I've had a couple of problems with clogged drains and so far haven't done
much good snaking. I bought a cheap hand crank snake, it goes in a ways,
stops and I seem to make absolutely no progress. A friend suggested a drill
powered snake, goes in a ways, stops, twisted up like a pretzel inside the
pipe.

So I'm wondering if I have super tough clogs, or if it's just the cheap
Wal-Mart and hardware store snakes I'm buying? Tonight I bought a drill
powered snake that's inside a piece of tubing. So far I like it, the tubing
keeps the snake from twisting up inside the pipe easily but I still haven't
been able to clear the drain. It goes in maybe 4ft and I can't seem to get
it to go any further.

The drains I'm having trouble is the bathtub and the bathroom sink. The
sink has been clogged over a year, we quit using it. Recently the tub
clogged, we don't think it's a good idea to quit taking baths :-)
Unfortunately the crawl space is very difficult for me to access, I would
have to hire a skinny guy and the opening is on the other side of the house,
extremely inconvenient.

Is there a recommended brand and size of snake for 1-1/4 drains?

Thanks!

RogerN