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Although many of the mainstay drain cleaning tools that have been in use for decades are considered to be old reliable methods for a good reason, there are still newer innovations being made all the time. One such innovation from the past few decades is the high speed flexible shaft machine, a small sewer machine that offers plumbing professionals a significant amount of efficiency, versatility, convenience, and ease of use to get rid of a wide array of different types of clogs, pipeline build ups, and more. Before you go out and buy one for your plumbing business however, there are a handful of things you need to keep in mind. Because of this, Spartan Tool is here today to help out by providing you with a useful guide on how to choose the right high speed flexible shaft machine.
Why Should You Choose a High Speed Flexible Shaft Machine for Your Plumbing Business?
High speed flexible shaft machines can offer your plumbing business a considerable number of different benefits. These useful drain cleaning tools offer you the ability to cut through a variety of different blockages like light tree roots and clean various forms of build up off of the walls of pipes you are cleaning without having to make use of any water whatsoever. Instead, special flex shaft grinders and cutters are used. In addition, flex shaft machines also enable you to prepare pipes for relining in a quick and efficient manner. One of the key benefits of these small sewer machines however is the fact that they are gentle on plumbing, thus leaving it less banged around than other methods of cleaning sewer lines.
There are other reasons you should choose a high speed flexible drain cleaning machine for your plumbing business, however. These drain cleaning tools are also incredibly lightweight and fairly small. This makes them quite easy to transport and store, as well as set up in a non-space consuming way during a sewer and drain cleaning job. Also, because of the way their drain cables and assemblies are designed, flexible shaft machines are very easy to clean and keep clean after you have finished using them. Much more so than the cables and other equipment that are involved in other drain cleaning tools and methods.
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Furthermore, flexible shaft machines come with the unique and useful ability to be paired with a sewer inspection camera and be used simultaneously while traversing a pipe in search of any potential blockages or other forms of pipe build up that could later result in a blockage of some kind. This allows for you to be able to see what you are doing and know for a fact that you are getting the job done, thus avoiding having to come back another time to do extra work because a customer is still experiencing water backing up in their drain or sewer. Many plumbers will often use this method after they have already gone through plumbing with another drain cleaning tool such as a hydro jetter or drain cleaning cable machine in order to clean up any further blockages or build up that might have lasted through the initial purge.
How to Choose the Right High Speed Flexible Shaft Machine
If you are looking into purchasing a high speed flexible shaft machine for drain cleaning, then it is important that you not just go out and buy the first one that you find. While it may end up serving you well in your jobs that involve cleaning sewer lines, you need to be certain that it has all of the features and attributes that you need. This will help you in doing your best work in the long run and also help in preventing you from spending extra money that you do not need to be spending on various things. The following pieces of advice will help you in choosing the right high speed flexible shaft machine for your business:
Make Sure it is Able to Get Far Enough Down a Line
One important factor when it comes to deciding what flexible shaft machine you are going to buy to use on your jobs that involve cleaning sewer lines is whether or not it will be able to provide you with the ability to get far enough down a line to clean out any potential blockages and pipe build up. If the high speed flexible shaft machine’s drain cable is not long enough to get to the parts of the plumbing that are causing your client their problems, then it might not be the one for you. Instead, what you need to do is to figure out how deep a typical client’s plumbing goes and how far in you will need to be able to reach to get to most blockages that you usually come across. With that in mind, find a plumbing flex shaft machine that will be able to meet all of those requirements each and every time without any problem whatsoever.
One thing you need to keep in consideration when you are in the process of selecting a flexible shaft machine for plumbing is how far down any additional drain cables you could buy for it go in addition to any cables that may come with the machine itself right out of the box. You should compare and contrast what different brands of flexible shaft machines will be able to provide you in terms of drain cable length in order to make sure that you can get down far enough in a sewer or drain to clean them out. That being said, though this is not the primary concern you should have when buying a high speed flexible shaft machine for plumbing purposes, it is something that you still keep in mind. It can make a considerable difference when you are out on a sewer and drain cleaning job.
Choose a Flexible Shaft Machine Equipped with a Variable Speed Motor
Another important thing to look into when you are deciding on which flexible shaft machine to purchase is whether or not the one in particular that you are looking at offers a variable speed motor. There are some flex shaft machines on the market that give you the option to adjust your speed from 0 RPM to 2,200 RPM with full control and ease. This gives you the ability to adjust the speed at which the cable and its attachment turn. There are some instances when conducting sewer and drain cleaning operations where you will want to slow down how fast the rod is turning. Likewise, you will also want to be able to speed things up again if you are facing an obstruction that is particularly stubborn and difficult when you are trying to remove it from the pipeline. Having that extra control from your high speed flexible shaft machine available to you makes it considerably easier to navigate a drain and make sure that things are done properly and safely while you are cleaning sewer lines and other types of drains.
Make Sure That it Has a Strong Rod
The rod of a high speed flexible shaft machine for plumbing is one of the machine’s most important parts. It is the part that is at the tip of the drain cable and is being fed through the plumbing in order to get to the parts that need to be cleaned or have an obstruction removed. It has the chain knocker and brushes on it that do the work. That being said, even though flexible shaft machines are meant to be bendable and flexible in order to make for maximum efficiency and convenience, it is still important that you get a drain cleaning tool that has the ability to hold up and not break due to the demands you put on it while you work.
In addition to that, you also want to make sure that the rod from the high speed flexible shaft machine you are looking into buying is able to make its way through a variety of different pipe widths. For instance, you want to be able to be flexible enough to get through 2 inch lines, but have the necessary strength to be able to cut through tree roots that have somehow managed to find their way into 4 inch drain lines and cause a serious back up of water in clients’ drain systems. The more versatility your flex shaft machine’s rod has available, the more jobs you will be able to take on and complete with maximum efficiency, speed, and effectiveness and zero problems getting in your way.
Find Out What Kinds of Attachments are Available for Your Model
There are a number of different attachments that are available for most different types of high speed flexible shaft machines. Each have their own unique applications, which in turn makes flex shaft machines such a versatile drain cleaning tool. While you are in the process of shopping around for a flexible shaft machine for your plumbing business, you will want to keep in mind the most common types of drain cleaning jobs you have. You will want to choose a make and model that offers flex shaft machine attachments that will be of considerable assistance to you in getting these jobs done without any hang-ups or problems of any kind. If an attachment that you would be using relatively regularly is not available for the flexible shaft machine you are considering buying, then it may be in your best interest to move on and look at other models that are currently on the market.
Some of the most common types of flexible shaft machine attachments include various forms of chain knockers, twisters that feature wiry or gentler bristles all around the body at multiple points, grinders, individual coating brushes, and more. Each of these flexible shaft machine attachments serve different functions, based on the unique individual needs of a particular plumbing professional at a given moment. This helps you in making sure that there is something available to give you the help you need when you are doing a sewer and drain cleaning job that might be a little more tricky than the ones you typically find yourself doing on a routine basis. For instance, you may need something with a bit more brushing power than what is normally standard. Whatever the case may be, you want to be sure that the make and model of flex shaft machine is, that it has the right attachments available for purchase for the jobs you do.
Consider the Other Drain Cleaning Tools You Are Using
One thing you should keep in mind while you are in the process of choosing the right high speed flexible shaft machine for you and your plumbing business is what other drain cleaning tools you currently have on hand. You will want to pick a flex shaft machine that compliments what you already have and works well with it. That way, if you are doing a job involving cleaning sewer lines that does end up involving more than one type of small sewer machine, you are able to have hardware on hand that can get the job done effectively in a timely manner.
High speed flexible shaft machines are often used by many professionals to follow up another small sewer machine such as a drain cable machine or hydro jetter in order to make sure that any leftover build up or clogs are able to be taken care of and ensure that the job is done right the first time. Usually this is done in tandem with a sewer inspection camera, so that way you are able to see everything you are doing right there in the moment without having to do any guess work or hoping for the best. As a result, you can get your work done quicker and more effectively, which in turn will end up often result in returning clientele as well as recommendations of you to anyone they might know who needs the services that you provide.
