tions and other causes, and prevent drain cleaner
damage.
Always wear safety glasses and other appropriate
protective equipment when setting up your drain
cleaner.
1. Check work area for:
• Adequate lighting.
• Flammable liquids, vapors or dust that may ignite. If
present, do not work in area until sources have
been identified and corrected. The drain cleaner
is not explosion proof and can cause sparks.
• Clear, level, stable, dry location for all equipment and
operator. Do not use machine while standing in
water. If needed, remove water from the work area.
• Properly grounded electrical outlet of the correct
voltage. Check machine serial plate for required
voltage. A three-prong or GFCI outlet may not be
properly grounded. If in doubt, have outlet inspected
by a licensed electrician.
• Clear path to electrical outlet that does not contain
any potential sources of damage for the power cord.
2. Inspect the drain to be cleaned. If possible, deter-
mine the access point(s) to the drain, the size(s) and
length(s) of the drain, distance to tanks or mainlines,
the nature of the blockage, presence of drain cleaning
chemicals or other chemicals, etc. If chemicals are pre-
sent in the drain, it is important to understand the
specific safety measures required to work around
those chemicals. Contact the chemical manufacturer
for required information. Confirm no other utilities are
present in the drain or area to reduce the risk of dam-
age. Visual inspection of the drain with a camera is a
good practice.
If needed, remove fixture (water closet, etc.) to allow
access to drain. Do not feed the cable through a fix-
ture. This could damage the drain cleaner and the fix-
ture.
3. Determine the correct equipment for the application.
See Specifications.
Drain cleaners for other applications can be found
by consulting the RIDGID Catalog, online at
RIDGID.com
4. Make sure all equipment has been properly inspected.
5. If needed, adjust the machine clutch for the size of
cable to be used
(see Jaw/Clutch Adjustment)
.
6. If needed, place protective covers in the work area.
The drain cleaning process can be messy.
7. Position the drain cleaning machine so that the cable
outlet is within 2 feet (0.6 m) of the drain access.
999-995-137.10_REV. B
7
K-5208 Drain Cleaning Machine
5. Clean any debris from the cable and cutters. Inspect
cable for wear and damage. Inspect for:
• Obvious flats worn into the outside of the cable
(cable is made from round wire and profile should be
round).
• Multiple or excessively large kinks (slight kinks up to
15 degrees can be straightened).
• Uneven space between cable coils indicating that the
cable has been deformed by stretching, kinking, or
running in reverse (REV).
• Excessive corrosion from storing wet or exposure to
drain chemicals.
All of these forms of wear and damage weaken the
cable and make cable twisting, kinking or breaking
more likely during use. Inspect the cutters. Replace
worn and damaged cable and cutters before using
drain cleaner.
Inspect the cable couplings for wear and damage.
Confirm that coupling plunger pins move freely and fully
extend for positive retention. If needed, lubricate with
a light oil.
6. Inspect and maintain any other equipment being used
per its instructions to make sure it is functioning prop-
erly.
7. Make sure that the FOR/O-OFF/REV switch is set to
the O-OFF position.
8. With dry hands, plug cord into properly grounded out-
let. Test the GFCI provided in the electrical cord to en-
sure that it is operating correctly. Depress the GFCI
TEST button -the machine should not operate. Depress
the RESET button – the machine should operate. If
GFCI is not functioning properly, unplug the cord and
do not use the drain cleaning machine until the GFCI
has been repaired.
9. With the inspection complete, with dry hands, un-
plug the machine.
Machine and Work Area Set-Up
WARNING
Set up the drain cleaning machine and work area ac-
cording to these procedures to reduce the risk of in-
jury from electric shock, fire, machine tipping,
twisted or broken cables, chemical burns, infec-
