RIDGID 46683 K-1 Combination Auger with C-Style Cutter Head, Telescoping Drain Auger to Remove Drain Clogs in Sinks and Urinals

I bought this thinking that if it worked I would save myself lots of time, mess and some money in the long run. My urinal is less than ten years old in a busy convenience store. It was plugged. I really didn't want to take it off of the wall and I couldn't get anything else to go through the trap. This worked fine. I just took it easy, turned it by hand and let it do it's job. The tool will last a lifetime. I'm not a plumber but I have various RIDGED tools. They are the best.

The crucial feature here is that the wire shaft that has to do the work starts by being withdrawn up into the pipe sheath when you pull up (away from the shaft) on the twist handle. Then the pipe goes to the bottom of the toilet, and THEN the wire is driven by hand from above, becoming a ram into the blockage. That will frequently do the job. If not, you can start cranking, going in and out with the wire, etc. With a device where the wire does not go up and down in the pipe, but stays the same length and merely gets twisted, there is very little leverage into the jam because of the flexibility of the wire. If just twisting from a distance gets the job done, congratulations! But it frequently won't, and trying to drive a long wire into the block merely forces the wire into curls that don't transmit force straight along the toilet channel. With the auger pictured, the length of wire from the pipe to the jam is very much shorter, letting you actually push into the blockage, then go on to twist if necessary. Five minutes saved a $150 house call.

When I first laid my eyes at this product my concerns were many... would it spin?... would it extend?... would it live up to the near magical reputation the action packed Youtube video I witnessed on the interwebs had established? I ordered despite my misgivings, as the only alternative I had was to hold it and pray my clogged plumbing would yield to the power of gravity.Soon enough I was relieved, as this magical staff of power not only spun, but it extended as well! It extended far enough to power it's way thru the paper towels of danger some ne'er do well had treacherously flushed down my urinal of public relief.At that point things became interesting, not only did I provide relief for those in need within my factory, but I noticed when I looked outside the smog that circled the city had been replaced by rainbows and unicorns.I then got a call from my ex-wife, not only had she lost 300 pounds and found a cure for her scoliosis, but she had started a new career as a dancer and wanted to share with me her new moves.My kid called from school to tell me that he was no longer being beat up for being on the chess club, and was now Capitan of the "make out for America" campaign.Later that night when I came home the dog didn't bark, instead he asked if I would like go out later to chase some tail with him. He said it with a strong Australian accent, odd because he is a German Shepard.I could go on, but the lottery commissioner is calling, something about a three tickets bought at the same time hitting the jackpot.It may all be a coincidence, but I think not. This staff of power changed not only my plumbing, but my life.

This was my last hope to unclog a slow bathroom drain before having to take the drain pipe apart. This finally unclogged the drain, had a big hair ball stuck on the cutting blade. I tried a regular auger with a spring tip and it wouldn't get past the bends in the drain pipe. This auger was long and thin enough to reach the clog, although I did have to get some help holding it in place when fully extended to 6 feet. If you don't have experience using augers with a cutting blade, I would not recommend this. I was surprised to read reviews that people had kinked the cable because this design is made to prevent that, they must have really forced it down hard to do that. I also hand cranked this to get the stubborn clog cleared out, did not want to risk using a cordless drill to turn it. I have a mid size power auger and know that you can't force the cable too fast or you will kink it damaging the cable. RIDGID 46683 K-1 Combination Auger with C-Style Cutter Head, Telescoping Drain Auger to Remove Drain Clogs in Sinks and Urinals

Don’t use the drill, kinks fairly easy.

Great Auger; Amazing quality. Please note: The K-1 is really made for urinals, and not standard toilets. It my case, it did not fix my blockage. I had to order the K-6, which cleared by blockage in seconds. I ended up keeping the K-1 as well, though.

This snake will not go through older urinals with small p traps. However it will go through newer urinals like American standard with larger p traps.

Have about five of this same brand but older model extendable closet auger with the hand crank only and they served me well for many many years!Now I need five of these, so far I love this this little auger, I just wish they made a one bigger like my older ones, but the combination option and interchangeable heads.