[the red carpet]

i have had my machine a while now, i got it used  and as far as i know its never had a service its on 800hours

my question is, is it really worth getting a portable machine serviced?

the reason i ask is as far as i can work out theres only 3 main things that are gonna go wrong 2-vacs and a pump
and these are only worth a couple hundred quid each so theres nothing major in there to worry about, please correct me if im wrong

now to get these machines serviced costs about £200
so thats £200 to look after around £600 worth of equipment (is that really cost affective?)
after all its not gonna stop them breaking surely just prolong there life.

i struggle to see how it costs the same money to service a 2-3grand portable as a 10-20grand car with thousands of pounds worth of stuff to look after.

do any of you just keep working them till they go wrong?
or has anyone tried this and come unstuck?
is there any simple things i can do myself to service and look after my machine?

i would appreciate your views before i either end up wrecking my machine by not looking after it or wasting £200 getting it serviced
Daniel

[simonc]

yup yup yup run em till they break, change the pump/vac as required change the brushes on the vac motors, check the electrics and get it verified and then buy another one and start again....simon

[Spot On cleaning]

Absolutely

Dave

[cleaning co]

if it aint broke dont touch it (as my old man used to say )

[Spot On cleaning]

The only problem is if your machine suddenly packs up on the job. This happened to me with the pump on my extracta. Luckily enough the customer was a regular and re-booked the job.

I bet if i had taken the machine in for repair, or had taken the pump off myself i would of had to replace the whole unit. I fixed the solenoid with a micro switch from a washing machine parts shop. It can be useful to keep a back up machine.
However since i have gone over to truck mount, i make sure i service it religiously.

Dave

[John Rimmer Marshall & Rimmer Ltd]

I am with Simon on this one i have been doing this for over ten years, and for most of that time i have changed motors and pumps ect. Even changeing
the brushes is no guarantee that a motor is going to last any longer, as i found
out last year when one blew on me only a fortniight after i had done so.
The only time i have had a machine serviced is when i took my Allltec Advantage
down to Royston last September after going through 3 water pumps in the space of 18 months, and totaly sick of all the disruption it created. They
repaired and did some alterations to it, got the machine back the fallowing
week it looked like new, and was not charged for it.

                                    Take Care John

[Kinver_Clean]

Pity you dont live in the Midlands.
I service machines and charge for new parts if required ( brushes £10-£12 a pair £26 for pump brushes) If you run 7.2" Lamb vacs this is essential every 500 hrs and a lot cheaper than £212 for a new motor. 5.2" motors run for appr 800 -900 hrs before new brushes. Putting a new bellend on a pump gives it a new lease of life and ups the performance.
Labour charges are £20/ hr (i'm in my warm workshop & no travelling) This includes running in vac motors at 110v for 20 mins (coffee time) Average service is under £100 with pat testing thrown in.
I regularly get pumps and motors that have done 2000 hrs and still going strong. Hoses and fittings are checked as well so there are fewer wet surprises in someone's hallway.
Trevor

[cleaning co]

u really need to allways hav two machines in your van, i hav for past 8 years, just for when one packs up half way throw clean,  but as for serviceing rip off !!   its not an petrol engine its an elctric pump ,heater,vacs, if they gooner go they go !!!

[cleaning co]

i hav two machines over 5 years old still hav same vacs and pumps and heaters, couple leaks now n then but nothing u cant fix u self