Shazaam 200psi hot water extractor

[Donald]

I received my Shazaam 200psi hot water extractor today.
I've got some questions:

1 - It has a bit of a burnt smell when I turn it on, nothing too strong but it smells, even my wife noticed it when walking past. Is this normal?
Answer: You should only turn on the heater when their is water in the fresh water tank.
If you run the tank dry and turn on the heater you can break the heater.

2 - The heater button is not always lighten up when turned on. It seems to go on and off. Why is it happening?
Answer: The heater is has a thermostat on it. This means once the water reaches temperature the light will turn off.
When the water cools down it will turn back on again.

3 - I couldn't manage to get the water hot, just warm then it gets cold after some spraying. What can I do to get the water properly hot?
Answer: The laws of amp draw and electricity dictated that you cannot run the vacuum motor and heater at the same time. Hence the reason we sell deul power corded extractors. When you turn on the vacuum motor you are turning off the heater. All heated machines are designed to be filled with hot water instead of cold water. Though it does not hurt the machine to fill it with cold water, you will notice it is not going to work as well as if you fill it with hot water.

4 - If I pre-spray the seats (of a car) with shampoo do I must add some defoamer to the water?
Answer: Only use defoamer as needed. You might consider adjusting to a lower foaming cleaner.

http://www.steam-brite.com/shazaam-kryptonium-gallon-high-degreaser-p-11629.html

5 - Can I add a little vinegar to the water tank like the Mytee users do? Does the extractor needs periodic descaling? We've got very clean tap water here.
Answer: All heated machines are supposed to either rinse the prespray out of the fabric with a formulated rinse aid. Example

http://www.steam-brite.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=flush

If you do not use a formulated rinse and either rinse with plain water or with a cleaner, you will have to descale the machine once a month.

http://www.steam-brite.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=descaler

Link

http://www.steam-brite.com/shazaam-auto-detail-spotter-extractor-p-8875.html

[Fbzkz]

response

Thanks Donald,

1 - Heater was never turned on without water in the tank but still smelled something burnt, I will watch how it goes next time I use it.

2 - Heater light would not turn on with the freshwater tank full, vacuum off and all cold, will double check this again next time I use it.

3 - How long do you suggest to wait after turning on until the heater is good to go?

4 - Does it mean that if I use a low foaming pre-spray cleaner I'm not required to add a defoamer to the fresh water tank at all?

5 - Is it still ok to add a little white vinegar to the freshwater tank?

Thank you.

[Donald]

heated auto spot cleaning machine use.

If you continue to smell something burning or the heater light does not turn on I would suggest you open the machine up and check for loose wires or connections. This does not void your warranty.
It takes about 15 min to heat the tank up to temperature. The exact time depends on how hot or cold the water is that you add to the tank.
If you use a low foaming pre-spray you do not have to use defoamer in the waste tank or the rinse water.
It is OK to add vinegar to the rinse water.

[Fbzkz]

heating it up

Thanks, sounds good.

I think I haven't waited that long for the heater to warm up well.

Can I use one of those small immersion electric heaters in the freshwater tank?

[Donald]

Using bucket heaters

You can drop in a buck heater in the tank but you do want to make sure that the water you are using is under 140 degree F (60 c) to prevent pump damage. The hotter the water is over 140 F the faster the pump will wear out.
I always recommend that when you use bucket heaters that they are not placed in the machine rather in the next standby bucket of water. If you expose the heating element of a bucket heater to the air while it is plugged in, you will break it. Bucket heaters can easily last 10 years when used as directed. When I have customers that break them all the time, 100% of the time it is because they place them inside the fresh tank. This also creates a temperature problem for the pump. When the water level gets lower, the heater works better because of the diminishing mass. When the temperature can exceeds the 140f/60c mark, the it will ruin the pump at the same time. It is like a 2 for 1 breakage. Place the bucket heater in the fresh tank, make one wrong move and get to brake two things at the same time for the decision. Break the heater and ruin the pump. For customers that use the bucket heater in a bucket, they can at least use a pocket or cooking thermometer to test the water before it is poured into the fresh tank. If they need to supplement it with cold water it is easy to do.

Links:
Bucket Heater

http://www.steam-brite.com/1000-watt-bucket-heater-p-3475.html

[Fbzkz]

waste tank

Question about the waste tank now. Can the waste water go above that vacuum filter?

I can't understand why it doesn't come with an instruction manual... this is not a type of eqpt that you can justify not having a document about it.

[Donald]

heated auto detail extractor

I good majority of machines, all makes and models, do not come with owners manuals, rather the information is posted on the web page for that item or as a down loadable pdf file.

Since the waste tank is larger than the fresh tank, as long as the prespray is not to foamy, you should not have a problem with sucking water into the vacuum motor. Instead the machine will run out of fresh water.

For example the web page for this items states:

http://www.steam-brite.com/shazaam-auto-detail-spotter-extractor-p-8875.html

Use Directions: This is a very straight forward, easy to use machine. Simply place hot tap water into the fresh water tank. Do not use extension cords with this machine and if you have to, only use 12/3 extension cords. Connect all the hoses and wand assembly. Turn on heater and allow to preheat water for 15 minutes. Make sure that Prespray your cleaner(s) on the fabric. Agitate your prespray/cleaners with a soft brush. Add 1/2 to 1 oz per gallon of formulated Rinse Aid or Royal Flush to fresh water. Turn on Vacuum machine and rinse fabric and carpet. If you have any spots that are not responding to the cleaning use a little Dry cleaner solution, follow with a little more prespray, agitate and re-rinse with the extractor. When finished with your project, and if you want to empty the fresh water tank, you can simply pour out the remaining water. Please empty the waste tank by removing the hoses off extractor and pour the dirty water out of the vacuum port. Rinse out waste tank with fresh water.

Tips for use:
Please make sure that the machine nor accessories is not allowed to freeze!
Make sure that the ground pin on the extension cord is present and you plug into a grounded outlet.
Do not suck water or foam into the vacuum motor.
Do not use solvents of flammable products in the machine.
Rinse out the waste tank and clean ball and cage screen on top of the vacuum stack with fresh water after each use.
Leave the dump valve open when the machine is not in use.
Do not use the heater in a dry mode. In other words, please do not turn the heater on without having primed water throught the system.
Make sure that check for trash sitting in the dump valve before you attempt to close it. To close the gate, crushing the trash can cause damage to the dump valve O rings.
Because this machine is a heated machine, please only use formulated rinse aids with your water, like Flush Rinse by Shazaam. The use of other chemicals will cause hard water deposits to build up inside the heater. If you use other products besides formulated rinse aids, please descale the machine on a regular basis (at least once a month) with a descaling.
Inspect vacuum motor carbon motor length after 750 hours of use. They might need to be changed at this point.

All this information is like what you would see in an owners manual.