Over the years, our customer service staff has collected tips to avoid various problems, tricks to get you out of jams, hints on the right tool for the right job, and so on. This Ask the Drain Brains blog is a selection of some of those hints and tips. You can search by category, for instance, Drain Cleaning, Sewer Cameras, Water Jetters, Cool Plumbing Tools and more.
Feel free to ask a question or to add a new tip or idea. Just click on the Contact button below.
– The Drain Brains
In this series on How to NOT Break Your Stuff, we’ve talked about how your attitude towards the job, as well as the quality and type of equipment that you use, can affect the longevity of your tools. Contractors who are patient and careful on the job and who practice preventative maintenance after the job…
One of the more interesting things that we’ve learned in our 90-year history as a machine manufacturer is that you can neatly place our customers on a bell curve in regard to how often they break their stuff. A bell curve is a type of graph used in statistics to illustrate a situation with normal…
Several years ago, while working the General booth at a trade show, I struck up a conversation with a drain cleaning pro who used our products. He looked around at the different products we had brought to the booth, pointed at our line of camera inspection systems and said, “You know, I just spent $1,500…
When thinking about marketing tools, the first thoughts that come to mind are often things like social media, advertising, logos and promotions. But what about the tools in your truck? How can your drain cleaning equipment help raise the perceived value of your service and help the next part of your job? If you’re using…
Plumbing pro Jake Albright likes reliability, ruggedness and convenience in his drain cleaning tools. That’s why the ultra-compact, handheld Gen-Eye Micro-Scope® video inspection system remains a key part of his equipment arsenal. “It’s great for inspecting all sorts of small drains, including toilets”, he says. “It really saves time and money.” The award-winning pipe inspection…
For the past eight years, the Gen-Eye POD® has been General’s largest selling line of pipe inspection camera systems. The reasons for this include price, portability, durability and utility. People like the POD’s one-piece construction and the fact that it’s viewing monitor is attached to the reel on a flexible gooseneck that allows for both…
“Gen-Eye camera systems easily and accurately spot trouble in sewer lines – diapers, cell phones, toys – you name it,” James Capelli says. “But a boa constrictor tops them all!” The snake somehow migrated to the women’s restroom of a commercial office building. “It kept poking its head up through toilets and scaring all the…
So, picture this: you’re kneeling in wet grass next to a clean out and shoving your Gen-Eye pipe inspection camera system slowly down into the drain. The push rod is stiff, but slippery, and it is just flexible enough to permit you to negotiate the 90-degree turn at the bottom of the clean out and…
At this year’s Water and Wastewater Equipment, Treatment and Transport Show – the world’s largest annual trade show for environmental service professionals – General Pipe Cleaners spoke with COLE Publishing about our new Gen-Eye SD series of pipe inspection and location systems. The Gen-Eye SD series offers all the features of a full-size camera system in a compact, portable…
We like to address some of the common questions the Drain Brains at General get asked. Today, we answer the question: How can I connect my mobile devices to Gen-Eye pipe inspection camera systems? Dave Dunbar shows how to set up your Apple or Android tablet or smartphone so it can be used to see and…
Check out our Pro Tool Selection Guide or chat with a Drain Brain! We can help you by answering any questions about our products you may have.
