More than a decade ago, G.R. Stob Mechanical (dba Stob Plumbing) invested in a hot-water, trailer-mounted jetting machine from HotJet USA, primarily to clean grease lines in low-income housing complexes.

The cost? Around $40,000. The resulting return on investment? Priceless.

“I used to pull 1,000 pounds of grease a week from some of those housing complexes with that machine,” says Rich Stob, who bought the suburban Chicago business from his retiring father in 2013. His father founded the company in 1977 with a business partner. “It was one of the highlight investments we made during that time period — it was a game-changer for me and the company.”

The company owned a smaller jetter at the time, but it couldn’t handle the grease lines that Stob commonly encountered in the seven-unit, row-house apartments built at the time, all connected by one grease line that emptied into a sanitary sewer line.

“All seven units would be connected by that one grease pipe,” Stob explains. “Our rodding machines couldn’t get through the grease, either.”

Ready for any job

The HotJet USA 8036V GPC model features a 350-gallon water tank, a water pump that generates flow of 10 gpm and pressure of 4,000 psi, 300 feet of 3/8-inch-diameter cable and a second reel that quick-connects to the main hose and holds 300 more feet of hose. The second reel includes a pedal for remote operation, Stob notes.

The 600 feet of hose, not to mention the hot-water option, allows Stob to do jobs he otherwise couldn’t do.

“It’s incredible how much you can do with this machine,” he says. “I’ve even used it to remove graffiti.”

In one instance, Stob unthawed 1,000 feet of frozen, 4-inch-diameter sewer line with the two hoses.

“You lose some of the flow at that distance, but it still created 4,000 psi,” he says. “It took four days to finish that job. I wasn’t sure it would work, but it did the job.”

Lucrative business

It’s not unusual for plumbers to avoid drain cleaning. And that’s just fine with Stob, who has embraced it ever since he started working for his father.

In fact, drain cleaning accounts for roughly 30 to 35% of the company’s annual revenue, which exceeds $750,000. A lot of that drain work comes from cleaning drain tiles for management companies that maintain condominium and apartment complexes.

“My father and I decided to pursue the drain cleaning side of the business because I knew how to do it and I like to do it,” Stob explains. “And it’s lucrative, too — probably the most lucrative service we provide. I think you have to offer customers drain cleaning because every day people call with blocked drains. So it’s a needed part of the profession. I’m not too proud to do that kind of work. A lot of guys just don’t want to get dirty, but I don’t get that. Cleaning drains hasn’t killed me yet.”

Stob says he believes many plumbers don’t clean drains because they don’t know how. As such, both of his technicians have received comprehensive training, which boosts efficiency as well as minimizes equipment breakdowns.

Drain cleaning arsenal

As the company has grown, so has its fleet of equipment. In addition to the HotJet USA trailer-mounted jetter, it currently owns two cart-mounted water jetters — one from O’Brien Mfg., a product of Hi-Vac Corporation and one from Spartan Tool — with water pumps that produce up to 5 gpm at 4,000 psi and 3.5 gpm at 4,000, respectively.

For jetter nozzles, the company prefers Warthogs from StoneAge and Reapers from Hydra-Flex.

The company also owns several Spartan drum cable drain machines; drum cable machines from Milwaukee Tool, including one that features Powertredz stair-climbing capability; a Mini Miller drain machine from Picote Solutions; and a sectional drain machine from Electric Eel.

Stob also prefers jetter hoses from Piranha Hose and cutters and other attachments from MyTana.

A real blessing

These days, the company primarily uses its HotJet USA trailer jetter to clean laterals as well as commercial downspouts that drain into underground pipes.

“It’s been a very good investment,” Stob says. “It probably paid for itself in a year. It’s been a real blessing for me and our clients.”