuously?
If you can't, follow runningwater's suggestions.
If you can, I'd suggest trying one more thing before employing more
drastic measures.
Cut the snake off a couple of inches from where it enters the drain.
You'll probably have to use an abrasive wheel, like an "angle grinder"
to do that, but even a little abrasive cutoff wheel in a Dremel
Moto-Tool will do the job if you're patient.
Clamp the end of the snake in the chuck of a variable speed drill and
use the drill to rotate it counterclockwise while pulling back on it.
The whipping around of the business end of that snake might let it find
a way to move away from whatever is trapping it, and from that point you
should be able to pull it out the rest of the way by hand.
HTH,
Jeff

Thank you Jeff! I looked all over the net for a solution. This is the
one that worked. You saved me hundreds if not thousands!

Marty


--

[Stormin Mormon]

Pull gently. Crank snake in the other direction from what you have been
doing.

Try cranking left, then right, then left.
--
Christopher A. Young

Do good work.
It's longer in the short run,
But shorter in the long run.


"DonBa" <***@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:***@posting.google.com...
This is a 1/4 inch coil snake 25 feet long in a hand rotator device.
There is a knob ( 1/2 inch ) on the front and is an expanded part of
the coil. Son-in law sent this down the bathroom sink drain with the
trap removed. There was resistance for about 15 feet and then it
started going freely. Now it will not come out. It is in about 20
feet. Any sugestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Don in Colorado

[Ned Flanders]

when i first started plumbing the guy i was with (total redneck) needed to
empty a toilet
and the tank and we did not have a pump or sponge, so he took the cup from
the
sink the people used to brush their teeth with and scooped out the toilet
with it. When he
was done he just put it back in the cup holder. This was in a rich persons
big house.

Post by Stormin Mormon
Pull gently. Crank snake in the other direction from what you have been
doing.
Try cranking left, then right, then left.
--
Christopher A. Young
Do good work.
It's longer in the short run,
But shorter in the long run.
This is a 1/4 inch coil snake 25 feet long in a hand rotator device.
There is a knob ( 1/2 inch ) on the front and is an expanded part of
the coil. Son-in law sent this down the bathroom sink drain with the
trap removed. There was resistance for about 15 feet and then it
started going freely. Now it will not come out. It is in about 20
feet. Any sugestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Don in Colorado

[Blackbeard]

Maybe so. But rich people need to be humbled now and again by brushing
their teeth with their own feces...that'll teach 'em. Drity rich
bastards.


On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 00:24:17 GMT, "Ned Flanders"

Post by Ned Flanders
when i first started plumbing the guy i was with (total redneck) needed to
empty a toilet
and the tank and we did not have a pump or sponge, so he took the cup from
the
sink the people used to brush their teeth with and scooped out the toilet
with it. When he
was done he just put it back in the cup holder. This was in a rich persons
big house.

Post by Stormin Mormon
Pull gently. Crank snake in the other direction from what you have been
doing.
Try cranking left, then right, then left.
--
Christopher A. Young
Do good work.
It's longer in the short run,
But shorter in the long run.
This is a 1/4 inch coil snake 25 feet long in a hand rotator device.
There is a knob ( 1/2 inch ) on the front and is an expanded part of
the coil. Son-in law sent this down the bathroom sink drain with the
trap removed. There was resistance for about 15 feet and then it
started going freely. Now it will not come out. It is in about 20
feet. Any sugestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Don in Colorado