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Purchasing a hydro jetter drain cleaning machine is a significant investment, but one that can pay off considerably in a relatively short amount of time. They can help you provide a number of sewer and drain cleaning services to customers that other kinds of drain cleaning tools such as drain cleaning cable machines are not able to. However, before you lay down the money necessary to obtain a water jetter, there are a number of different things you need to first take into consideration in order to make sure you are getting the most out of your purchase. Spartan Tool is here to provide you with a list of 11 things to consider when buying a sewer jetter.
What a Hydro Jetter Can Do for You
A hydrojet drain cleaner can do a number of things that no other drain cleaning tool can do for you. In instances where a clog is unable to be removed through other means, such as various forms of drain cleaning cable machines or chemicals, depending on the type you have, a hydro jetter can blast through even the toughest of obstructions. This includes things like grease, small objects, tree roots, and more. Not only can sewer jetters get rid of obstructions, but they can clean drains and sewers as well. As a result, this prevents further build-up that can lead to future obstructions as well as degradation of the plumbing itself.
Things That You Need to Consider When Buying a Sewer Jetter
As with any purchase that involves a considerable price tag, there a wide array of things that should be taken into consideration first. Such is the case with buying a sewer jetter. You do not want to make a large purchase, only to find out that it is not able to perform the tasks that you need it to, among other things. In order to be able to avoid any potential pitfalls, it is of the utmost importance that you keep in mind all of these things when you are looking into purchasing a hydro jet for your plumbing business.
1. Quality is Important
While getting a good deal is important when shopping around for just about anything, it is also important to keep in mind that in many instances, you end up getting what you pay for. You want to make sure that the hydro jetter you end up deciding to purchase is one that has the long-term quality that you will need from it. It is important that it can keep up with all of the varying demands your sewer and drain cleaning jobs will have over the years. Because of this, it is wise to not let price tag be a major deterrent.
2. Get the Best Jetter Hoses Possible
In the same vein as making sure that you purchase the best water jetting machine you can, it is also of the utmost importance that the hydro jetter hoses you purchase to go along with it are also of the highest quality. Again, you get what you pay for. The reason behind this is that you will be far less likely to end up having to deal with hose breakage anywhere near as soon as you would with hoses that have been made cheaply. A premium quality jetter hose can last you a long time, providing you reliable service at job after job.
3. Make Sure You Get the Right Nozzles
One important thing to keep in mind when you are purchasing hydro jetter equipment is that having the right jetter nozzles is one of the most important aspects of any sewer and drain cleaning job. Every jetter nozzle performs a different function and is designed for a different application. Some jetter nozzles are designed to just remove a solid obstruction, whereas others are meant to clean the sides of a pipe and flush an obstruction out of a line. Whatever the case may be, it is important that you have the right jetter nozzles for a job, as rarely will a cleaning only require one type of nozzle.
4. Know What Kinds of Clogs You Clean Out
Before you go buying a water jetter machine, one thing you need to consider is what kinds of obstructions are the kinds you usually clean. Something that is able to blast away tree roots with root cutters might not necessarily be what you are looking for when all you clean out is grease clogs and dirt build-ups. Likewise, a hydrojet drain cleaning machine that has less power to it will likely not be able to cut through the bigger, more stubborn clogs that you might come across. Whatever the case may be, you want to be sure that you are putting your money where you need to and investing in the right machinery.
5. Buy from a Company That Specializes in Water Jetters
When you are looking to purchase a water jetter machine, you will also want to be certain that the retailer you are buying from specializes in such machinery. Finding out if they have professionals who have actually worked in your industry can be of considerable help, as they can relate to whatever applications you have and any potential issues that might come up. When you have people who can help you go in the right direction with your hydrojet drain cleaner purchase, you have a better chance of getting exactly what you need, rather than being out of luck with something that is completely wrong for you. A retailer with experienced professionals can help you get the most for your money and give you the peace of mind you deserve.
6. Purchase a Hydro Jetter That is Designed to Be Serviced Easily
Another thing that should be taken into consideration when buying a hydro jetter is ensuring that it has been designed to be given easy service. There are a number of hydrojet drain cleaners that have been designed and manufactured quite poorly and are far too complicated. A hydro jet might look like a fancy piece of machinery to you, but if at some point you need to change the oil on its motor and pump or need to change belts, but are unable to for one reason or another, then it might not be the hydro jetter for you. Being able to easily service a hydro jet on your own is a must, so keep that in mind when you are looking around and shopping for one.
7. Make Sure That You Get a Warranty or Protection Plan
If you make a major investment of any sort, you want to make sure you do anything and everything you can in order to protect it. Because of this, it is of vital importance to get a warranty and protection plan for your hydro jetter when you make your purchase. There is absolutely nothing worse than purchasing an expensive machine, only to have it fail for some reason within a year or two with nothing to back up its quality and performance. Paying attention to quality of the hydro jet when buying is key too. If you can make sure straight from the get-go that whatever hydrojet drain cleaning machine you are buying is sturdy, well put together, and secure, then it can also save you a great deal of pain and hassle later on down the line.
In addition to purchasing a warranty for your water jetter machine, you should always get a written list of warranty and service centers that will take care of your equipment from the dealer you purchase from. This might not always be the most cost-effective route, but in the long run it can save you a significant amount of money should things go wrong.
8. Make Sure There are Simple to Operate Controls
Being able to handle a machine efficiently is one of the most important parts of doing a job. When you can operate and use hardware in an easy and hassle-free manner, it makes getting a sewer and drain cleaning job done a lot easier. One such way to make sure that your hydro jetter has easy and simple to operate controls is to make sure that you find one that has all of its controls constantly within reach while in use. This kind of design cuts down on the need to run back and forth between a job site and operator controls. Plus, it helps drastically reduce the likelihood of operator error from occurring during a job.
9. Make Sure the Trailer is Reliable
If you are looking for into purchasing a trailer jetter, one of the most important things you can do is to make sure that you get a good thorough look at the trailer that it is mounted on. Getting your trailer pulled hydrojet drain cleaner where you need to go is serious business, as the roads you travel may not always be in the best condition. You might run into unexpected situations. Because of this, if you are able to, it is wise to get a trailer jetter with a heavy-duty tandem-axle trailer. By doing so, you can help ensure that you have a significantly safer time getting your equipment to and from a sewer and drain cleaning job than you would with one that has only one axle. You can save yourself a great deal of time, money, and headache knowing your trailer jetter’s trailer is rock solid and designed with safety and durability in mind.
10. Choosing Minimum GPM
Another important thing to consider when buying a sewer jetter is the GPM to pipe diameter ratio. It is a good rule of thumb for choosing minimum water jetter machine GPM. Basically, the GPM of the jetter you are looking to buy needs to be at least equal to the diameter of the biggest pipes you typically clean in inches. The best cleaning you can get is usually a 2-1 ratio (i.e. 8 Gpm/4-inch pipe).
The wider your hydro jetter’s streams from its jetter nozzle are, the more flushing action you will have available to you. Having more volume will have a noticeable impact on the level of cleaning you do. If the amount of GPM you are working with is high enough, you will be able to move things like bricks, larger rocks, grease-logs, and much, much more.
Keep in mind that a hydro jetter’s GPM is always listed to you at maximum throttle. Because of this, if the engine speed is cut down, then so too is the total GPM you have available to you at a given moment. When you are purchasing a sewer jetter, you may want to get one that offers more total GPM so you can also use it in smaller drains. Pressure will also be maintained if you also have on hand jetter nozzles that are made to be the size you need for lower GPM uses as well as standard full GPM ones. You can do this well with jetter hoses that are smaller in diameter, which as a result is a highly profitable practice among operators of water jetter machines that are of the high-flow variety.
11. Do Not Over-estimate or Under-estimate Your Jetter’s Size
Another important thing to take into consideration when you are in the market for a hydrojet drain cleaner is that you do not want to over or underestimate the size of the machine you are looking into purchasing. For example, should you want to clean a storm drain, you will not want to buy a “small jetter”. On the opposite side, if you are wanting to clean a shower drain, a trailer jetter might be a bit excessive. The last thing you need while out on a drain cleaning job is to have a customer’s plumbing system be completely flooded and absolutely destroyed due to a water jetter machine that was far too powerful for the job being used. Because of potential disasters like this, you need to make sure that you are buying a hydro jet that is best suited to the applications that you most often work with.
