My review of the Ryobi Hybrid Drain Auger P4002. Pros - Replaceable drum and tips Cons - Can damage tool using incorrect settings, can over extend snake to where it doesn’t retract, hybrid plug needs adapter.
Followed your link from Ryobi Rebels. This was great, I appreciate the honest feedback on this tool. Good info to keep in mind should I decide to buy it.
I don't have this Ryobi auger, but rather an Amazon Chinese version that's based off of the Worx Nitro Drain Auger that I bought for $30. I work apartment complex maintenance, so I deal with a lot of hair clogs in bathtub drains and bathroom sinks. Honestly, I never use the auto-feed - it's too slow and it's harder to know just how much cable has gone out. So I'll manually pull out about 5 inches, spin and feed it in, pull out another 5 inches, spin and feed it in, etc. and just do it that way. Much faster, and at least for me you can better tell when you've hit resistance (clog or bend). I only used this one bathroom sink or bathtub drain. If it's a kitchen sink drain, then it's time to upgrade to a Ridgid K-45 or K-50 sectional cable auger. That $30 auger has lasted me 2 years with plenty of use with no issues. Only time the cable got damaged is when I loaned it out to my co-workers to use and they're always too rough with it.
I’ve used this one all over my house. There’s different end attachments too. But if I was doing this regularly for maintenance I’d definitely upgrade to something better. This has saved me a ton in plumber costs though so it’s definitely earned its keep.
Thanks for the video. I am a novice and it showed in my first attempt to use the auger - I ended up pulling the cable completely out and now I can't get it to retract at all. I can get it in the drum past the bulb I think, but it won't pull back at all. What do you have to do to get it to retract? Is there a certain amount of cable that has to be inside before it will work? Or is there an plastic attachment it has to attach to? Also, to avoid this problem in the future, how do you know when you are almost fully extended? Finally, how do you know when you've hit a clog? I can't tell if the cable is moving in or out as opposed to just spinning unless I put a little slip of paper in the cable to watch. Thanks for any advice!
I am a novice as well. But there have been times where I’ve had to give it a little tug while it’s in reverse. Make sure your settings are correct (reverse on the front knob and on the button), wear some gloves, and pull the cable in while running it in reverse. Eventually it will catch and start to retract on its own. As far as knowing when you hit the clog, sometimes I have to chase it around. Hard to explain. But if I start in the second floor bathroom furthest away from the main drain of the house. I’ll move to the kitchen or bathroom closest to it on the first floor. Some houses have access pipes you can get an auger into as well. But I just keep using it on drains closer and closer to the main drain. If you do all of that and you are still getting water backed up then it’s time to call a plumber. This thing can’t handle the main access drain. Hope that helps and good luck!
2nd Drain Auger I had. The first one was manual one and ended up destroying it because the cable got stuck in the drain. Had to use heavy duty gloves and pliers to get the cable out. 2nd Auger was the Ryobi one you showed above. Same thing, fed it in the drain, the cable got stuck again. After an hour of fiddling with it. Same thing pulled out the heavy pliers and gloves and ended up damaging the cable by manually pulling. I weigh 200 lbs and it took my full body weight to get the cable out and pulled a muscle in my back. Ended up smashing the thing to pieces. Filled the whole sink with drano and let sit over night, fortunatly that cleared the drain. I cannot recommend this product. They overcomplicate it by having two forward and reverse settings. I say its a crap shoot weather it will work or not. Like my manual one I consider it a one time use.
I posted this video 5 years ago. Still use the same one to this day. I’ve even loaned it out to friends. No issues. I stand by my recommendation. This tool has saved me thousands in plumbers costs over the years having kids. But to each their own.
I agree the operation of this is a bit confusing, and not as simple as the lower-end model. I've worn out 2 of the lower-end models and now this one is on my workbench, but contemplating selling it. I would really like Ryobi to offer a double-drop head (or crawl-head) tip on their drain routers. It can be tricky making tight turns or avoiding going up a vent with the cables they offer. Because of that I often turn to my old-style Erickson hand snake drum that has a crawl-head tip, which can be nice because can go straight down a bathroom or kitchen sink drain without disassembling the p-trap under the sink. I was trying to use my Ryobi on a difficult tub and simply couldn't get it to make a turn in the pipe, but my Erickson did it fine. I also have a General Wire Power-Vee and a Ridgid K-40, but those are a bit heavy and awkward sometimes.
Hey thanks for the comment and for watching the video. I'm not a professional. Just a homeowner with toddlers. This thing has pulled baby wipes out of drains for me. I ultimately ended up getting this because the drum and snake are replaceable and the cost is cheaper than the lower priced model. So I figured pay a little more now to pay a little less later. I also like that there are replaceable tips. I'm planning on getting the grease cutter tip for the pipes under the kitchen sink. They have a new model out that's even higher end than this one. I think that's more of a pro model. More than I'd need to spend at least.
Ya I definitely think this model is worth the upgrade over the previous one. The jump between this one and the next one though is a little more of a splurge lol.
Watch your fingers working the hub, pinched my finger in it and omg it brings tears to a grown man's eyes bc u cant release your skin without smashing again lol.
Yes, design flaw, was on my 3rd floor and used all 25 ft out, went to reverse it and lost the snake down the toilet pipe and it fell. Luckily it stopped a few feet short of going below my concrete floor in my basement, almost cost me thousands.
Ya that's one of my biggest annoyances. I have a rigid one that connects to a drill (I hate it so much), but I don't know that I've ever extended it the full length. So I don't know if it's just a design issue that it should be permanently connected or if there's a reason for it to be loose in there. At a minimum that little bulb should be too big to go through the hole. That way it's loose but can't come all the way out. Thanks for watching though!
