Picote’s range of millers and cleaners were mentioned in our recent post on drain cleaning machines but, on reflection, it’s obvious that these products deserve an article of their own. Yes, they’re more than capable of clearing the toughest of obstructions from pipes of all materials, but that’s only half the story.
The manufacturer has developed a range of attachments for their millers, all developed to undertake specific tasks. Many are designed to remove blockages, but there are a variety of attachments for obstructions caused by different materials. Some attachments have been developed to operate as efficiently as possible in pipes of different materials, whereas some are made to descale pipes. Others are for drilling holes through lining to reattach pipes to main sewerage systems – something known as a ‘reinstatement’ in the industry. To cut a long story short, Picote’s attachments can perform numerous roles.
With their attachments able to perform multiple roles and numerous attachments available, determining which attachments you’ll need in order to take advantage of Picote’s millers and cleaners is no easy task. To help, we’ve listed a selection of Picote’s most popular attachments, as well as their capabilities and selections, below:
Tiger Twister Concrete and Liner Removers
Available for:
Super Midi Miller
Maxi Miller
Maxi Miller Plus
These attachments – as their name suggests – are used for removing concrete and lining from pipes. They are available for use in either 100mm or 150mm pipes, as well as those that are either lined or unlined. Along with this, there are three further variations: one designed for removing lining, one for removing concrete and one for removing both. All models can be used in all types of pipe, with the exception of those made for removing just liner which should only be used in pipes made of concrete or cast iron.
Tiger Twister Lateral Cutters
Available for:
Mini Cleaner
Mini Miller
Super Midi Miller
Maxi Miller
Maxi Miller Plus
Similar in design to their namesakes, these attachments are used for performing reinstatements instead of removing concrete and lining.
Available for use in 50mm, 70mm, 100mm, 125mm, 150mm, and 200mm pipes, they are available as either ‘express’ or ‘lateral cutters’. Whilst both are designed to undertake reinstatements, express models are designed to operate in clay, cast iron, PVC, and concrete pipes. Those labelled as lateral cutters are for reopening laterals where pipes have been lined with tough materials such as fibreglass or resins where the cure has been accelerated with the use of ultraviolet light.
Additionally, one further lateral cutter is available exclusively for the Mini Cleaner and Mini Miller: the Twister Mini Flexi. Available for use in 50mm and 70mm pipes only, this lateral cutting attachment has been designed to perform reinstatements through bends.
Picote Smart Cutters
Available for:
Mini Cleaner
Mini Miller
Super Midi Miller
Maxi Miller
Maxi Miller Plus
Used for cleaning pipes and removing tough deposits located around the outside of pipes, Picote’s Smart Cutters can be used in 32mm to 300mm pipes and are comprised of a hub, a hub disc and grinding panels. Additional elements such as weights and steering guides can be added to provide operatives with greater control where greater precision is required such as when working in a lined or fragile pipe.
Here, grinding panels are placed in the hub and are then secured with a hub disc. As the smart cutter is then fed through a pipe, these panels erode and remove any blockages.
Different grinding panels are also available for undertaking different tasks. Standard panels are suitable for clearing all kinds of blockages but their XT Rough counterparts are designed to finish the same jobs twice as fast. Cleaning and polishing panels are also available for light cleaning and descaling work.
Special Drill Heads
Available for:
Mini Cleaner
Mini Miller
Super Midi Miller
Maxi Miller
Maxi Miller Plus
Picote’s range of specialised drill heads are used for cutting into blockages, weakening them to make it easier for larger tools to clear debris. They can also be used to perform reinstatements in lower diameter pipes. There are five variations of these drill heads, each having a unique feature or having been designed to operate in pipes made of certain materials.
Special Drill and Tiger Bore Heads
The Special Drill and Tiger Bore heads can be used for both reinstatements and removing blockages including tree roots. That said, they’ve been designed to cut through lining and are best used for reconnecting pipes to main lines and removing failed liner as a result.
Special Drill heads are available with diameters ranging from 20mm to 50mm, whilst Tiger Bore Heads are available for use in 50mm, 70mm and 100mm diameter pipes.
Cutter Drill Heads
Available for 32mm to 100mm pipes, Cutter Drill Heads have been designed to perform reinstatements in cast iron pipes. Featuring side blades, they create openings that are larger than the drill heads themselves. Having been designed to cut through cast iron, these heads are also capable of removing tough blockages from smaller diameter pipes as well as creating openings in blockages in larger pipes.
Cutter 2.0 Drill Heads
Like the Cutter Drill Head, the Cutter 2.0 is designed to perform reinstatements and can create an opening larger than the diameter of the head itself but has been developed to do so in pipes made of more fragile materials than cast iron. This drill head is available for pipes between the sizes of 50mm and 100mm.
Special Drill Head PVC
This drill head has been designed to perform reinstatements and clear blockages inside fragile pipes made of materials such as PVC and clay. They are designed to operate in pipes with diameters of between 32mm and 100mm.
Special Drill Head 3D
Suitable for use in pipes of between 50mm and 100mm, Picote’s 3D Drill Heads can be pulled backward through already existing openings to make them larger. This is particularly useful when conducting a reinstatement in a low diameter pipe.
Cleaning chains
Available for:
Mini Cleaner
Mini Miller
Super Midi Miller
Maxi Miller
Maxi Miller Plus
Maxi Miller Power+
Picote’s Cleaning Chains are used to clean, descale and restore pipes. The smallest of these chains is suitable for 32mm pipes and the largest for 250mm pipes. Like Special Drill Heads, Cleaning Chains can be categorised by both the materials they can clear and the type of pipes they’re designed to operate in.
PVC Chains
Due to their lack of carbides, PVC Chains are perfect when undertaking work in fragile pipes made of materials like PVC, plastic, copper, and clay. They are suitable for clearing light blockages only.
Standard Chains
Featuring 3-ridged star carbides, Picote’s Standard Chains are suitable for general cleaning and descaling in clay, concrete and cast iron pipes.
Tiger Chains
Picote’s Tiger Chains use 5-ridged extra-hard and long-lasting carbides, as well as a chain made from lighter materials. The end result is a cleaning chain that is both durable but capable of cleaning cast iron pipes that are already fragile due to them having suffered prior damage.
Premium Chains
Large and heavy 7-ridged carbides make Picote’s Premium Chains the strongest and fastest in the range. Suitable for use in cast iron pipes, these chains can be used to remove failed liner, concrete and other hard deposits.
3D Chains
In order to clean pipes with varying diameters, the size of Picote’s 3D Chains can be altered by altering a Miller or Cleaner’s RPM.
These 3D chains are available in either PVC or Premium variants, with PVC Chain sizes ranging from DN50 to DN100 and Premium from DN50 to DN150. Like their non-3D counterparts, the PVC variant can be used in plastic, clay and other fragile pipes, whereas the Premium variant is best suited to clearing tough deposits like concrete or failed liner from cast iron pipes and those made from other durable materials.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are numerous different attachments for Picote’s range of Millers and Cleaners and they all have specific functions.
Here at DCR, we have a wide range of these attachments in stock and in the unlikely event that we need to order one, our lead times are impressively low. We’re also more than happy to offer advice if you’re unsure of what you’ll need to get the job done. To get in touch, click here or call us on 01443 841540.
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