Tweet
I want to buy the Ninja with 500 PSI dual 3 stage vac with no heat. I then want to buy a Volcano 6000 watt heater. I was going to buy the rotovac wand and decided against based on comments from this forum. However, I like the idea of agitating the carpet with a scrubber. What scrubber should I buy? If I do buy it, will what I just mention, clean my carpets with the same quality as a truck mount?
-
-
impressive machine
I agree about the confusion. I have worked here at Steambrite for 25 years and still am changing my mind on what I would buy for myself if I were a customer today.
Did you read the article about narrowing down your search?
I need more information to help you. I do not know if you want a machine that has auto fill and dump? or how many power cords are you willing to plug in? or how large is the tank capacity you want? How long do you want to be able to run you vacuum hoses? What kind of budget do you have in mind? Do you want a custom made machine because the machine you want does not exist? As well as all the other questions posted there.
I am personally more the "Tim the Tool-man - more power kind of guy."
I like more vacuum to run longer hose and get the carpet dryer faster, I like 500 psi machines so I can stroke the carpet faster and clean more aggressively, I like auto fill and dump machines because I used to clean lots of restaurants and do a lot of flood restoration work.
I like heated machines because hotter water just cleans better. I don't mind having lots of power cords because here in San Antonio TX all the homes have electric dryer outlets next to the kitchen and I just used a 220 volt converter. I was not concerned with the weight of the machine because I used a folding ramp.
With all this said, today I would have Shazaam Mfg make me a machine with four 2 stage vacs (in double seriers pair for both high cfm and inches of lift) , 500 psi, dual 20 gallon tanks, auto fill and dump, with multiple heat exchangers (both electric and from vacuum exhaust), with water recirculate (so the water stays hot at the wand even if I set the wand down for a long time), that is mounted on a tall aluminum dolly so I can travel up and down stair or load machine without a ramp where the dolly would disconnect from the machine to use to move furniture during a flood, with a 220 volt converter options that would allow the machine to run on one, two, three, or four 120 volt power cords or one 220 Volt drier outlet.
This machine with all the options would cost $4,000 (this is less than a truckmount but can still operate 200 ft of 2" vacuum hose) -
I want a portable carpet cleaning system to clean residential carpet. I would like to clean my own home, rentals that I own, and possibly start my own carpet cleaning business as a part time thing. The Ninja does have a model that has 500 PSI and can be upgraded to a Dual 3 stage vac with no heat. As far as the other factors you talked about. I would like to run a 75 foot hose just to be able to reach a lot of the rooms without having to find cords closer. Also, the auto dump and auto refill option is nice, but not needed. Can a 11 gallon tank atleast get me through a normal size room or two? Lightly soiled?
I was wondering if you can tell me about the hild scrubber? How would that work? What pads do I use? Is it meant for scrubbing carpet. I would like to get it instead of paying for a rotovac power wand.Comment
-
what donald said is 100% correct but if i may add to it...........
ninja extractors are excellent machines and very easy to work on if needed.
the model with dual 3 stagers will effectively extract with 75' of hose but i personally am leary of the 500psi pump. it will give good impact to the carpet but it lacks a bit on the flow rate (GPM) which is needed to effectively flush the soils from the fibers, therefore, you'll most likely find the small 11 gallon tank will maybe be enough to do what you refer to as "average size" room! (i've owned 4 ninja's in the past.) this means, even though you have the benefit of high psi, you'll need to go over traffic areas more than once to get the proper flushing.
the alternative would be using a scrubber such as the hild, with a scrub brush attached, to scrub in pre-spray. then you can do your normal extraction and when done, use the hild with a bonnet (white cotton) attached, going over the areas cleaned, to help aid in drying and also aid in removing more soiling.
the custom built machine mentioned above is as close to truckmount performance as you can get especially with the vacuum motor configuration mentioned, with 2" plumbing to boot! whats nice about that machine are the large capacities of the tanks and its versatility to perform other jobs such as water damage, but that would reguire the pump out feature!
if you're just wanting to do personal cleaning, the ninja will suit the purpose fine and will initially suit you fine for "starting" a part time cleaning business however, once you start enjoying the income made from cleaning, and your budget allows, there are much better choices available with portables nowadays.Comment
-
Question
I don't understand what you meant by the ninja lacks GPM, and I would have to go over high traffic areas more than once because of it? Is there a better portable out there?
Also, if I had an auto dump and an auto fill, will I need a plug for that a long with the plug for the heat, vac, and machine? I fear that I would and I fear it would just be one more thing that can break down.
I guess I'm am trying to get the best for my money. I was looking at spending about $3200 for my money. That would have gotten me a Ninja with 500psi and a dual 3 stage vac, a 6000 watt volcano heater, and the hild machine. Is this good for my money? If not, what should I look at and why? This is a very big purchase for me, and I just want to do it right.
By the way. Your input on the hild was great. Is that machine made for doing what you told me?Comment
-
the flow rate, or GPM (gallons per minute) is, in my opinion, more important then psi. when you do a load of laundry, you have different "cycles", the washer cleans with. the pre-soak cycle would be like pre-spraying the carpet.
the wash cycle itself, would be like aggitating the carpet with the pre-spray you just put down. the rinse cycle as you know, is for flushing and rinsing soils from the laundry, and would be like flushing the soils from the carpets.
LOTSA WATER USED! and finally, the spin/dry cycle, would be like if you use the hild to post bonnet, which like i mentioned earlier, is for aiding in drying and aiding in the removal of more soiling.
one thing i forgot to mention earlier, and is of equal importance, is to vacuum the carpeting first. the so called experts claim, and i believe it to be true, is the fact that somewhere between 60% to 80% of soiling in carpeting is of dry particulate and is easily vacuumed away, and thats if you use a good quality vacuum. therefore, our job is to remove as much of the remaining "sticking to the fiber" soiling as possible, and with hot water extraction (HWE), this is accomplished with good flow rate (GPM)
when you wash your car, do you just use a sponge with soap, or do you use the garden hose to "flush" away the soapy crud? do you now catch my drift?
i thought so
the hild will do what i mentioned and more. there are many hild machines in service today that are 20yrs in service or more. they're built like tanks!
understand this..........any type machine with moving parts will at some point break down and die. kinda like us, at some point we break down and.......
the key is to maintain our equipment, the way we maintain ourselves!
the volcano electric heater is an excellent choice if you dont mind the added power cords, and want to use the 220 adapter donald mentioned. i use 2 of them (adapters) i bought from him some yrs ago to power my portable when i use it. i use the twin brother to the whisper portable listed on steambrite's web site.
most portables i know of that have the optional auto fill/dump feature are integrated into the harness of the two corded portables as they usually dont draw much in the way of amperage however, there may be some that do not.
donald will know better than i do.
with you looking to spend 3k+, the set-up you listed sounds good but if i were you, and i could afford to cough up a few hundred bucks more, i'd go with the custom unit donald mentioned up above. i believe its shazaams unit called the enterprise. looks to built extremely well, has large capacities, very versatile, and easy to manuver in and out of the service vehicle, homes, up and down stairs, etc..........but with the kind of power that machine offers, it can be left either at the front door, or right in the van itself.
whatever you decide to buy, be sure to get the hild or similar machine (i like the hild).
the following is a list of electric portables i've used in my 30+yrs in cleaning and will limit it to the last 10yrs or so because portables of over 10yrs ago were not very capable. i've used and owned gas truckmounts also.
eclipse, the twin to the whisper
odessey quad vac
pelican quad vac
truckforce portable (old model)
recoils
mytee
powrflite
ninja
commanche
workmaster electric truckmount (400lb monster)
u.s. products
galaxy
hope this helps, good luck
nothing on earth can beat mechanical aggitation! forget the rotovacComment
-
i forgot to mention.
a portable that flows less then 1.6 gallons per minute is in my opinion not capable of thorough flushing and if memory serves me well, ninja's flow 1.2 to 1.4 GPM's. i;m sure donald or someone will correct me if i am wrong
Comment
-
Ninja and Hild
The dual three stage vacuum, 500 psi Ninja will operate 75 ft of hose and comes with a nice start up package. (Currently 411-235 $2085)
The Hild P-15 can scrub carpet with a carpet brush (currently $450).
Both items are currently on sale with free commercial shipping. (home delivery extra)
The 11 gallon tank will clean two room of carpet before you will have to change out the water if you purchase the optional smaller spray jet 11001 ($5 each X 2)
Mickybullets as mentioned is correct about flushing carpet. Both pressure and volume are important to correctly rinse a carpet. The problem with high gallons per minute is more filling/dumping or purchasing an auto fill, dump machine. Just think a machine that uses 2 gpm will only give you 5 minutes of cleaning between fills.
The chemical usages are also mentioned at
The Hild machine is used to prescrub in the prespray. This is when you will loosen all the dirt in the carpet. You then follow with the Ninja and rinse the prespray out of the carpet.Comment
Comment