Professional tool reviews for professionals

Although it will not be effective for every clog you encounter, Milwaukee's M12 AirSnake will save you a lot of time and effort, and will quickly pay for itself.

Why consider the Milwaukee M12 Airsnake? If there is one thing that plumbers don't like, it is to clean a blocked drain. It is dirty and smelly, and sometimes when you see the source of the blockage, it will make you lose faith in human nature. It will make you question how some people achieve so much in life without step-by-step guidance in everything they do.

Carrying a drain snake is a necessity for a plumber. Yes, they are large and clumsy, and cannot enter the house for service calls. Thanks to Milwaukee, where more and more size-friendly gutter cleaning options enter the market, they have just launched a tool designed to keep snakes for larger, denser clogs. Nevertheless, working with dirty, rusty metal wire is often not the highlight of my day.

Allow me to introduce the battle in the red corner, weighing 7.1 pounds, standing 20.9 inches tall, representing Brookfield, Wisconsin. Please welcome the newest member of the Milwaukee Drainage System family, the Milwaukee M12 AirSnake.

So what does this new heavyweight hitter bring? Well, buy the most comprehensive kit (Milwaukee 2572B-21) for $399, and this is what you get:

And the partridge on the pear tree!

Suppose you have a clogged drain (sink, toilet, floor drain, it’s okay). In order to break the blockage, you need to remove the p-trap, by the way, if you have never done this before, this is a pleasure in itself. Then feed the dirty cable into the drain arm of the drain pipe (this is the part of the drain pipe leading to the main chimney) so that it can be drained from the house to reach the blockage. If this does not work, you will have to find the next closest cleaning spot (usually on the wall) and try again until you find the source of the blockage. Even better, every time an attempt to clear the blockage fails, you must dispose of the dirty cable when retracting.

Now, imagine that you can avoid the whole song and dance. You can? This is where the Milwaukee M12 AirSnake appeared. The baby flushed the clogs by using high-pressure air into the drain. That burst of air did more than just pressurize the pipeline. It generates kinetic energy that pushes the blockage, using water in the line to move it like a tide. This pneumatic drain snake can even handle partial blockages-just make sure there is water in the pipeline.

It is designed to remove slow drains, grease blockages and any other "non-recycling" blockages. If you have seen any marketing campaign in Milwaukee, you will know that they claim that this handy dandy tool can clear a 3-inch drain 35 feet away.

Well, like most tools today, you don't need a master's degree to figure it out. Having said that, it is very easy to use.

First, choose the most suitable adapter for the job at hand and install it into the quick disconnect loading mechanism. You can choose from 5 accessories, including toilet trap accessories. Next, all you have to do is set the barometer to the pressure you want, press and hold the power button until it turns off automatically, place the adapter on the drain pipe and pull the trigger. This is an oversimplified version, so please allow me to explain.

When you open the box for the first time, there is a large white sticker covering the air gauge, telling you to always try to clear the blockage at 5 PSI, and increase the pressure by 5 PSI every time the attempt fails, which can reduce The minimum amount of air needs to be cleared for use. Why? Well, depending on the age and material of the drain pipes, 50 PSI may cause damage to them, may cause fittings to burst or affect the integrity of the pipe.

Therefore, the thinner the tube wall, the less pressure you can use. For example, PVC drain pipes are usually much thinner than ABS plastic pipes, so technically, you can release more air into the ABS pipe.

Damn beautiful! Does it work every time? No, but when I had to pull the snake out was when I had to go in personally to retrieve the stuff that caused the blockage, or when the blockage was too far away. I should also note that Milwaukee said that this tool is mainly used for grease-based clogs, but as I discovered, its use is much more than that.

Before I used the Milwaukee M12 AirSnake in a service environment, I tested it on a stack made in the new house where I was working. I placed a wooden clog (rag) in the middle of the 5-foot, 1.5-inch ABS trap arm, and filled the pipe with water to simulate a real backup to test the effectiveness of the tool. I tried again on 2-inch, 3-inch, and 4-inch pipes, and the success rate of clearing the blockage was 100%-until I reached the 4-inch pipe.

Once the diameter exceeds 3 inches, the air pressure becomes less effective. It is still suitable for 4-inch pipes, but the removal range is significantly shorter.

Let me also say that I also don't have to set the tool to the 50 PSI maximum setting to clear any blockages. After using this tool for a period of time, you can determine whether it is worth spending time to continue to increase the pressure or just to find a thread snake. If it is not cleared after several bursts of 45 PSI, 50 is unlikely to work.

For the past few weeks, I have been using AirSnake to clean up everything imaginable, from spare basement floor drains to clogged toilets-by the way, handling these things is still annoying. I recommend a lot of Lysol to disinfect all accessories. As a side note, buy a kit with a 10-inch extension because it allows you not to submerge any part of the tool, making it easier to clean and protect your investment.

I have used this tool on a variety of different lamps. The following are my thoughts on each lamp:

First, before attempting to clear the blockage, remove the drain plug, but replace the packing nut. If the sink is equipped with an overflow, use a rag to put it into the opening during the entire cleaning process. The debris may-or may-be pressed out, especially when you have to use higher air pressure to remove When clogging.

My suggestion-use extension bits. The bend is less and keeps the affected area away from the tool itself. Use the trap purge attachment or the drain cover attachment in a way more suitable for the application, and use the tool in 5 PSI increments until the blockage is cleared.

For single-compartment kitchen sinks, laundry tubs and clean sinks, this tool is just plug and play. I do not have a single instance where I need to use more than 30 PSI to remove blockages, grease, or other causes. For a dual-compartment sink, just use a tight rubber plug or the sink plug itself in the second compartment, hold it firmly in place (especially if you use higher pressure) and pull the trigger. I have a strangely shaped 60-pound object that fits perfectly on top of my rubber stopper. So in most cases, I just use it to fix the plug.

For the shower and bathtub, I found myself using different accessories, depending on the type of drain I deal with. This means juggling between all accessories, except the toilet drain plug.

For floor drains, I almost only use shield attachments, unless I cannot seal on the surrounding floor (for example: uneven concrete floor). When this happens, I will move to the appropriate size drain plug. If that doesn't work. It's time to pull out the cable snake.

Use a 2-inch tube plug and start charging. The couple I drove needs 20-30 PSI. However, start with 5 PSI, and then work in 5 PSI increments.

Pro Tip: Remember to perform a water test on every fixture that you unblock with this tool. First, let it not just be re-clogged on the production line. In addition, make sure that the air does not expose the bad glue points.

Milwaukee M12 AirSnake does not need to set up buckets and wipes to disassemble traps, nor does it need to deal with messy cleanup work. It can clear some blockages more easily and quickly. As a plumber, I can say with certainty that any plumber needs to install this tool in their truck. Now, having said that, you should never throw away other drain cleaning equipment.

Milwaukee AirSnake runs as a bare metal for $329. You can purchase the complete kit for $399. Use this tool to perform preventive maintenance on slow drain pipes. Milwaukee designed it as the first line of defense. If it doesn't work, you will have to pull out the thread snake and start working.

Milwaukee M12 AirSnake will make our plumber's life easier, faster and cleaner. This is the tool we need to embrace...unless you like to do extra work where you don't need it. Did I mention that this puppy will quickly pay for itself, it can save you a lot of time?

Dan Bedard grew up around tools, mainly in woodworking, thanks to his grandfather's passion for tools. As a plumbing and gas fitting professional, he leads a rough crew in Edmonton north of the Alberta border. In his free time, he is decorating his home and designing a new landscape concept for it.

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I have returned 3 of them because they were not under pressure.

This is a great tool even for homeowners like me who do all the home repairs on their own.

Be sure to check p-trap. If it rusts badly, you cannot use this tool because you will only damage the pipe. Otherwise, I am sure that it is an effective machine.

It sounds a lot like the water ram we bought not long ago. Once blown a pvc trap, it has been sitting in the corner and collecting dust ever since. Almost if the plunger doesn't work, it won't.

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Professional tool reviews for professionals

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