Will Wire-cutter work to shorten a coil spring?

[Homervanderjazz]

Hi,

I have a drain Unblocker which relies on a coil being fed down the plug hole of a bath/sink.

However, the end of the product has a thicker coil than the rest of it due to which it doesn’t fit down the plug hole.

Due to this I was planning to shorten it but not sure how best to do it. Would a wire cutter work for this purpose?

 

[Burnerman]

If its a hefty tool then yes it will, but if you haven't such a thing then call on the services of an angle grinder with a 1mm slitting disc.
John

 

[foxhole]

You dont put it down the plug hole. You disconnect ubend and enter there.

 

[opps]

You dont put it down the plug hole. You disconnect ubend and enter there.

Whilst that might be the better option they are designed to enter the plug hole, but clearly in this case the plug hole is too small.

 

[foxhole]

They are designed to clear pipe work , entry point is dictated by size and not specifically for entry via a plug hole .

 

[pete50]

I would have thought that if you put anything of this nature down the plughole it's going to stop when it reaches the bottom of the ubend. I cannot see it going round the tight bend of ubend.

 

[opps]

I would have thought that if you put anything of this nature down the plughole it's going to stop when it reaches the bottom of the ubend. I cannot see it going round the tight bend of ubend.

Believe it or not they can get around the ubend. You just need to remember to turn it closewise whilst pushing it.

 

[foxhole]

Believe it or not they can get around the ubend. You just need to remember to turn it closewise whilst pushing it.

Depends on the size many have a rigid tip of three or more inches which won’t go round U bend, though if your clearing a blockage common sense dictates you start by removing U bend.

 

[opps]

Depends on the size many have a rigid tip of three or more inches which won’t go round U bend, though if your clearing a blockage common sense dictates you start by removing U bend.

Sorry I wasn't necessarily disagreeing with you. I was simply pointing out that many of them are designed to be pushed into the plug hole. Mine has a tip of about 1.25".

I agree that removing the trap makes sense, especially given that the trap is more likely to get blocked in the first place. Mind you I recently went to my stepson's to unblock his bathroom pipes and discovered that the Ahole that (badly) tiled his bathroom had been washing out his tools in the bath and the pipes were 70% clogged with cement based products. I had to use the hook on the end of my electrical cable pushing rods to remove as much as possible and then pushed the remainder in to the soil stack.