VEVOR50FTx1/2Inch Drain Cleaner Machine, Sewer Snake Electric Drain Auger Cleaner with 4 Cutter & Foot Switch for 2" to 4" Pipes

Most of our house's gutter downspouts empty into 4" pvc to re-route run-off under walkways or etc.One of them backed up last winter, so I detached the downspout and tried to manually snake the 4" sewer drain to no avail.A single day's power snake rental would have cost over 1/3rd of this Vevor, with the hassle of pickup & drop-off, and the possibility of needing it for a longer rental period and of struggling with a tired, beat-up device (has happened before with other rentals, and while the vendor made it right, it was a lot of unwanted nuisance for me).Our house is long with two sewer cleanouts and many gutter downspouts, and while a manual snake usually works, I expect the Vevor to save me considerable time and effort in the future for clearing other blockages and slowdowns.Wheel assembly was quick and simple, and the overall operation seems pretty obvious if one has experience with a manual snake.Per the instructions, I started with the boring bulb and progressed from there.Tips from my experience:- I inserted a washer between the halves of the thin, two-piece arrow cutter, else I speculate that they'd have twisted and bent.- A length of 3/4" PVC pipe is a good, inexpensive investment to prevent cable kinking.Our 4" gutter drain drops vertically from just above ground level, so the distance from machine-to-drain and then down to the first under-ground turn in the pipe is long enough that the snake would be prone to winding/kinking on itself. I set the machine about 18" from the drain, and cut a length of 3/4" PVC to thread over the snake (before mounting the attachment) to encase the cable for the vertical drop and prevent kinking.- PATIENCE. This is a low-cost machine and requires gentleness. I had to govern my impulse to brute force the snake (which - as I've experience with a manual 1/2" snake that I ruined - will kink the snake). I manually advanced the snake to resistance and then knelt on the switch, ready to stop if the cable started to bind, all the while throttling my impulse to run the power continuously and jam the snake into the impediment. Maybe that would've worked, but I didn't risk it.I also resisted the impulse to stick with only one attachment to save effort and time. It was a hassle to retract the cable and change attachments, but was the right approach for a good outcome.From the lower-quality power cord, motor, frame, drive belt, etc, this is obviously an inexpensive, home-user grade device, so it requires gentler handling & more attentive care (e.g. I surmise that the drive belt will degrade and the frame rust if left in the elements). I heeded the instructions and thoroughly dried the whole cable and drum (and frame), then oiled the attachments & cable before storing. Time consuming, but with diligent use and care, I think this will prove to be a reasonably durable, high value purchase for me.I commented to my wife that I should have purchased one of these years ago.

Used to snake a 3" cast iron basement floor drain that shares kitchen sink and washing machine discharge. When the drain gets slow it backs up from the floor drain when the washing machine drains.I've had to snake this line once a year on this rental property when it gets slow. Finally I got this machine (50 ft 1/2" cable manual feed, no wheels) and used it for about 2 hrs yesterday. I started with the spade bit which gave me some improvement, I then used the small cutter and got a bigger improvement. One time I pulled it back I got a handful of roots which was satisfying.The machine is reasonable well made and looks like it should provide a lifetime of occasional use.The key is to always keep a hand or two on the cable so it doesn't flip around too much. You can well when you are hitting more resistance because the cable twists a bit in your hand- just a bit but you can tell when its working harder. If you hit something tough feed slowly and let it grind it out.Go back and forth many times with water running. Sometimes you may break away junk and it will start to clog up downstream and that means you need to run it all the way out to clear it out. Eventually it will be flushed away. I was able to discharge the washing machine fully while blasting water in to a utility tub nearby so for now its cleared.As an engineer I have some comments for improvements and a suggestion users:1. As other said, the rubber coated gloves can grab and get your hand twisted up in a scary way. Happened to me once then I switched to heavy leather gloves. The rubber can grab when it its dry cable. I would not include gloves if I was the manufacturer.2. Some of the bits have the correct thickness aluminum to attach to the cable (see attached pic of the cutter mounted on the end of the cable. However, the stamped steel tools (large cutter and spade bit) have the wrong thickness being a bit thin. When you tighten the screw it can bend the cable aluminum gap so the other tools don't fit. If this happens you need to pry it open and its not easy. I used a prybar end and drove into the gap with a hammer to open while someone else held the cable end with big pliers. The manufacturer should make all tools the same thickness. When I use the these smaller thickness tools again I will add washer to fill up the space.3. Instead of gloves, the unit should come with the two hex wrenches you might need. It would be nice if all screws were the same size so only one wrench is needed. The main wrench is about 5mm. I wrapped duct tape around the hex wrench and punched a hole in the tape so it can be held like the other tools in the handy wire spring gizmo. This wrench should be supplied with the hole in .4. The power cord is a bit short, another three feet would sure be great.5. I would have appreciated a bit like the 'power ball' type included which I purchased separately but didn't try yet.6. A sticker should be on the drum declaring the cable length as it's hard to judge from just looking at it.In summary, its a good unit.

Worth every penny more than i expected and beyond highly recommend recently had to pay a plumber over 800 dollar to unclog my sewer line .and it clogged again bought this macjine and it did the job and beyond saying Me thousand of dollars in plumbing for the price it’s a bargain every homeowner should own one of this Ty

It works well but it is a manual feed drain snake. The leather gloves that come with it are useless and the manual is written by someone who doesn't speak English. It did a good job cleaning out my main sewer pipe.

Good price, works as expected. Ended up having to replace the 50ft with 100ft coil. 100ft just fits the housing, but it did make it to the street sewer and the line clog is gone. I followed this up with Roebic FRK-1LB Foaming Root Killer treatment, just to be thorough.If you never snaked a sewer line, please take note: As you feed more line into the sewer the speed will slow considerable at 50 ft. The cable rolling as it goes thru the pipe will increase contact friction thus slowing feed rates, so go steady and feed it as it can take it, you will be able to determine what the rate with you hands as you feed it . Do not force the line pushing or pulling as you can kink the line and ruin it.This paid for itself on the first use.