How far off is a porty to a TM preformance wise??
If the porty has 600psi pump, three vacs and an inline heater (90 degrees) and the TM being a lower end of the market one.
And be honest! lol
In my experience, and I have/had both a 3 vac Scorpion and a 15hp Prowler (and at the same time), the Prowler wins, and so it should as it is twice the price of the Scorpion.
Having said that, the performance of the Scorpion is pretty amazing and I am more then satisfied it is capable of doing exceptional clean in the hands of a good operator.
and I know the heat/no heat discussion will continue to go on re portables, but it is not good for high heat to go through the pump on a portable. On the Prowler, the heat exchanger was AFTER the pump for the same reason.
So its logic (and sensible design), IMO to put the heat maker (anything in excess of say 60degree) after the pump on a portable.
The inline heaters are not efficient at producing high heat at 300psi and above, in a short time and sustaining it. Having an inline heater within say 25' of the wand is probably the best compromise but even so wont match the high heat of a TM.
If you using detergents you need the heat much more then if you using microsplitters or colloidals (MPower/Nemesis), thats my opinion anyway.
What cleaning fluids each of us use, and whether we prefer heat or not (or warm) is up to individuals.
