The sectional is truly a self feeding machine ;forwards and reverse.

You can order cables in length from 4 ft -10 ft

You can add cables much, much faster than any drum machine.

If a cable should be damaged, you only lose that one section MAX 10 ft and you are still able to keep working.

You have fantastic torque control with the clutch that you can preset.

No service what so ever on the self feeding or retracting of the cables as you walk it into the pipe and put the machine in reverse to retract it.

The sectional cables come in a wide choice of diameters and types of cable configurations for almost every application including the smaller sizes.

The torque feature saves a lot of cable strain and makes a mediocre mechanic seem like a rising star in the drain cleaning field.

The draw backs are each cable has to be handled separately as you put them in sections.

You need a lot of room to run the machine properly.

The cables can and do splash lots muck all over UNLESS the mechanic has the common decency to run hot water and detergent to help clean the cable on the return trip.

The reversing feature really helps getting the drain guy out of a jam when a tough encounter takes place as they can go forward and reverse and break through the most stubborn of blockages without any danger of kinking the wire.

The sectional machines come in a much larger variety as far as actual usable horse power is concerned.

Now one of the major draw backs is you have the machine separated from the cables so you have to make at least 2 trips to the truck.

One for the actual machine and the other for the cable holding drums.

Some cable manufacturers have the "L" connector that does require lubrication to keep the pin from seizing up and making disconnecting virtually impossible.

The other deeming feature about the "open" cables of the sectional machines is the ability of these cables to remove heavily blocked lines of grease deposits that would take a water jetter 10 times longer to remove (the jetter is fantastic for getting the lines cleaned to a like new condition) The cables actually bring these grease deposits back. A REALLY MESSY CLEAN UP but it does prevent the grease from going down stream to cause another blockage.

The strong points to look for in a drum machine is a strong drum METAL as opposed to the cheap plastic junk available.

I happen to like General super 90 as this drum machine handles 3/4 wire and is very easy to maintain and it is relatively cheap to own and operate.

My Electric Eel sectional is a great machine BUT the Model J cables I would never recommend to anyone BUT the most highly skilled cable users as these things KINK in a heart beat if you do not torque it properly. NO FORGIVENESS HERE.