Cobra81250 Power Snake, for Use with Medium Household Drains, Dia X 25 Ft L, Plastic, 1/4" D X 25' L, Black

For about a month we've been dealing with a clogged drain in the bathroom sink. I cleaned the trap to no avail. The drain would take some water, then just about stop draining.We tried the quick solution of using a couple Cobra Zip-It cleaning tools:  Cobra Products 400 Zip-It Drain Cleaning Tool . After 45 minutes of cleaning out gunk, we figured progress had been made. Unfortunately, we didn't even make a dent in the problem. At this point I'm thinking two options: 1. rent a powered auger from Home Depot, or 2. bring in a professional plumber.While getting the Zip-It cleaning tools, I noticed this extremely cheap snake. I figure for $14 (and a power drill I already own), it's worth a shot! The first couple tries found the snake caught up on a clog that seemed impossible to break. I worked at the first one, pulled out the snake, and found a wad of hair at the end. This was only after feeding a couple feet of the 25-foot long snake. I continued and got about 10 feet in before reaching another stop point. Worked at that, pulled out the snake, and found another wad of hair. I continued to clean out more gunk. After a while, I ran the water in the tub and found it was connected. I worked the snake as hot water drained from the tub. After a total of 2 hours of cleaning and working the snake through the pipes, I eventually fed the entire 25 feet into the drain. I pulled out the snake, reassembled the pipes beneath the sink, and ran the hot water. Voila! The drain works like new.Nothing like a bit of elbow grease to get the water flowing!PROS:very affordableheavy duty coilCONS:plastic connector to drill (lasted for one cleaning; we'll see how many more it'll take)end caps on plastic housing always loose

I have a slow drain in the bathtub. Every few months I would go to my local 7-11 and buy another quart of Liquid Plumber. This worked, but at $5 a pop, it gets tiresome. I took a chance and ordered this product. I'm afraid it disappointed me. First, it's called 1/4 inch but the actual black sheath is more like 5/16 of an inch, or almost exactly 10.5 millimeters. That's actually quite large and will not pass through drains with any but the largest strainer openings. The photo shows a metal fitting for the drill but in reality, it's black plastic and looks fragile. The business end of the snake is shaped very much like an old-fashioned C-7 size, Christmas tree light-bulb. A kind of pine cone shape. I have a Sears Craftsman drill from 1969, which is still going strong. When I attached the hexagonal 1/4 inch shaft to my drill, I didn't know what to expect. I had thought that it might bind uselessly, or twist into knots. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the internal wire core spun smoothly in the black plastic sheath and without the sheath itself, spinning.The snake is quite stiff, and too stiff for most users needs, I suspect. It's difficult to feed into the drain because it's natural stiffness makes it hard to negotiate tight spots, say anything less that a 3 inch or 75 mm radius. I quickly discovered that running the drill made it advance more easily, and then I hit "something" unyielding. This was not a hair-ball. It was something metal and stalled the auger bit completely. My drill torqued in my hand and the snake spun into a coil around me. Bad news. Worse, I quickly discovered that the auger is now hopelessly caught on something in the drainpipe just a few inches past my viewpoint. If I had a reversable drill I might be able to back it out, but I don't.I conclude that if you have a fairly straight path without a sharp turn radius and a reversible drill, this might well be worth the money and effort, Otherwise, I wish now that I ordered one of those hand-cranked versions. As for my clogged drain, it's a pricey visit from the plumber for sure.

Some good, some bad. Weak Plastic connection to drill, keep it lined up with the cable. Feed slowly backing up frequently. Over all for a cheap tool it did work and cleared a very stubborn drain full of sandy well boring and retrieved a large lump of hair from Hell. Patience is the key.After cleaning, I filled up the plastic sheath/ cover with oil to prevent rust, but for what you save in Plumbers bills you could toss it out, so It is a good deal.

Was experiencing drainage issues in a Shower and Tube. I had cleared this same shower in the past using one of my mechanic tools that extends about 24 inches and has a claw that grabs anything in its reaches. I couldn't locate so thoughts about a snake. I saw a number of manual ones and came across this one. The price point, at $15, was less than many manual units and even some drain clearing solutions. Well this is the best $15 I have spent in a long time.... I connected to my drill, had to force the head down into the tub drain...After a few revolutions on the drill, drain cleared.. Hit reverse and snake end came out without any assistance....Went onto the shower....removed drain cover, had my 15 yr old daughter operate drill as I feed snake down the drain. Within in about 30 seconds or less, snake unclogged about a 2 in diameter of hair....it took me longer to remove/cut hair free from the snake head than actually clearing clog. The fact that the snake actually captured the materiel causing the blockage is far more preferred than possibly the clog just being pushed further down and out of reach.....This unit more than pays for itself and the quality exceeds what would be expected; relative to it's cost....BUY BUY BUY.....

Did the job without any problems. There are quite a few bends and unions, but went past all of them. People complaining about not needing 25 feet. I used all of it with just inches to spare before reaching my clog. Now my sink drains in less than 40 seconds, something it never did since living here. Oh, be sure to hang it up and drain out all the water. I'm sure that is why people are posting about finding them rusted out when trying to re-use them months later. You definitely need a second person to either feed line into the drain or use the screw gun or drill. It works best stretching it out the entire length too.

Very good

Excellent

Great and easy to use. Way better than manual ones. Recommended

The snake-after using once-plastic coating started to come off-after using around 4 times-connection to drill broke off------went into the garbage