Cobra 85250 Pistol Grip Drum Auger, One Size, No Color

Excellent product when used as instructed. I lived in my condo since 1991 (24 years) and I've never used an auger in my bathtub. This auger removed years of hair and soap, what Drano could not. To be honest, not Drano's fault, I needed an auger this time. I had so gunk that I needed an additional 9 feet of line just for the water to start draining. When you meet resistance, you MUST USE and START TURNING THE HANDLE CLOCKWISE AND CONSTANTLY with a little force, OTHERWISE it will not work. As the line goes deeper, add additional line (about 6 inches) LOCK it, turn the handle constantly again until line goes deeper, add 6 inches on line, lock it, keep on repeating until water starts draining. That's it! You did what a plumber would have charged you hundreds for.This is what the plumbers use, so save your money and buy this. It will pay for itself many times over. It's my first time using an auger and I tried pushing the line in instead of turning the handle at the same time. Forcing the line WITHOUT turning the handle WILL NOT WORK. If I can use it, so can you. For help, watch a YouTube drain video first before starting. I did and it helped me a lot. Good luck!P.S. The handle is NOT meant for recoiling the line back into the case when not in use. You MUST push the coil in yourself. Once in, lock and store it.

Well this was a total waste of time and money. I ordered this for my bathtub drain, which has been almost entirely clogged all week. I've tried two rounds of Drano to no effect, so I thought manual intervention might be necessary. As far as how to use, I watched a Cobra video on Youtube, and read all of the directions when I received the auger. While they do stress not using too much force, I really didn't think that my 115lb self could actually damage a metal coil whose entire job is to bore through dense clogs. I was wrong, more on that later.The process was much more labor intensive than the video made it seem. Maybe my pipes are older and smaller (100 year old Chicago apartment building) than what you see in home improvement demonstrations. After some maneuvering, I got the coil to the area it's supposed to go in; I took off the plate for the overflow and went in that way, so the angle should have been pretty good to work as designed. I did the insert, lock, crank, repeat that I saw in the video and seemed to be making progress. Based on what was left in the drum, I was a few feet into the pipes. I decided to see if that did the job, so I went to remove the coil. It was stuck. Checking the internet, this is apparently a common thing that ends with a lot of people having to call a plumber for an expensive repair. In all, I was lucky, because mine only stayed stuck for an (alarming) hour. However, when I got the thing out, the bottom six inches were molded into a permanent spiral shape. It seems all the cranking I was doing was just causing the coil to gather up around itself in my pipes. I will never be able to use it again, and it didn't even clear the drain. It's just as clogged as before.

I have a home warranty and had to call out a plumber twice to clear a stubborn drain in the shower. The second time out, they said if the problem returns, they'd have to install/replace some of the pipes and add a external entry channel all for one thousand smackers. Well that would be nice, but not today. I decided to take matters into my own hands and purchased this drum auger. After some youtube tutorials, I was able to clear out the clog. Turns out it was only a stubborn hair clog. This auger worked well, though I did kink it at the clog (perhaps this is my fault, but shouldn't it be able to withstand this type of use?).

This thing is awesome! I've had the fancy ones that advanced when you squeeze the handle and the cheap ones with the wingscrew and this this is so much better than either of those. The cam-action clamp is fast and easy to use. In addition to that they got almost everything else right, it spins well the build quality is good and it does what it's supposed to - clear a clogged drain. The only criticism I have is that where the handle meets the body there is a relatively sharp transition that can get uncomfortable to hold after a while. This is a very minor criticism at this price point and honestly the handle was long enough that by sliding my grip down I was able to avoid the hot spot caused by the sharp transition, wearing gloves would probably also help. Overall this is a great product that works well and I expect to server me well for years to come.

I'm not very pleased with this. Maybe the reviews on the item page are mixed with another item, because I got the impression you pushed a button, turned the handle, and the snake uncoiled from the housing and forced its way down the drain. Nothing could be further from that expectation.Basically, you flip a switch that unlocks the snake, then you pull out the snake as far as you think you need. You then force/push the snake down into the drain, inch by inch. Until it reaches a turn and possibly gets stuck. Then you pull it out a couple of inches, and push and pull for a while until it maybe clears the turn. Pull out some more length from the housing, inch by inch. Force it further down into the drain. When you think you've reached the blockage, flip the switch to lock the snake at that length, and turn the handle. If your experience is like mine, turning the handle doesn't force the snake to break though the blockage and clear the drain, but rather it causes the snake to back away from the blockage.Maybe this works for blockages that are very close (12 to 36 inches from the drain,) but it was a total failure for me. I can't imagine this has any effectiveness at 15 to 25 feet.

Can't beat it for the price. I'm sure there are sturdier ones out there but this worked just great on a stubborn clog I'd been battling for months. My original drain snake got a kink in it that rendered it all but useless.This one I was able to feed through the overflow valve and got nearly all of the cable down the drain (I was determined to get that clog!) I did end up having to yank rather hard to get the thing back out but nothing was damaged and my tub is now flowing good as new! Saved me a bundle on a plumber! No more standing water!

Very good product. It saves your time and energy and for basins and through trap cleanouts it will unclogged most of them

For under 30 bucks its a no brainer happy i picked the cobra over other brands. Pulled out the worst smelling ball of hair and black gunk ive have ever smelt in my life had me gagging... 4" back from end put a slight bend helps around corners pain to get going but once you get started take your time...rubber gloves and rags and bucket if ur going from pee trap.... good luck

Is what it says it is, worked for me to rid of a clog at least 5 meters down the pipe.Build quality seems fine, I would order again

Cobra 85250 1/4-Inch by 25-Feet Pistol Grip Drum Auger- Its a Snake, Exactly as shown and Advertised .- Its cost EffectiveGet it

Really works no more clog tub