Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Jacqueline Kerr on July 12, 2013, 10:51:06 pm
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HI, I was wondering if I could use the new Mark 3 XL aqua-adator at a height of 50 feet or some info on the maximum height they can be used effectively at without doing them damage. thanks ;D
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Do they suffer altitude sickness ? ;D
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I have a Mk2 on my SLX 40 and have used it at full stretch without issue with orange hose. I also have a Mk2 on my SLX22 with orange hose.
The length of hose on the SLX40 does appear to have more stretch than the SLX22 which I would expect due to the extra length of the hose. This means that the on/off pull on the hose is more exagerated on the long pole. I have found the red hose has slightly less stretch, so I would order this as a replacement in future.
I also use a different approach when switching the water off after cleaning a window at that height. Once the window has been cleaned and rinsed, I rest the brush on the window cill when switching off. On the SLX22 I'm inclined to 'whip' the pole into the air vertically pulling the hose at the same time.
What I have found is that you need to spend a few moments uncoiling the longer AD hose before using the SLX40 pole. If you don't, the hose will tangle up. I have thought of cutting the hose into 2 more manageable lengths and joining them with a John Guest fitting, but I'm not sure if the JG fitting will 'jam up' inside the pole when erecting and closing it. At 50', I would imagine hose management will be even more important.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'the maximum height they can be used effectively at without doing them damage'. I could see using a gooseneck will create extra stresses on the Aquadapter, but I don't use the SLX40 as an everyday pole. On the SLX40, my gooseneck is a double angle adapter (2 angle adapters joined together) which suffices for the couple of recessed windows I have at that height. I have an alloy gooseneck, but don't use it as it is too heavy.
My son in law also has a mk2 on his SLX22. He found that as the male threaded insert for the plastic angle adapter was secured by 2 pop rivets, this had started to wear and become 'loose'. We simply corrected this by adding 2 more pop rivets (now secured with 4) which was an upgrade Aquadapter did after this anyway. He is also rather rough with his equipment.
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As all always a top post spruce :)
The only times we have had problems with the A/d at height is with clx 27 at full reach over conservatories or velux windows I have put this down to the bend in the pole not allowing a clean pull which jams the A/d tap.
I've used the long reach carbon goose neck with extreme brush on the end of the A/d with no problems and it feels lighter and easier to use than a standard gooseneck and sl brush
I have also had to re rivet A/d s over time but to be fair they were mk1 and mk2 versions and been used every day for around 2 years my mk3's are holding out very well
Darran
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ive just sent my mk3 back as it snapped in half and it only a month old ! been use on 47 footer at full reach most of the time we found it didn't work right from the off and some times you need to pull the hose 5 or 6 times to turn water on or off not good when work at hight
however our could of been faulty we shall see what AD say when they look at it
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£60 odd for a tap. :o waste of cash.
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ive just sent my mk3 back as it snapped in half and it only a month old ! been use on 47 footer at full reach most of the time we found it didn't work right from the off and some times you need to pull the hose 5 or 6 times to turn water on or off not good when work at hight
however our could of been faulty we shall see what AD say when they look at it
At 47' there is always the possibility that the AD isn't returning all the way home so the operating wheel gets past the lock lever. It could either be that the spring isn't strong enough at that height with the weight of water in the hose, or there is some restriction with the pole hose. My son has his pole tucked down the side of his passenger seat, so the hose gets kinked at the bottom of the pole. With the van standing in the sun, the pole hose gets a 'permanent' bend where it exits the pole. I notice another fellow windie has the same problem as he stores his pole in tubes attached to the roof.
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So they are no use at hieght :o
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£60 odd for a tap. :o waste of cash.
That's your opinion and we respect you for that. :)
For us and several other local windies who all have them, they have definitely saved us money with reduced water useage. Unfortunately, statements like this (reduced water useage) are difficult to quantify as water usage changes with conditions and user mood. Some claim saving of up to 25%, but I think that's way too high.
For me, I hated squeezing the pole hose to stop the water. We used to use on/off taps but they never lasted long. I used to buy 6 taps and fittings at a time which would last the year. That cost the same as an AD.
My main pole has had the Mk2 AD on it since they came out, over 3 years, and I have replaced 3 springs on it at 99p each. So for me, this is a cost saving.
I'm not young anymore and my back hurts when I bend down, getting worse through the day. To keep bending down to retrieve the pole tap on the ground just made matters worse. My right leg is continually numb. I try not to take pain killers, but occassional I'm forced to. So just not having to bend down more than I have to is a big bonus for me and the main reason for buying ADs. For me its the best accessory invention in the world of WFP. For others, it isn't.
Just for the record, I tried to strap the tap to my belt - didn't work and ended up with a wet leg. I also tried to put the tap over my shoulder and rest the tap on my chest and even wrapped it round my neck for a bit. I tried to hold the tap in my hand as per Alex Gardiner's how to video, but wasn't comfortable doing this.
So I will continue to recommend buying one, but it will always be because of my experience which will be different to yours.
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So they are no use at hieght :o
At 40' mine works perfectly. It would seem logical that there must be a cutoff point where it won't work anymore, the same as our 12v pumps will have a 'head' height limit, probably higher than we can use our poles at presently.
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£60 odd for a tap. :o waste of cash.
That's your opinion and we respect you for that. :)i
For us and several other local windies who all have them, they have definitely saved us money with reduced water useage. Unfortunately, statements like this (reduced water useage) are difficult to quantify as water usage changes with conditions and user mood. Some claim saving of up to 25%, but I think that's way too high.
For me, I hated squeezing the pole hose to stop the water. We used to use on/off taps but they never lasted long. I used to buy 6 taps and fittings at a time which would last the year. That cost the same as an AD.
My main pole has had the Mk2 AD on it since they came out, over 3 years, and I have replaced 3 springs on it at 99p each. So for me, this is a cost saving.
I'm not young anymore and my back hurts when I bend down, getting worse through the day. To keep bending down to retrieve the pole tap on the ground just made matters worse. My right leg is continually numb. I try not to take pain killers, but occassional I'm forced to. So just not having to bend down more than I have to is a big bonus for me and the main reason for buying ADs. For me its the best accessory invention in the world of WFP. For others, it isn't.
Just for the record, I tried to strap the tap to my belt - didn't work and ended up with a wet leg. I also tried to put the tap over my shoulder and rest the tap on my chest and even wrapped it round my neck for a bit. I tried to hold the tap in my hand as per Alex Gardiner's how to video, but wasn't comfortable doing this.
So I will continue to recommend buying one, but it will always be because of my experience which will be different to yours.
a £8 tap does the same saves water.
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My tap sits in a holster on my belt. It works fine and no wet legs. About a fiver I think. It's Italian made from a hose supplier with a quarter turn on off. I have cut the handle down and folded it over so it can run through the hose roller guide by my reels and go on the reel without clunking against the base of the reel mounting and switching itself on!
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I use with supermax 40 its ok most of the time but sometime when i pull on hose it come out of adapter and comes down to the floor but it could be me pulling to hard.
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I use with supermax 40 its ok most of the time but sometime when i pull on hose it come out of adapter and comes down to the floor but it could be me pulling to hard.
If the hose is coming out then you need to put a tube strengthener in available from A/d.
Having used taps and A/d I can say they don't compare for ease of use hence a tap being £8 - I'm not knocking those who still use a tap but the workplace is a much better place with an aquadaptor
Darran
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im with smudger on this one, had hundreds of taps will only use the aquadapter now. plus i think the company is very underrated, everyone knows how good gardiners customer service is and i think these guys are on par - the 6m connecters they use now are miles better than any rectus
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I'm trying out one of those connectors now so far so good the only time it's come apart is when standing on it :-X But it did not break :D
Darran
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Ok, thanks for all of your comments and recommendations. All very helpful :)
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£60 odd for a tap. :o waste of cash.
How do you know it's a "waste of cash" if you've never tried one ???
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Jacqueline,
If you email Paul at Aquadapter with your query, he will get straight back to you. They must have done height tests at sometime I would imagine.
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I would never use an aquadaptor on a pole over 25 ft as the weight is more noticeable at say 47 foot.I prefer the push fit pole taps on extreme 47.but AD on extreme 25 is awesome.the mark 3 XL is the best so far.never have any issues.its my main pole so is constantly getting turned on and off.
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Hi
we recommend up to 30ft with orange hose, after that our red hose.
We also do a super light weight yellow hose.
This yellow hose is fantastic at heights, low stretch and light weight
helps the activation of the aqua-dapter.
Its half the weight to standard hose.
Regards
Steven
aqua-dapter ltd
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I would never use an aquadaptor on a pole over 25 ft as the weight is more noticeable at say 47 foot.I prefer the push fit pole taps on extreme 47.but AD on extreme 25 is awesome.the mark 3 XL is the best so far.never have any issues.its my main pole so is constantly getting turned on and off.
thanks for the advise :)
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I would never use an aquadaptor on a pole over 25 ft as the weight is more noticeable at say 47 foot.I prefer the push fit pole taps on extreme 47.but AD on extreme 25 is awesome.the mark 3 XL is the best so far.never have any issues.its my main pole so is constantly getting turned on and off.
Many thanks for the advise :)
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The height is not the issue , it shouldn't be a problem at all for the Aqua Dapter. The issue is the very obvious weakness in the Mk3 XL Adapter, the metal is just too thin and thus the XL`s are just splitting in half after a matter of weeks! Aqua Dapter in fairness have been trying to sort these problems out and have already fixed the tap issues and are strengthening future XL adapters. Ive fitted my latest one to my Gardiners pole minus the gooseneck. I think the gooseneck is causing a lot of them to just shear of at the end!
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The height is not the issue , it shouldn't be a problem at all for the Aqua Dapter. The issue is the very obvious weakness in the Mk3 XL Adapter, the metal is just too thin and thus the XL`s are just splitting in half after a matter of weeks! Aqua Dapter in fairness have been tryiny to sort these problems out and have already fixed the tap issues and are strengthening future XL adapters. Ive fitted my latest one to my Gardiners pole minus the gooseneck. I think the gooseneck is causing a lot of them to just shear of at the end!
interesting
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Just nip your hose and stop wasting your money on gadgets that make your pole top heavy.
Think about it your hose is always at the base of your pole just fold it to stop water and release it to turn on again,its much more effective easier and quicker.