Carpet Cleaning Issues - Carpet construction, upholstery cleaning, stain removal, equipment, events, etc.
Truck Mounts 20X more powerfulPosted by Ian_G. (Ian_Gourlay), 3 February 2004
I know Ive been down this route before.
And yes a truck mount would be nice.
But acording to my calculations a truck mount would have to pick up 4800 inch of water to be 20 x more powerful.
Ive looked through last years prochem cat and the starter truck mounts dont apear to pick up more water than the top end portables.Posted by John_Flynn (John_Flynn), 3 February 2004
My T/M was taken off the road last Thursday because of an accident, I've managed to borrow a Ninja from a fellow cleaner (thank you Richard), if you want to see a grown man cry come and watch me working 
.
My T/M is not the most powerful, but I seem to have taken 25 steps backwards since it went off the road.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating!!!
Use a T/M Ian and NO WAY will you want to go back to a Porty.Posted by lee_gundry (lee_gundry), 3 February 2004
ian a tm is 20 times more powerful than a portable.
a truckmount has more bits other than a vac.
Lee GPosted by lee_gundry (lee_gundry), 3 February 2004
ian
can you name a portable in the prochem cat that produces around 470cfm,s
Lee GPosted by mark_roberts (mark_roberts), 3 February 2004
Its just good marketing. At the wand is were it counts.Posted by Ivar_Haglund (Ivar_Haglund), 3 February 2004
I guess if you like to bucket water all day
not for me
IVAR 
Posted by mike_halliday (mike_halliday), 3 February 2004
Mark, since when was misleading customers good marketing?
A truckmount does have more 'power' but where does the 20x more power come from.
A portable pumps at 100psi and yes you can get truckmounts with 2000psi pumps but who uses 2000psi to clean carpets
if you use 20x more heat than a portable then you'll melt the carpet 
The vacuum is where a truckmount certainly wipes the floor with a portable, but 20 times more powerfull, I'd like to see some statistics to back this up.
MikePosted by lee_gundry (lee_gundry), 3 February 2004
the true fact that the statement of 20 times more powererful comes from the combanation of all the factors of a tm compaired to a portable.
Horse power
pressure
heat
cfm
the statement of 20 times more powerful has been checked and is a TRUE fact.
yes it is a very good marketing tool,Also i still offer a portable unit, cleaning service at a cheaper rate,but not 1 person has chose the portable over the TRUE DEEP CLEANING process of a tm & its experienced operator.
Lee GPosted by mark_roberts (mark_roberts), 3 February 2004
Its not misleading its just choosing which parts of the story suit your offering.
IE. shaws only recommend HWE for carpet cleaning
steam damages carpets
no steam, shampoo, chemicals etc
You know what I mean.
cheers
markPosted by mike_halliday (mike_halliday), 3 February 2004
Well it must be true if Lee says so 
Mark, giving selective information is done to mislead the customer, why not give them all the information and let them decide.
the statement '20 x more powerfull than electric machines' is quoted to make the customer believe they will receive a better clean from a truckmount user than from someone else using a portable.
if you want to impress your customers then do it with the quality of your work not the size of your penis oops... sorry a bit of a Freudian slip, meant to say truckmount
modify: i can't believe they won't allow you to use the correct word for the male sex organ, and replace it with 'thingy'Posted by lee_gundry (lee_gundry), 3 February 2004
mike
as you know i have been pulled up by a certain national francise company with a few quotes i have used in my advertising,before i ran these ads i checked out the statements i was using ,this also included the 20 times etc,The results were not my own ,these were the results from 3 different carpet cleaning technical support.
i will post a copy for you to prove that the statement i use is true.
Lee (out cleanes any other system)GPosted by Glynn (Glynn), 4 February 2004
LeeIthought they were 23 times more powerfull ?
Think I should get a few grand back .
Glynn "out cleans Lee" Waterworth
Posted by Tony_Browning (Tony_Browning), 4 February 2004
My Portables 230 Times more powerful than a mop and bucket!!! Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 4 February 2004
Hi Lee
You must have received the same letter from the same franchisor as I did, were you a new boy on the block in your area at that time, I was and wrote back to them (I won’t go into what I said) never heard from them again.
Won’t get into any debate re power, the only reason I purchased a t/m was speed (time cost money)
LenPosted by lee_gundry (lee_gundry), 4 February 2004
len
i contacted the head ofice about the letter & he said he had a complaint from one of his operators in my area,about the quote i used on my ad.He also said that i was talking a lot of work from the operator & he had to be seen, following up on the complaint.In turn i chainged to wording slightly.
Lee GPosted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 4 February 2004
Hi Lee
That was generous of you, I had a similar reply but I’m not that generous, phone call to them how much will you pay me to change I ask! Phone went down. I still kept the wording. Sorry to the franchisees in my area but business is business.
How did they know, that you were taking the franchisees business away from him.
I know this is not a part of this post if a franchisor thinks they can beat-up on a independent what are they doing to there own?
LenPosted by Ian_G. (Ian_Gourlay), 4 February 2004
If I cant sleep tonight, ill get out prochem cat
and compare soecs yet again.
I must admit im fed up with all that lifting
Although Ive just enrolled at a fittness centre.Posted by lee_gundry (lee_gundry), 4 February 2004
len
the guy at head office has had a few prob with the operator,said he was a pain,he just said you are taking work from him & this is his way to moan about it.
Lee GPosted by Lee (Lee), 4 February 2004
Its my understanding that the max horse power produced by a 13 amp plug is 1.5 hp. so...... wait for it (maths time) 20 times 1.5 horse power give us ........30 horse power. Well mines a 52 hp so I think I need to change the wording on my van! We Lee's will always stick together.Posted by Ian_G. (Ian_Gourlay), 4 February 2004
OK
But what about electric truck mountsPosted by Lee (Lee), 4 February 2004
Well I stand to be corrected but they still plug in using a standard 13 amp plug do they not. Posted by Shaun_Ashmore (Shaun_Ashmore), 4 February 2004
If your thinking Lee Grundys TM plugs into the mains electricity well you couldn't be more wrong, its run on chip fat NO I mean petrol, Lees run on chip fat!
Shaun Posted by Shaun_Ashmore (Shaun_Ashmore), 4 February 2004
For marketing reasons I use 17 X more powerful as the number 7 is a more powerful pulling number and is believed to be lucky ( i know it could be BS but I read it in a Peter Sun book )
ShaunPosted by Dave_Parry (Dave Parry), 5 February 2004
Lee Stop exaggerating A Ninja uses 2 sockets =3 hp. so you need to divide 52 by 3= 17.33 times. Posted by Ian_G. (Ian_Gourlay), 5 February 2004
So Shuan is right to use 17.
What is this power used for.
Suck the Carpets, weaken the Fibres cause the carpet to wear out earlier.
Bit rough.
Carpets need to be cleaned gentery with care not brute force
The main reason for truck mount is speed, not customer care
Oh and to save my back if I had onePosted by Lee (Lee), 5 February 2004
Hi Guys.... So does a Ninja use a 3rd plug for its water heater and solution pump? This is getting really silly, but fun all the same!!Posted by Dave_Parry (Dave Parry), 5 February 2004
No the third plug is for the Kettle to make the tea to go with the bickies!!Posted by Lee (Lee), 5 February 2004
Hi Dave, I see you are soon to be a TM user, what have make and model have you gone for?Posted by Shaun_Ashmore (Shaun_Ashmore), 5 February 2004
I think Lee Gundry more than explained the multiples of why most TMs are more powerful than most other elecric machines,
ShaunPosted by Dave_Parry (Dave Parry), 5 February 2004
Lee,
Getting a hydramster Boxxer 19th Feb. Cant wait. Trying to decide wether to go for auto pump out or not. Craig at H/master says can manage without, fellow CC says its a must, so not sure. Have gone for a water softener as water round here is very hard. spec says its a tubular type watever that means.Posted by Lee (Lee), 5 February 2004
Good choice. Craig and Martin are fantastic, the boxer is a great machine, love the new fuel tank setup. Backup is first class at Hydramaster and you wont regret it.Posted by Lee (Lee), 5 February 2004
If you can, go for the pump out, no its no essential but I had it on my 450 diesel and its not worked on my 550 since I ve had it, and I really miss it. I need to get it down to Craig Iam sure sort it out.Posted by Dave_Parry (Dave Parry), 5 February 2004
I probably going to go for it purely because of the enviromental concerns over disposing of dirty water. I think that to try and empty into a toilet without it would be difficult, and 50 + buckets is out of the question. Its just that its a lot of money extra, and I want to get a upholstery tool as well. Going to try a Drimaster while I'm down there to see what their like, but following prev posts fancy the CFR tool just a bit pricey.Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 5 February 2004
Hi Dave
Your never regret it buying a t/m forget the auto pump unless you are doing flood work or you are using too much water (check the local legislation on this dumping) I take it that you are looking at a onboard water softener save your money and buy a home softener system, both will benefit. (Good sales people sell an audio system to the deaf)
LenPosted by mike_halliday (mike_halliday), 6 February 2004
Ian, if you are going to post something don't remove it. it makes this post look irelevent
if it has'nt got an exhaust, and does'nt sound like a planes taking off, its not a truckmount 
all these blokes who use electric truckmount are just kidding themselves, all they've got is a portable with some big tanks
they should join the real men and buy the real Mc Koy.
mikePosted by Ian_G. (Ian_Gourlay), 6 February 2004
Mike,
If you mean me my post about clockwork ( I mean electric truckmounts ) is still there.
I understand they are cheap to run and enviromentally friendly.
I doubt if the customer would know the difference.
Could run a Ninja from the van and disguise it to look like a beast of a machine.Posted by Lee (Lee), 6 February 2004
Again I say it. there is no comparison to be made, Truckmounts do less damage, because we dont have to scrub hell out of the carpet, they are at least twice as fast, so we earn more money and the carpet is far drier.... do you really beleive that multi million dollar corporations pour milllion upon millions of dollars into these machines when and electric machine can compete?
I dont really think any buisness minded person could really beleive that, its horses for courses. If you are happy making a living or should I say a wage, then thats fair enough.
Some of us ar looking beyoned that. There is nothing wrong with the higher end portable machines, but why limit your potential.Posted by John_Flynn (John_Flynn), 6 February 2004
Ian
I got an electric T/M, (when my van is fixed) a bit more than your disguised Ninja!!!
I doubt if the customer would know the difference.
Could run a Ninja from the van and disguise it to look like a beast of a machine.
Until you started to use it
Roots blower, upto 1000psi and a heater that I can steam clean an engine with if I so wished.
Just get your hand in your pocket and buy a T/M and then you would know what Mr Gundry is talking about.Posted by Dave_Parry (Dave Parry), 6 February 2004
Pardon my ignorance but how do you run an electric truck mount, do you have a generator on board, if so must be quite big ?Posted by John_Flynn (John_Flynn), 7 February 2004
Do you carry a genarator for your portable??
I use the customers supply!!!
T/M power with NO petrol to buy.
I got the BEST of both worlds Posted by Ian_G. (Ian_Gourlay), 7 February 2004
John,
I have no doubt that a truckmount is a far supperior machine, and shows that you are an excellent cleaner.
However I know most of you started with a good portable and considered you did a good job.
Hope you are back on the road soonPosted by Shaun_Ashmore (Shaun_Ashmore), 7 February 2004
Johns is a specially made machine a 1 off made by Dr Ingram, but its still not as good as mine now!
So there! 
ShaunPosted by John_Flynn (John_Flynn), 7 February 2004
I'm saying nowt 
Posted by Shaun_Ashmore (Shaun_Ashmore), 7 February 2004
that'll be a first!
ShaunPosted by SteveTruman (SteveTruman), 8 February 2004
So if i am reading this right youse who have a TM are saying that us paupers who only have portables are cleaning 20 times inferior to yourselves. Dont think so some how. Also i would hazzard a guess that there are twenty more times companies using portables than TM. So what would the poor suppliers do if we all got huge o/d's to buy a TM.
Regards
Steve
P.S. Does anybody have the relevant data on ratio of portable to TM operators. Posted by lee_gundry (lee_gundry), 8 February 2004
steve
your right most companies do use portables to run their businesses,Why do they do this COST.They can have 2/3 portables on the go to 1 tm.If the cost of a new tm was around 4k i bet 70% of portable users would purchase.
It is a fact that most people don,t upgrade to a truckmount for the reason of cost & cost alone.
I think the word paupers is way of the mark.As a recent post says most of the people who now own tm built their business on the strenght of portables i did.Times move on systems change, cleaning agents change,also methods,i bought a tm 4 years ago since then i have owned 4 in total,i would never go back to portables.
nobody said that the cleaning ability of a portable is INFERIOR its just not as good in a lot of ways.
i have done demos on commercial carpets where portable users have done their,s, & out of over 100 demo,s i haven,t lost 1 job to a portable user.
ps
what portable do you at the moment steven
Lee GPosted by SteveTruman (SteveTruman), 8 February 2004
Steampro 2000 it does its job. You are correct about the cost factor. Do you never have problems leading the pipes to the premises?
Regards
StevePosted by safecleanlakes (safecleanlakes), 8 February 2004
forgive me if i am missing something here, but surely at the end of the day what really counts is profitability, or am i being extremely naive?? good luck to anyone who chooses to go down whatever path they decide, be it portable, t/m, or bucket and mop, but isn't the objective for any business to turn a profit and and build a solid client base. Posted by lee_gundry (lee_gundry), 8 February 2004
steve
if we i am cleaning a first floor/upwards i usally run the hoses up the side of the building & in through a window.
If we are cleaning ground floor office areas in work time i always run the hoses in such a way as to try to keep them of hallways/heavy usage areas & always place warning signs along the chosen route.
ps
is it one of the new anti scratch ones.
Lee GPosted by Dynafoam (Dynafoam), 8 February 2004
Lee,
I adopt the same hose-run approach with a portable, as I did with a TM, however the problem with the TM was when I had to drag 50+ft of hose through mud just to get to the building.
This, I think, is what Steve was asking about.
BTW I did a job in sheltered housing complex last week (in the snow) where I could get the van no closer than 180 feet from the nearest flat ( I know because I paced out the distance dozens of times in the course of the job )
John.
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