Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: scott johns on August 24, 2015, 05:22:40 pm
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has any one anything to say about prowler machines good or bad
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Brilliant machines. A truckmount with wheels on but not something to be wheeling on and off the van daily. Very powerfull vacuum as it has no waste tank to evacuate.
Heat exchangers will leak after some time usually get 2 - 3 years out of them, however some are 6-7 years with same one. Jamie Pearson is dealing with repairs and spares on these at the moment.
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I know it works differently but is the prowler a viable alternative to a small TM?
Can you dump the waste in a tank if need be? Does the wand bypass waste much water? Can a pump bypass be fitted which automatically sends water back to the fresh water tank like on a pressure washer or is overheating the heat exchanger then a problem?
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The prowler is a small TM and doesn't waste much as only open bypass to get heat there then it's closed again there is a bypass valve on prowler which i have put hose on direct back into water tank don't need a pump.
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look on you tube, a very telling vid about the prowler.......
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anybody using one?? is it good? what is the reliability like, it gets a bit of a slating in the yt vid.............
if its a smaller truckmount, enabling use in a smaller van, but without any reliabilty issues it may
be my next step up.................
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I have one Tim it's a great machine runs great as with any machine things will go and need replacing i just replaced a rubber coupling on mine as it split but i managed to fit myself in an hour and also the engine is a honda gx390 parts readily available and great workhorses.
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When I was thinking of buying a Truckmount,15 or so years ago I had actually ordered a Prochem Blazer and got as far as the pro forma invoice when Simon Gerrard called me and explained the pro's & con's of smaller Truckmounts.
Actually he was trying to sell me a large Bruin 2, he explained the limits of smaller machines and that I would grow out of it.
I bought his machine, fitted it and started using it.
I was blown away by its performance compared to way over 20 years of using electric machines - until -
the first Sunny Day Out when John Gott's brought up Hydramasters latest big machine, a Maxx470D.
The Maxx blew the Bruin 2 away in terms of power, vacuum, phenomenal heat etc.
I just had to have one, so I did.
Since then I have bought no less than 5 brand new Truckmounts and I can say with absolute certainty that they are all worth every single penny.
imo the Prowler is a good step up from an electric machine but in no way is it in the league of the large Truckmounts, if it was I would have bought them, therefore saving myself about £100K.
Think carefully about where you want to be in your business, both right now and in a few years and spend accordingly.
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nice post mate......... i f i want to be busier, faster, and get a better clean, without major maintanence isues, is the prowler the way forward for me........ i know you coan spend £30000 on a truckmount, but i cant!!!!!!
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Personally I would rather buy a second hand truckmount for similar money.
Just be very careful about which type you buy.
Any info req I'm here.
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A true story there from Glynn and with it good advice.
Lots of people say they can't afford a tm, I'd argue in most cases you can't afford not to have one.
But as Glynn said, if you are thinking of getting one, you need to take into account that it will double your productivity and give you the ability to do much bigger jobs, much faster and to a higher quality. So think not just about what fits your business today but what you might need for the next five years.
Glynn told that he never made any money until he bought that first tm from me, now he prints the stuff - literally!
Simon
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I bought a Maxx450D with 1,500 hours on it (which is nothing) for less than 5k as a back up machine. But it now does all of our domestic jobs and so some very big jobs and runs on 2.1 litres of red diesel an hour and has now paid for its self many times over.
Simon
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nice post mate......... i f i want to be busier, faster, and get a better clean, without major maintanence isues, is the prowler the way forward for me........ i know you coan spend £30000 on a truckmount, but i cant!!!!!!
Tim,
There are no significant maintenance issues, they are something that gets plucked out of the air by people who have no experience of them.
Prowlers are very basic and old technology and the ones that are about could be quite old, so be careful.
A Prowler is ok but will struggle on bigger jobs.
My advice would be to wait and shop around and buy slightly beyond your means because when you get one you will find out for real what an asset they are and perhaps wish you'd bought a bigger one to do even bigger jobs for much more money. So think about what kind of business you want to have in five years and what type of jobs you want to do and buy according to those plans, because the right machine is what will propel you forward to meeting those plans.
Simon
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Simon,i have a prochem blazer,great little machine.I have never used one of the big tm,would ibe blown away by the difference,if so how....thanks...
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That guy on the video is a complete tit. He bought one of the first ones designed with a fixed chain coupling and it failed. Ben asked him to get it prepared and he would have it picked up as he wanted too find out exactly how it failed and obviously get it sorted and back to the customer as soon as possible. He refused and set anout fixing it himself. Became upset and spat his dummy out when Ben then cancelled the warranty. Actually probably did spit his dummy out as he turned up with his mother to buy the machine. Turns out these coupling were no good and switched over to flexi's.
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Simon,i have a prochem blazer,great little machine.I have never used one of the big tm,would ibe blown away by the difference,if so how....thanks...
Brendan,
I'm not sure blown away is the word. The Blazer is a great machine, I had a Cub XL for a while. That size of machine are for a single wand, the bigger ones, that have bigger engines and blowers and thereby produce more heat are dual capable machines so there is a lot more performance and added range, but using one of these with a single wand you will see the power difference and be impressed when using it with two wands. The Titan 875 is twice as powerful as the medium machines and can clean with three wands, Rx20's and can easily cope with 1,000 feet of hoses which is very impressive indeed.
The medium size tm's like the Titan 575, Pheonix 570i, Prochem Peak and Apex are all liquid cooled which gives you extra heat exchanging capabilities and vacuum performance and if you use these in single mode you will, because of the bigger blowers see a big difference to the Blazer.
It is a matter of horses for courses, if you only do domestics and smaller commercials and don't want to do bigger stuff then the smaller machines are the ones to choose and still represent a huge advantage over any portable system.
Simon
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re prowler, how much difference in performance would i notice compared to my storm? also how big is the machine?
would it work okay on a smallish van????
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You would have more power and more flushing rate however on the downside you will also have fuel costs.
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I had a truckmount for 3 years Chemtex 20 hp great machine it is faster than a portable and leaves carpets dryer but that's about it don't belive all the guff that it gets you more work than a porty its nonsense I sold mine and went back to a porty as all my work is 90% domestic and a portable is great for what I need also have loads of room again in my van for pressure washing and window cleaning as that makes up about 60% of my turnover.Iam glad I bought one to see what all the fuss was about but a porty does me fine.
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We have had a couple of customers recently who have sold their truckmounts and went back to portables.
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I know 2 carpet cleaners who have also gone back to portables and sold off they're truckmounts. I don't think it's correct to assume that you can only grow by going down the truckmount route. Every business is different and can grow in different ways. Truckmounts would just not work for my business. Most of my regular commercial work has extreme high security and truckmount use would not be possible. Also on the domestic side of things about 50% of my work would be a nightmare with parking ect with a truckmount in my area so your type of work needs to come into consideration. Another thing for us is that we don't just carry out carpet cleaning so their is no way we could have a truckmount anyway because it would take up too much room for other gear. Simon is correct when he says get the biggest truckmount you can afford but think carefully before you commit because it's a lot of money you could use to grow your business marketing wise and this is only my opinion but I would only go for a truckmount if it really suited your carpet cleaning style and you are quite a mature company. I certainly would not commit to having a large finance payment unless you are a really established business.
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I currently have a 100 hour Prowler sat in our showroom for sale on behalf of a customer who has got out of the industry.
If you would like to discuss please give me a call. 01334656787
Its in great condition and has a few extras with it.
(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/p240x240/11899753_935310699866905_1450638452182526060_n.jpg?oh=d69f699c4f5ceca64343f831aded39c1&oe=567C33AC)
(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11903867_935310686533573_2062884073201282143_n.jpg?oh=a209f171055d16816ec331b9c347367c&oe=567A75F2)
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That latest design makes it a doddle to maintain as well.
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The big question isn't so much if you're going to get a tm, but when to get one.
You need to have built a certain amount of volume and have the ambition to do more.
The trouble is you can't do more without the added productivity of a tm, which is what will pay for it, so there is a crossover point which requires either a leap of faith, or a decision to stick with what you have got. My first tm very nearly broke me, because I was in that no mans land, but luckily I got a national contract on the back of it at around the same time, so phew!
You also have to be totally committed to the project and let ambition drive you forward.
Is a tm for everyone, no.
Simon
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Thanks Simon,titan sounds like a beast.When dual wanding,if the two wands not locked to the floor,do you not get a loss of vacuum ?
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Hi Brendan,
Yes, if it is for more than a few seconds. Those first few seconds don't matter if it is between passes because the line is full of water which takes a few seconds to clear before it is just air, which then affects performance.
Dualling , if not with RX20, which are permanently sealed to the carpet, requires an understanding between the two operators not to leave wands breathing for any longer than absolutely necassary. So if one needs to stop to prepay or move furniture they must seal the wand to the floor while they do it.
Hope this helps.
Simon
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It does Simon, thanks.