Milwaukee M12 TRAPSNAKE Product Review: On The Job Site

Acme Tools proudly presented Brad Near, @KnarlyCarl, a licensed plumber, with a Milwaukee M12 TRAPSNAKE Toilet Auger and Urinal Auger, for his professional opinion.

• Here is what he had to say:

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Initial Thoughts

Milwaukee Tool recently launched its new toilet and urinal auger system, which they named “Trapsnake.” It is interchangeable, powered by a motor pack or a hand crank. I received the urinal and toilet drills and tested the system with the motor pack, which uses M12 batteries.

My first opportunity was to use the urinal auger on two separate units. What I did next was I slapped on an XC pack for that service. I retracted the snake into the body of the drill. Then, I placed the rubber boot into the base of the urinal and started pushing the cable into the trap. This was while giving the power pack about half the trigger to aid in moving the cable through the trap. Of course, results may vary, but I could move the cable through the trap and into the drainpipe without a big hassle and without having to hand-crank the auger. I determined the trap was clear at this point. In this case, I spun the cable while moving it in and out to help clear out debris in the line.

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Urinals & Blockages

As with any blockage, there is no single answer as to what method works on every type of blockage. That said, running a urinal auger of this type does little to help the urinal drain better. Here, the results usually involve pulling it bizarrely, treating it with acid, and clearing the drain from the wall. The “deposits” in urine build up in the drainpipe and create a crusty layer to which new layers are constantly added, making for a very rock-solid blockage that no auger can clear effectively.

The urinal itself is in decent shape; the pipes in the walls behind it cause the blockage to form and cause the urinal to back up into the bathroom. The Trapsnake auger effectively moved the drill through the trap and into the drainpipe, all four’ of it. Also, it was straightforward to do so versus hand cranking. I pushed the cable into the urinal. Afterward, I extended both Trapsnake augers to their full length (4’ for the urinal auger, 6’ for the toilet auger). This was done using a release button that expands the cable inside the inner tube. The cable then moves inside the outer tube.

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Features I Liked

A cable lock is deployed by pushing the upper handle down into the clamp handle. This makes it very easy and effective at locking the cable in place. This is done to aid in pulling the cable back if against a tight blockage and to adjust the cable length extension. This cable lock is designed to hold the cable in place while pulling the inner tube back to extend the cable further and reverse the process when removing the cable back into the auger assembly. It is a stately design, and it has worked great. It takes no time at all to do. The other wonderful thing about the drill is the rubber hand grips. These make it super friendly to hold and operate.

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Urinal TRAPSNAKE

While using this Trapsnake in the two urinals, one cleared out and started draining better. On the other hand, the other was a different story altogether. The drill became trapped in the pipes in the wall. So, I utilized the cable lock to pull the cable back out of the urinal. I had to brace my feet against the urinal and desperately tug on the cable to break it free. When I did get it to break free, I finally pulled the base of the urinal clean, bizarrely.

• I was hanging it by its supporting bracket on the top end at this point!

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I removed the urinal to find the PVC male adapter had never even been glued into the drain in the wall. Then, I cleared the drain buildup while I had it off and reinstalled the adapter and then the urinal itself. While the Trapsnake got “trapped” itself, it found another problem with this fixture that I could repair before it started leaking, eliminating being called back!

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Toilet TRAPSNAKE

The toilet auger is the same design, with a longer, larger diameter cable and an overall auger body a couple of inches longer. It is amazingly effective at doing exactly as its description suggests, and I am grateful for the power behind the motor pack instead of using a hand crank. The motor pack is used for both drills and a hand crank. It is your choice if you wish to use some challenging work instead.

‘The retrieval bulb head on the toilet auger is different in design. For example, the bulb has a “hook” out the front after tapers down. This is the same design as a bulb head on a typical auger bulb head. The other difference is that the rubber boot on the toilet auger curves to rest inside the base. This is while the urinal auger rubber boot is aligned with the drill to prevent scratching the porcelain.

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Impressive Power

As mentioned before, the motor driver is the power behind the rotation. This part is attached via a “reverse” ¼” quick connect, as found on an impact driver. I push the driver into the receiver on top of the drill. After doing this, it locks in place. To remove it, I must pull back on the quick-connect collar and pull out the motor driver. The motor has plenty of power to clear blockages. Because of this, it will twist out of your grasp if you do not hold it tightly! It is a bit large and does not give an excellent ergonomic grip like a drill.

• On the other hand, I have larger hands and can hold them quite easily.

Potential Problems

On the other hand, it might cause problems for others. It worked well to hold and use the trigger with my middle finger. The directional switch locks in the off position, and I can toggle forward and reverse as needed. Operating in “reverse” turns the auger and the head “forward,” but it is not like a drill and fastener that needs to turn “righty-tighty; lefty-loosey” … it depends on how the bulb head is oriented. So, remember that if you need to turn your bulb head into the blockage to grab an object, operate the power pack in “reverse” and vice versa. In one urinal, I had a 4.0AH XC M12 battery pack on the drill, and it felt like it could twist the cable when I was against a tough blockage, but I was under the impression the motor would “cut out” to prevent any significant binding.

Solution & Final Outcome

At that point, it was tough to hold onto the power pack to counteract the rotation of the cable, yet the motor had not cut out yet. I then stopped the motor and put it in reverse to relieve the tension on the cable. I wonder if a slim pack such as a 1.5AH or 2.0AH battery would deliver the desired results, but I had not experienced the “optimized electronics” Milwaukee claimed. The motor did wind down significantly. I could suddenly feel the twisting getting more robust, so there was plenty of warning before anything happened. The worst-case scenario, I believe, is that the motor would twist out of your hand, no harm, no foul. In this urinal, I had run the motor for a good solid minute or two, and again, I was grateful I did not have to hand crank that!

• These battery-powered devices increase work effectiveness.

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Replaceable Cable

Another unique aspect of the Trapsnake system is that the cables are replaceable, which sounds like the first of its kind. I like that since the whole unit is much more involved than a simple toilet auger and more expensive because of the added features that a conventional drill does not have.

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Bottom Line

These trapsnake drills are the perfect replacements for the available conventional systems. This means they will be at least as effective as products available for many years, with the added benefits of excellent ergonomics, a cable lock, and a power pack. This also means a toilet auger will work great; a urinal auger will work great at clearing out the trap, but a urinal auger will still not be amazingly effective on most blockages beyond the said trap.

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