It’s easy to see why the Brute skid-mounted water jetter purchased last year by Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Greater Houston has become the preferred, go-to drain machine for the company’s technicians.

Made by Jetters Northwest and mounted in a Chevrolet Express van, the Brute is a versatile machine that can often do jobs typically handled in the past by a larger trailer jetter the company purchased years ago. Better yet, it cost roughly $10,000, compared to around $50,000 for the trailer jetter, says owner Rich Vigil.

“We use it for almost everything,” he says. “It saves wear and tear on our trailer and it’s safer and easier to maneuver than a trailer. Sometimes you just can’t back up a trailer, depending on where a customer lives.”

In addition, newer technicians are sometimes intimidated by running the larger trailer jetter, but that’s not an issue with the Brute. More technicians can operate the Brute, which gives the company the flexibility to allocate manpower more efficiently, Vigil says.

The Brute features a 50-gallon water tank, a UDOR triplex plunger water pump (4,000 psi at 9 gpm), a swiveling hose reel that holds 300 feet of 5/8-inch-diameter hose or 100 feet of 3/16-inch-diameter hose, pulse-mode capability for moving hoses through tight bends, a Kohler fuel-injected gasoline engine and a control panel conveniently mounted below the hose reel for easy access.

The jetter generates more revenue because it can handle smaller jobs faster while charging an hourly rate that’s close to what the company could charge for using the larger trailer jetter, Vigil says.

“The smaller hose allows us to quickly clean even the most intricate pipe layouts with lots of elbows,” he says. “It also allows us to work on smaller drainlines, too. We now use it about 70% of the time. It’s been a very good investment for our company.”

Read more about Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Greater Houston in the August 2021 issue of Plumber magazine.