When Chris Storey descales cast iron drainlines to prep them for lining, two things are of utmost importance: speed and a thorough cleaning.
“Our goal is to get that pipe as close to its original diameter as possible and do it as quickly as possible,” says Storey, a co-owner of C & E Pipe Services, based in Hurst, Texas, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Fort Worth.
The Boss 2.0 flex-shaft machine from Gator Drain Tools delivers on both counts, thanks to features like a stiff, 10 mm (roughly 3/8-inch) cable, a powerful electric motor (6,500 rpm) and chain knocker attachments.
“It eats up scale pretty quickly,” Storey says. “It pretty much turns cast iron scale into butter. We’ve literally cut our descaling time in half compared to other machines we’ve used.
“Plus with the stiffer cable, we get more pushing power. We can push the Boss through just about anything. And with 100 feet of cable, we can usually clean an entire drainline from just one exterior clean-out — no more cleaning 35 or 40 feet, then having to go pop a toilet to finish cleaning the rest of a line.”
Storey says he recently descaled two runs of 3-inch-diameter cast iron pipe — one 56 feet long and the other 48 feet long — in only 2 1/2 hours. That included a couple of passes on each stretch and jetting out the scale.
“That would have probably taken us all day to do with one of our other machines,” he says.
Established in 2022, C & E Pipe Services employs six people and focuses primarily on pipe lining, drain cleaning, drain inspections and full-service plumbing.
DRAIN CLEANING WORKHORSE
Since the company bought the Boss in November 2023, the machine has become a central part of the company’s pipe lining operations and proves its value on a daily basis, Storey says.
In particular, Storey recalls the first time he used the machine.
It was a descaling job at a home with an extremely long run of 4-inch cast iron pipe that included two 90-degree and two 45-degree bends.
The run of pipe was so long that not even the Boss’ 100-foot cable could clean it all from one access point, so Storey had to dig down to uncover some pool-related equipment that provided access to insert the cable.
“We cleaned the entire run of pipe in one day,” he says. “That would’ve been impossible with the other equipment we had at the time.”
Furthermore, he also used a chain knocker attachment to pull out a bladder that got stuck while lining drainlines under the house.
“We feathered the chain knocker in there and once the bladder got into those chains, we were able to pop it out,” Storey says. “You have to do a lot of MacGyvering in this industry.”
FEATURES ADD VERSATILITY
In addition, the Boss features flex-shaft technology, which essentially is an 18 mm (about 3/4 of an inch) nylon sheath around the cable that keeps it from whipping around inside a pipe.
“With no cable bouncing around in the pipe, we can more precisely attack target areas,” Storey says.
Storey also praises the variable-speed control, which comes in handy when working with older, more fragile pipes.
“Sometimes you don’t want full power right away, especially when you’re working with delicate pipe,” he says. “This feature allows me to start out at a lower speed and minimize the risk of damaging pipes.”
The Boss also comes with an assortment of sanding, line reinstatement and chain knocker attachments. Storey is impressed with the latter’s durability.
“The impressive thing about the chain knockers is we’re still using the same chains we bought last November,” Storey says. “Some of the carbide tips have broken off, but the chains are still good.”
GREAT ROI
Better yet, all these features come in a machine priced at around $7,250, Storey points out.
“You can’t beat that price, especially for a young and growing company like ours,” he says. “It helps us make more money by getting in and out of jobs really quickly. And the more jobs we can do, the more revenue we generate.”
Storey says that as the company grows and he needs to add a second crew, he’ll also buy another Boss.
“We won’t even think twice about it,” he says. “This machine pays for itself pretty quickly. It’s the best tool in our inventory.”
