Last year, I was manning a booth at an industry trade show when I saw an attendee frantically circling the Speedrooter 92® and Speedrooter XL® drain cleaning machines we had sitting side by side in the booth. Before he could get too dizzy, I approached and asked if I could be of any assistance. He spread his hands and looked at me with a perplexed expression on his face.
“I give up,” he said. “What’s the difference? The wheels are the same size, the drum is the same size, the cable is the same size and the frame looks identical. Am I missing something? Are they twins?”
“Yes,” I said. “But fraternal twins, not identical! Would you like to know the key difference?”
He muttered something affirmative, so I continued.
“How often do you need to go over 100 feet to clean a drain?”
He stood staring at the ceiling for a few seconds and shook his head.
“I’ve done it plenty of times, but I can’t remember the last time,” he said. “Most of the jobs we do are under 75 feet. Why do you ask?”
I asked because the main difference between the Speedrooter 92 and Speedrooter XL is the ability to remove the drum. If you routinely need to put a second drum on your machine to go over 100 feet to get to the clog, the XL is the machine for you! If that only happens every blue moon, then the 92 makes more sense.
The 92 is a much more economical drain cleaning machine, and the spring distributor tube that comes standard on the 92 works great for most customers. The XL comes standard with a larger ¾ hp motor, and some contractors find that its solid metal distributor tube gives the cable more support when they explore the functional limits of the unit. Think of the Speedrooter XL as being halfway between the Speedrooter 92 and the Maxi-Rooter in price and utility.
After I explained this, he gently patted the drum on the 92 a few times, and then smiled.
“Understood,” he said. “I think this one will work just fine for me, but my brother is definitely going to need the XL. No sense in separating the twins when they look so good together. Don’t you think?”
Who was I to argue?
Contact the Drain Brains® at General at 800-245-6200 or by email [email protected].
Learn more about our large-line and long-run drain cleaning machines like the Speedrooter 92 or Speedrooter XL. You can also contact General directly via our Contact page or use the phone number or email above. Ready to buy? Please visit this page to find a retail dealer nearest you.
