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Question; Thank you for being helpful and prompt at replying my emails. I know that you recommended me to call with any more questions, however, I am still deciding on what I like/need.
I am new to the carpet cleaning industry and I hope to be clear with the following:
I have narrowed it down to: Mytee, US Products and Natilus (please recommend something based on product quality, performance, customer experiences, warranties and the following specs:
-Variable 500 psi
-2 three stage vacuum motors
-Best water lift, I guess over 220"
-12 or 13 gallon tanks
-With autofill and autodump
-With automatic pump shut-off when water level runs low
-With a good Heater
-VERY IMPORTANT: Easy one-man-truck-loading, without damaging any pipes, cables or handles
Please feel free to make any comments about this list in order to improve it.
Additional information:
My very first job would be my 2 bedroom apartment, however, I am thinking of cleaning the carpet at the restaurant where I work. This is a 3000+ sq ft heavy-duty glued carpet. PLEASE be honest and let me know if the machine that I am thinking of getting would be too small for the restaurant job. I really do not want to damage it. Also, for this job, would you recommend a manual wand or a rotary wand?
Thank you once again, and hope to hear from you soon!
Have a great day,
Benjamin
Answer; All the factories offer the same warranty, basically two years on most main components except for wear items are 90 days (gauges, hose, casters, rubber,...)
Reliability, also all the same. Line up a bunch of 500 psi heated dual 3 stage machines and one breaks, use the parts from any of the others to fix the broken unit. In other words, they are very similar under the hood.
All 500 psi portable can be turned down.
Dual 3 stage motors are available in dual 10 amp motors (Mytee LTD3) or dual 12.5 amp motors (Clean Storm 12-6500). Amp draw is king as a 25 amp vacuum system is 20% stronger than a 20 amp vacuum system.
With this in mind, how many power cords are you willing to plug in? The reason I ask is customer do not realize if I pick a two corded machine, I have to give up something so I do not tip breakers. For example compare the Mytee LTD5 with dual 12.5 amp motors and no heat. Now look at the Mytee LTD3 with dual 10 amp motors and 1600 watts of heat. Both the heater and vacuum motors are made with less performance so it is less likely to trip a breaker.
You mention Auto Fill: Pressure feed or suction feed? Pressure feed can be added to any machine and is default with the Goliath portables. Pressure feed cleans 10 degree F hotter and provide 75 psi more 'use' pressure. I have sold portables with both pressure feed and suction feed so the customer can toggle back and forth between the two.
You say auto dump: 3 gallon per minute (like Mytee), 5 gallons per min (like Nautilus), 20 gallons per min (Clean Storm), 30 gallons per min (Goliath)??? The flow rates are calculated open flow, no hose and not working against a vacuum. Most performance is about 25% loss pushing down hose and against a vacuum.
Are you talking about dumping down a garden hose or flood pumper capabilities? The max gpm flow through a garden hose is about 10 gallons per min. While if you dump through a 1.5" lay flat or drain hose, you and push 30 gallons per minute. The Goliath lets you toggle between both discharge hoses. Most brands use garden hose auto dump.
You state over 220" of water lift but do not mention the cfm as they are equally important. If you multiple max inches of lift @ zero cfm X (times) maximum CFM (cubic feet per minute) @ zero inches of lift = vacuum units. Some top performers
Goliath 50 amp system 73,100 vacuum units
Goliath 30 amp system 42,500 vacuum units
Clean Storm 25 amp vacuum system 36,550 vacuum units
Mytee LTD3 20 amp system 27,400 vacuum units
Nautilus 20 amp system (parallel 19,602 units/ series 22,047 units)
(note the Nautilus 25 amp system is a cold unit only)
Mytee 25 amp system is a cold unit only
Cross American 25 amp system is cold only
You can only get heat with the Clean Storm 12-6500-H or the Goliath series machines with you upgrade your vacuum past 20 amps.
As far as I know, non of the machine offer a switch to turn off the water pump if the machine runs out of water. If the machines fill up with water, all the machine do have either a switch to turn off the vacuum motors or a ball float system that will change the pitch of the vacuum motors so you can hear the waste tank is full.
One man loading means your total max weight needs to be under 150 lbs. The Nautilus is a beast and super fat plastic and heavy duty so I personally cannot load it. I once tried to make a video showing me loading one in a Ford Excursion and the film was never released and I was un-able to load the machine with ease. Naturally the more stuff you place under the hood the heavier the machine. I think you should own a bi-fold ramp.
This is what I used in my truck for 20 years and loved it! I realize that spending $600-700 is expensive but if it prevents one injury it is worth it.
Manual wand VS power / rotary wands: If you use a manual wand you have to learn to stand up. It continues to amaze me how many carpet cleaners mount their assist handle on the downward slope of the wand instead at the top of the pipe. Secondly if I am right handed, on the rinse stroke, my chest needs to stay parallel with the head of the tool and my right elbow is straight. Power wands clean better than manual wands but do not clean better than using and electric scrubber flowed by manual wand rinsing. In other words, you do not have to spend $2000 on a power wand to get power wand results. You could us verticale or horizontal scrubbing. Example
and
Good Heater: all electric heaters perform the same based on wattage perform with the same outbound temperature rise. So regardless of the make the of the heater all 2000 watt heater perform the same as all 2000 watt heaters. We also have heat exchanger machine. Example BlackMax has coiled copper tubing under the hood of the machine to adsorb the radiant heat
I am new to the carpet cleaning industry and I hope to be clear with the following:
I have narrowed it down to: Mytee, US Products and Natilus (please recommend something based on product quality, performance, customer experiences, warranties and the following specs:
-Variable 500 psi
-2 three stage vacuum motors
-Best water lift, I guess over 220"
-12 or 13 gallon tanks
-With autofill and autodump
-With automatic pump shut-off when water level runs low
-With a good Heater
-VERY IMPORTANT: Easy one-man-truck-loading, without damaging any pipes, cables or handles
Please feel free to make any comments about this list in order to improve it.
Additional information:
My very first job would be my 2 bedroom apartment, however, I am thinking of cleaning the carpet at the restaurant where I work. This is a 3000+ sq ft heavy-duty glued carpet. PLEASE be honest and let me know if the machine that I am thinking of getting would be too small for the restaurant job. I really do not want to damage it. Also, for this job, would you recommend a manual wand or a rotary wand?
Thank you once again, and hope to hear from you soon!
Have a great day,
Benjamin
Answer; All the factories offer the same warranty, basically two years on most main components except for wear items are 90 days (gauges, hose, casters, rubber,...)
Reliability, also all the same. Line up a bunch of 500 psi heated dual 3 stage machines and one breaks, use the parts from any of the others to fix the broken unit. In other words, they are very similar under the hood.
All 500 psi portable can be turned down.
Dual 3 stage motors are available in dual 10 amp motors (Mytee LTD3) or dual 12.5 amp motors (Clean Storm 12-6500). Amp draw is king as a 25 amp vacuum system is 20% stronger than a 20 amp vacuum system.
With this in mind, how many power cords are you willing to plug in? The reason I ask is customer do not realize if I pick a two corded machine, I have to give up something so I do not tip breakers. For example compare the Mytee LTD5 with dual 12.5 amp motors and no heat. Now look at the Mytee LTD3 with dual 10 amp motors and 1600 watts of heat. Both the heater and vacuum motors are made with less performance so it is less likely to trip a breaker.
You mention Auto Fill: Pressure feed or suction feed? Pressure feed can be added to any machine and is default with the Goliath portables. Pressure feed cleans 10 degree F hotter and provide 75 psi more 'use' pressure. I have sold portables with both pressure feed and suction feed so the customer can toggle back and forth between the two.
You say auto dump: 3 gallon per minute (like Mytee), 5 gallons per min (like Nautilus), 20 gallons per min (Clean Storm), 30 gallons per min (Goliath)??? The flow rates are calculated open flow, no hose and not working against a vacuum. Most performance is about 25% loss pushing down hose and against a vacuum.
Are you talking about dumping down a garden hose or flood pumper capabilities? The max gpm flow through a garden hose is about 10 gallons per min. While if you dump through a 1.5" lay flat or drain hose, you and push 30 gallons per minute. The Goliath lets you toggle between both discharge hoses. Most brands use garden hose auto dump.
You state over 220" of water lift but do not mention the cfm as they are equally important. If you multiple max inches of lift @ zero cfm X (times) maximum CFM (cubic feet per minute) @ zero inches of lift = vacuum units. Some top performers
Goliath 50 amp system 73,100 vacuum units
Goliath 30 amp system 42,500 vacuum units
Clean Storm 25 amp vacuum system 36,550 vacuum units
Mytee LTD3 20 amp system 27,400 vacuum units
Nautilus 20 amp system (parallel 19,602 units/ series 22,047 units)
(note the Nautilus 25 amp system is a cold unit only)
Mytee 25 amp system is a cold unit only
Cross American 25 amp system is cold only
You can only get heat with the Clean Storm 12-6500-H or the Goliath series machines with you upgrade your vacuum past 20 amps.
As far as I know, non of the machine offer a switch to turn off the water pump if the machine runs out of water. If the machines fill up with water, all the machine do have either a switch to turn off the vacuum motors or a ball float system that will change the pitch of the vacuum motors so you can hear the waste tank is full.
One man loading means your total max weight needs to be under 150 lbs. The Nautilus is a beast and super fat plastic and heavy duty so I personally cannot load it. I once tried to make a video showing me loading one in a Ford Excursion and the film was never released and I was un-able to load the machine with ease. Naturally the more stuff you place under the hood the heavier the machine. I think you should own a bi-fold ramp.
This is what I used in my truck for 20 years and loved it! I realize that spending $600-700 is expensive but if it prevents one injury it is worth it.
Manual wand VS power / rotary wands: If you use a manual wand you have to learn to stand up. It continues to amaze me how many carpet cleaners mount their assist handle on the downward slope of the wand instead at the top of the pipe. Secondly if I am right handed, on the rinse stroke, my chest needs to stay parallel with the head of the tool and my right elbow is straight. Power wands clean better than manual wands but do not clean better than using and electric scrubber flowed by manual wand rinsing. In other words, you do not have to spend $2000 on a power wand to get power wand results. You could us verticale or horizontal scrubbing. Example
and
Good Heater: all electric heaters perform the same based on wattage perform with the same outbound temperature rise. So regardless of the make the of the heater all 2000 watt heater perform the same as all 2000 watt heaters. We also have heat exchanger machine. Example BlackMax has coiled copper tubing under the hood of the machine to adsorb the radiant heat