Band Clamp or DRain Auger or??????????

[dimwittedmoose51]

The photos  tell more than I can.  The diameter  is about 30" and the flat steel band is pretty thick.  Made by the Chicago Specialty Mfg. Co.  Weighs like 25-30#


There must be 50+ feet of running band in this roll andthe handle with the company logo on it is some sort of grip or cam styled lock.  I have no clue.

Thanks Gurus!!

DM&FS

[Papaw]

I call mine a sewer tape. Used to clear out a clogged sewer drainpipe. Some call it a sewer snake.

[johnsironsanctuary]

Looks more like an electricians fish tape for pulling wire.

[johnsironsanctuary]

I bought this new in the 60's.

[dimwittedmoose51]

Maybe for the bigger sewer pipes, but that thing ain't gettin'down my toilet!!!   It would take 40 minutes to get it recoiled after usetoo....and that flat banding is stiff!!!
Thanks all.

DM&FS

[Papaw]

Not for the toilet! To insert in the cleanout. My line to the street is about 65', so I have three cleanouts in the line.

[1930]

Looks more like an electricians fish tape for pulling wire.

I hate to say it at this point but I believe this to be correct as well

[dimwittedmoose51]

Man, that fish tape would make a great boat anchor.  That spherical end is bigger than a golf ball, so the conduit would have to be huge.  The thing was free, so its mission in life is what I'm seeking here.  It won't tell me a thing.....

DM&FS

[scottg]

Technically called a sewer rod.
 Strictly for the household main, out to the utility main. 
  yours Scott

[rusty]

>Looks more like an electricians fish tape for pulling wire

Generally an electricians snake has a hook on the end to attach the wire or a string.

In any case, Chicago Specialty did make drain cleaning snakes....
(60's...)

[Bus]

It's definitely a sewer tape or snake for drain lines (through clean outs in the sewer pipes, not through the toilet stool). Used one many times and had a couple in the hardware store to rent out. Very heavy tool with a cutter on the end for cutting roots in the line.  I can't imagine trying to use it for an electrician's tape, way too heavy and stiff.

One for sale on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-61000-4-Inch-100-Foot/dp/B0000DGARO

[Lewill2]

Two give aways that it isn't for pulling wire, ball on the end and the size of the steel tape portion. Electricians tape is for pulling and the cross section is a lot smaller for fishing through conduit and the tape is in tension when pulling wire. This has the ball end and is a lot heavier so it was made for pushing through the blockages inside a sewer pipe.

[Aunt Phil]

Well, here's the deal, that is a plumber's tape, no if and or but about it.  Plumber uses that to try to ram his way through an obstruction before bringing in the big bad power snake.

Electricians used to use tapes that were 1/4 wide and about 1/16 thick for conduits over 1" diameter.
Today the electricians tend to favor fiberglass rod ovr the heavy tape.

Really smart electricians generally tended to have a 200 foot plumbers tape stashed in the truck, before fiberglass rods.  The plumbers tape will run through conduits bigger than 2" slicker than snot on a doorknob because it's stiffer than a 1/4 tape, and those nice wheels on the end roll right over couplings and through bends where the small hook gets hung up.

The tape itself pretty much don't care which trade uses it.

Plumbers tapes are also damn handy for sliding across the top of ceilings and crawlspaces.