Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: JackieW on December 28, 2011, 11:52:35 am
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I am thinking of going water fed pole etc and was looking at carbon fibre poles as many people here extol their virtues.
One feature seems to be their low weight and rigidity.
Out of interest I weighed my Harris pole.
It has a weight of 1080g, (taken off the thread fitting). It extends to 5m. Costs £15.
The Gardiner CLX 18 has a weight of 1050g. Extends to 5.2m and costs £102.
The Elite Carbon Pole weighs 1100g, extends to 5.5 m and costs £200.
What is the advantage of carbon fibre?
Thanks for any opinions and help.
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This is one of the reasons I rarely visit CIU !
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This is one of the reasons I rarely visit CIU !
;D lol. a bit harsh Kentkleen, but i can see where your coming from ;)
i started off this year with a harris pole & they are great, i would advise anyone to start off with one. Then work up to a more expensive pole of their choice ( if they wanted)
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This is one of the reasons I rarely visit CIU !
lol
But kentkleen we all started at the begining so try of be of help to people dude, you never know in the future when you will need it ;)
Harris pole are £15 and carbon pole alot more for very good reason one is made for window cleaning the other for decorating.
I made a video on youtube a years or a few ago to should how to make a harris pole into a wfp (waterfed pole under £30) if other do not know how to make one
ok the difference, harris do not last, this is a main problem, the clamps are poor, the weight of a harris is ok to be fair as is the bend, carbon pole more rigid, lighter, last a lot lot longer, made for wfp, clamps a lot better.
Something in life cost more for a reason.
Hope that helps a little, if not ask some more questions and some people on here will help you ;)
Kentkleen did you not get the christmas present you wanted :P
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i still use the harris pole on all my domestic work, i also added a glassfibre pole section to it, i keep my sl-x for commercial work, it has earned me many thousands over the years, so yes go for the harris pole, you dont have to be a newbie to use one
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i still use the harris pole on all my domestic work, i also added a glassfibre pole section to it, i keep my sl-x for commercial work, it has earned me many thousands over the years, so yes go for the harris pole, you dont have to be a newbie to use one
have to agree there on that one Joe, and hope you had a great Christmas by the way. ;)
Could I ask why you dont use the slx all the time and only on commercial ?
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simple, wear and tear, ;D why use a pole that costs hundreds when a 15.00 pole does the same job, plus it is very light for every day use, hope you had a nice christmas to ian
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I use a Harris pole for all groundfloor work it has a push button to lock it so no clamps it is about 1.5m extends to about 2.5m cost about a tenner has earnt me thousands. Wouldent want to use a longer version of it but a great small pole. Not a silly question, kentclean must of had a bad crimbo :)
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Thanks for the replies so far.
Apologies to 'kentclean' that on one of his rare visits to this forum he had the misfortune to read my post and had to comment on it.
Thanks 'window washer', I've seen your Youtube vid, very helpful. Interesting to get your opinion as you appear to have experience of both cheap Harris and more expensive purpose made pole.
Wear and tear and probably ease of use seem to be in favour of the 'proper' window cleaning water fed poles.
Weight for general domestic window cleaning seems to be on a par.
As many have said on this forum the Harris appears to be a decent starting off pole before moving on to the 'better' ones.
But what do I know, I'm only a squeegee user at present, seeking friendly helpful advice from those
who have more experience than myself in these matters, hopefully.
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This is one of the reasons I rarely visit CIU !
lol
But kentkleen we all started at the begining so try of be of help to people dude, you never know in the future when you will need it ;)
Harris pole are £15 and carbon pole alot more for very good reason one is made for window cleaning the other for decorating.
I made a video on youtube a years or a few ago to should how to make a harris pole into a wfp (waterfed pole under £30) if other do not know how to make one
ok the difference, harris do not last, this is a main problem, the clamps are poor, the weight of a harris is ok to be fair as is the bend, carbon pole more rigid, lighter, last a lot lot longer, made for wfp, clamps a lot better.
Something in life cost more for a reason.
Hope that helps a little, if not ask some more questions and some people on here will help you ;)
Kentkleen did you not get the christmas present you wanted :P
You are very right Ian.
I started with Harris Pole for one house, then realised how budget it was and bought a Brodex budget thing, which paid for itself in one day. It also gave me tennis elbow and severe aches and pains.
If I could have afforded something like an SLX, I would have got it as soon as I could. Saves time, and effort. No brainer really.
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Given the choice between a Harris and a CLX, the CLX would marginally win; but given the difference between a Harris and an SLX, it's the SLX everytime.
The Harris is a great pole; I used one for about five years. I never bought one at a time, I bought three of them; they were so cheap.
I use a CLX 27 for 2nd floor windows, but I use an SLX for the majority of my work, and it's a great and robust pole; despite my initial misgivings. It's tougher than I initially thought it would be.
Great pole, IME. If you can afford it, or stretch to it, get an SLX.
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clx is cheap enuf to bin after 12mths ;)
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Why on earth are people coming onto this forum and discussing using a decorators pole for wfp window cleaning is beyond me.
The choice of good quality 'cheap' poles available NOW is amazing!
2 years ago the choice was more limited.
I began with a worn out old old old aluminium omnipole and a worn out gxtel followed by a 18ha brodex.
The more recent developments by pole makers means you dont have to start out with any of these OLD poles OR bother making a homemade one.
Before asking advice on this forum take a few hours re-searching the back posts you will find that 99.9% of the time the answer to your problem can be found quickly.
Hope this helps and all the best for 2012
:)
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Why on earth are people coming onto this forum and discussing using a decorators pole for wfp window cleaning is beyond me.
The choice of good quality 'cheap' poles available NOW is amazing!
2 years ago the choice was more limited.
I began with a worn out old old old aluminium omnipole and a worn out gxtel followed by a 18ha brodex.
The more recent developments by pole makers means you dont have to start out with any of these OLD poles OR bother making a homemade one.
Before asking advice on this forum take a few hours re-searching the back posts you will find that 99.9% of the time the answer to your problem can be found quickly.
Hope this helps and all the best for 2012
:)
I disagree with a lot in your post; you sound very arrogant too.
Many of us have used the Harris pole, and it's a good bit of kit if you're on a budget. Yeh, I've two SLX's and a CLX, but the Harris is still a good pole; I used one for about six years; and I still have one in my van.
And just about every subject on this page has been debated before, so if everyone used the search function, we'd not have to bother posting at all. Fortunately people do rehash old topics, topics that've been debated for the past several years, and new members will add new information or a new outlook onto old topics. So please, don't use the search function; keep posting; I like reading them.
Hope this helps and all the best for 2012.
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This is one of the reasons I rarely visit CIU !
Look, if we're too thick for you, don't visit at all! ;D
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Tosh can i ask you a Question?
I will.
You have a choice of using a Harris pole for your work or your clx. Which do you use?
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I dont think anyone is or hint on anyone been thick Tosh. I just find questions of this nature can be answered without the need to post anything by taking the time to do your re-search.
p.s. What does t.d.s mean? ;)
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Tosh can i ask you a Question?
I will.
You have a choice of using a Harris pole for your work or your clx. Which do you use?
Harris! Why? I prefer the smooth action rather than the ridges. I only use my 27 foot CLX for three story work, and I'll only use it on the windows I have too, I then swop it for my SLX.
You see, you can't decide your opinion is the only one that counts, because a lot of this stuff is subjective, not objective. Ronnie uses his Harris pole when it's windy, because he likes a heavier pole in this sort of weather conditions.
I also prefer 'twisty clamps' to side opening ones, because I use an external pole hose; I prefer working that way. Twisty clamps don't get opened like side opening ones when your external pole hose knocks them open.
I find external pole hose quicker to work with, and I have tried different combinations (internal pole hose and aquadapter, for example).
And really, for £15, even if there's any doubt in anyone's mind about the Harris, they're still better off trying one and if they don't like it, then that's fine also; it's only £15 and not £200 wasted.
But seriously, I'd prefer a Harris to a 18 foot CLX; but I prefer an SLX to all of them.
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Use your clx abit more tosh the ridges wear!! ;)
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This is one of the reasons I rarely visit CIU !
Are you still here? I thought you said you rarely visit CIU?
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clx is cheap enuf to bin after 12mths ;)
I agree with this as I have a couple of these aswell,
My advice would be if you cannot afford a Slx, then use a clx if you cant afford that use a Harris, the main point is get started regardless
The reason I prefer the slx to the harris is because of the clamps and the height I have the 30ft and use this as an only pole for all domestic work, if thats not high enough I dont do it on domestics, there has to be a cut off point and thats it.
Commercial is a dirrent kettle of fish.
Ian
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This is one of those Rare times Tosh! Nothing changes!
What size slx do you use?
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Ian the best reply and the one I should of, but could'nt bring myself too, put in the start!
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Tosh i'm told ridges feel better :o
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HI Jacky I love a Harris pole and even when I can have a carbon pole. I will still love a Harris great pole. They are like dicks on a forum Harris been the tickler and carbon a man size ego shaker.
Under 5 metre I would not use any other pole but a Harris pole ,but when it is longer carbon is the answer.
Your research has hit the nail on the head,why pay more for nothing more.The manufacture has taken our brain and fried them. The one and only negative is the clamps in winter are a bit difficult to loosen. ;D ;D
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This is one of those Rare times Tosh! Nothing changes!
Kent, everything changes, mate, from moment to moment. It's a universal law. Nothing remains the same for ever; all things are impermanent, subject to change, and in a state of flux.
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Wots the tds of this "Flux" stuff ? :) and will it help the sheeting effect when used with sunshine and pure ?
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it is just another means of getting water to the glass, im my experience, the harris has a big advantage of most carbon poles with its flexability over garages, window rails ect, stiffness is good, but has its disitvantages aswell, also because a pole has been tagged as a decorating pole, does not mean it cant do the job. also i should mention, the harris is a great training pole for newbies
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just like kentkleen i had the same opinion to the harris pole untill i relised last year that i was being an arrogant snob.
these harris poles look better than the unger traditional poles. so why cant they be used as a WFP?
i am yet to make my own harris pole as i havnt looked in to it, but as soon as my gardeners 18footer goes that will be doctered in to a downstairs pole.
i will replace it with a harris pole. i like the push button feature ive seen on them.
1 question, can the hose feed through the pole just like other WFP's
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1 question, can the hose feed through the pole just like other WFP's
Of course it can. Don't go for the pole with the push button; go for the one with the black twist clamps; remember you only need a slight 'nip' to lock em tight; you don't need to wrestle them closed.
And yeh, I'm a nip, I know I know (just to beat the wise asses! ;D).
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i'll definately get one, at the end of the day its the brush and the water that does the cleaning.
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I am back to using my harris pole for domestic, for that height I don't see the point in spending over £15, anything higher then yes, and if you go gently on the clamps it will last years
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best tip for the harris: dont tighten the clamps. work with them loose and hold the hose at the bottom. it stays up. clean. then give it a tug and it flies down.
if you need it lowered an inch or two, just let the hose come out a bit.
to raise it a bit, 'throw' it up and release the hose.
with practice there's is nothing faster.
having said that i'm wanting to try a slx ;)
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so are some of you using a harris for normal semi's upstairs windows or just downs, dont no how long these poles are :-\
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they are 5mts long so with you holding them around 7mts ???,have used Harris for three years now,did have a carbon fibre once,second hand,i must admit i prefer the Harris, i take the view if it breaks within a few hours i am back on the road and the cost is £15.00
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i take the view if it breaks within a few hours i am back on the road and the cost is £15.00
thats the way i see it bob
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i just bought a harris for trad use and i came to thinking it was 15 quid same price as it was couple of yrs ago. most prices rise but not the harris. my new one is wrapped in a thin sponge packaging but my old one had no wrapping. the extra wrapping must add a tad to the factory cost . 15 quid is a very low price when you think of the high price of metal these days
i have never seen anybody painting with a harris, then again ive never seen anybody painting with a long pole anywhere
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put heatshrink on the bottom section no more cold
hands on aluminium and it looks good
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even better gary, for 5ft extra heght, ad a glassfibre pole section, no more cold hands and saftey from electric shocks,
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for small domestic the harris pole will be fine.
when you get some money together i would get a 25ft SLX if i were you.it will allow you to clean virtually all domestic small and large including 3rd floor windows and windows over deep connies with ease.no need to waste time swapping poles.
its awkward windows at full stretch where carbon fibre comes into its own!!! ;) ;D and i have a lot of them to clean day in/ day out on some parts of my round!! ;D ;D ;D
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1 question, can the hose feed through the pole just like other WFP's
Of course it can. Don't go for the pole with the push button; go for the one with the black twist clamps; remember you only need a slight 'nip' to lock em tight; you don't need to wrestle them closed.
And yeh, I'm a nip, I know I know (just to beat the wise 'arrisses! ;D).
FTFY Tosh!
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A Gardiners clx will last a year if ur lucky. Cost..approx £100 - £150. Harris pole £15 - £20
Given the choice I would rather throw £15 away each year
Its a no brainer really!