Starting Cable In The Drain; Cleaning The Drain; Working The Blockage - RIDGID Auto-Clean K-30 Manual

Grasp the AUTOFEED with one hand and hold it so
that the end of the AUTOFEED is within 6" (15 cm) of
the drain opening. See Figure 11. The guide hose
helps to protect the fixture from damage and con-
tain the liquid thrown off the cable as it is retrieved
from the drain. If the AUTOFEED is not kept within 6"
(15 cm) of the drain opening, the cable will not be
properly supported and may allow the cable to twist,
kink or break.
Pay attention to how the guide hose feels in your
hand. Because the guide hose is over the cable,
there is less sensitivity to the loading of the cable, and
it can be hard to tell if the cable end is rotating or not.
If the cable end is not rotating, the drain is not being
cleaned.
Retrieve Feed
Lever
Guide
Hose
Figure 12 – Advance/Retract Feed Lever
Starting The Cable In The Drain
Confirm at least one foot of cable is in drain and end of
AUTOFEED is less than 6" (15 cm) from Drain opening.
Press on the foot switch to start the machine. To advance
the cable into the drain, depress the ADVANCE feed
lever (Figure 12 and 13) . The rotating cable will work its
way into the drain. The person controlling the cable
and the AUTOFEED must also control the foot
switch. Do not operate the drain cleaner with one
person controlling the cable and AUTOFEED and
another person controlling the foot switch. This can
lead to kinking, twisting and breaking of the cable.
If it is hard to get the cable through a trap, the following
methods or combination of methods can be used.
• First, sharp downward thrusts on the cable/guide
hose, both with and without the cable turning, can help
to get the tool to pass through the trap.
• A second method is to run the drain cleaner in REV
(REVERSE) for several seconds while pushing down
on the cable/guide hose. Only do this long enough to
get the cable started through the trap. Running the
drain cleaner in reverse can damage the cable. With
the cable rotating in REV, the ADVANCE feed lever re-
trieves the cable and the RETRIEVE feed lever
advances the cable.
Advance Feed
Lever
Cable
Auto-Clean™ Drain Cleaning Machine
• Finally, if none of these options work, consider using a
smaller diameter or more flexible cable, or a different
drain cleaner.
Figure 13A – AUTOFEED in Advance Position
Figure 13B – AUTOFEED in Retrieve Position

Cleaning The Drain

Always keep one hand on the guide hose. As you feed the
cable into the drain, you may feel and see the cable slow
down and feel the guide hose start to load or wind up (this
will feel like the guide hose is starting to twist or squirm).
This may be a transition in the drain line (trap, elbow, etc.)
build up in the drain (grease, etc.), or the actual blockage.
Feed the cable slowly and carefully. Do not let cable
build up outside drain. This can cause the cable to twist,
kink or break. Keep end of AUTOFEED within 6" (15
cm) of drain opening.
Pay attention to the amount of cable that has been fed into
the drain. Feeding cable into a larger drain line or similar
transition may cause the cable to kink or knot and prevent
removal from the drain. Minimize the amount of cable fed
into the transition to prevent problems.

Working The Blockage

If the end of the cable stops turning, it is no longer clean-
ing the drain. If the cable end becomes lodged in the
blockage and power is maintained to the drain cleaner, the
cable will start to wind up (this may feel like the guide hose
is starting to twist or squirm) or buildup outside the drain.
Having a hand on the guide hose can allow you to feel this
Advance
Retrieve
9